The Blessed Model of the Holy Prophet Muhammad and the Caricatures — Page 134
sa ± _________________________________________________________________ slaves. She replied that he could do as he pleased, once she had given it all to him, she had no influence over it and that it was now his property. The Holy Prophet immediately called sa all of Hadrat Khad jah's slaves and told them that they were ™ ra ± ± ¿ free from that day onwards. He also distributed a large portion of the property among the poor and the needy. Among the slaves he freed, one was called Zaid. It seems that he was brighter than the rest of the slaves and was intelligent. He realised it well that once he was granted freedom, the stigma of slavery had been removed, however his well-being was in permanently remaining in the subjugation of the Holy Prophet. sa Therefore, he said: Very well, you have freed me, however, I shall not go, I shall stay with you as your slave. He stayed on with the Holy Prophet sa and their mutual love and affection continued to grow. Zaid, who was originally from a well-to-do family, had been kidnapped [as a child] and then sold on by the bandits. He was sold several times over and had eventually reached here. His parents and other relatives were ever looking for him and came to know that their son was in Mecca. They reached Mecca and having found out their son's whereabouts came to the Holy Prophet. They sa offered him as much wealth as he wanted for the freedom of their son, saying his mother was desperately aggrieved. The Holy Prophet told them that he had already freed Zaid so he sa was free to go, and that he did not want any money. His people asked him to come. However, the son replied, 'I have met with you and this is sufficient, if an opportunity comes by, I shall 134