Islam and the Freedom of Conscience — Page 46
~ 46 ~ marriage Hadrat Khad i jah ra handed over all her property and her slaves to him, he said to her that if she was giving it all to him, it would all be at his disposal to do as he pleased. She said that is why she was giving these to him. He said he would free the 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 sa immediately called all of Hadrat Khad i jah ra 's slaves and told them that they were 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