Section 2 of the ITK (AZAT) – The Sale of a Mukateb Slave in Case of Breach of the Writing Contract
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated: Barira (may Allah be pleased with her) came to Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) requesting her assistance in paying for her writing services. She had not yet paid anything for her writing. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said to her, "Return to your people and if they desire, I will pay your debt for the writing. Your wilayah (legal guardianship/responsibility) belongs to me; I will handle it." Barira returned and informed her people of this offer. Her people rejected the offer and said: “If Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) wishes to assist you in earning reward, let her do so. Our wilayah (manumitting guardian) will be us.”
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) related this to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said to her, “Purchase Barira and manumit her.” He added, "The wilayah of one who is freed belongs to the one who freed him." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) stood up and said: “What has become of some people that they impose conditions which are not in the Book of Allah? Whoever imposes a condition which is not in the Book of Allah, then that condition is void. Even if he imposed it one hundred times. The condition of Allah is more just and stronger.”
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) related:
Berira (may Allah be pleased with her) came seeking assistance with writing. She said, "I agreed with my husband for nine *uqiyyah* in return for a yearly payment of one *uqiyyah* for the work of writing." Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said, “If your people desire it, I will pay it all at once and manumit you. The guardianship (*wilaya*) over you shall be mine.” Berira (may Allah be pleased with her) went to her people, and the narrator related this hadith through Zuhri’s narration. But there is an addition at the end of this hadith:
“What has become of these men that one rises up and says from his own imagination: ‘O so-and-so, manumit [this person], and the guardianship over him shall be mine?’ Indeed, the right of guardianship belongs to the one who effects the manumission.”
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated: The daughter of Haris, Jwayriya, who was the daughter of Mustalik, fell to the share or lineage of Sabit ibn Kays ibn Shammas, and she entered into a writing agreement with him. She was a woman of great beauty.
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Jwayriya (may Allah be pleased with her) came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) seeking help so that she could pay off her writing debt. When she arrived at the door, I saw her. It occurred to me that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) would see in her what I saw (of beauty). Jwayriya said, “I am Jwayriya, daughter of Haris. O Messenger of Allah, my situation is not hidden from you. I fell to the share of Sabit ibn Kays ibn Shammas. I indebted myself with a writing agreement. I have come to you so that you may help me pay off my debt.” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said, “Would you not be inclined to something more beneficial than this?”
Jwayriya said, "What is that, O Messenger of Allah?" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said, “I will pay your writing debt and marry you.”
Jwayriya immediately accepted.
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: It was spread among the people that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) had married Jwayriya. They released every captive they had from the tribe of Mustalik. And these captives became relatives of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) through kinship. They said, "It does not befit us to keep them as captives." Her people said, “We have never seen a woman more blessed than Jwayriya, for because of her, I have freed one hundred families from the tribe of Mustalik.”
Abu Dawud said: This hadith is evidence that a man can marry his ward.