The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 201
V - Conduct of the Holy Prophet sa with Slaves and His Teachings on the Issue of Slavery 201 1. The Holy Prophet Muḥammad sa freed 63 slaves 2. Ḥaḍrat ‘Ā’ishah ra freed 67 slaves 3. Ḥaḍrat ‘Abbās ra freed 70 slaves 4. Ḥakīm bin Hizām ra freed 100 slaves 5. ‘Abdullāh bin ‘Umar ra freed 1,000 slaves 6. ‘Abdur-Raḥmān bin ‘Auf ra freed 3,000 slaves 7. Ḥaḍrat ‘Uthmān bin ‘Affān ra freed 20,000 slaves on one day alone, which was the day of his martyrdom. The total number is far greater than this. 8. Dhul-Kilā‘ Al-Ḥimyarī freed 8,000 slaves on one day alone TOTAL NUMBER: 32,300 1 As we have mentioned above, in this narration only a few Companions have been mentioned by way of example. If according to the proportion mentioned above, we were to approximate the number of slaves freed by a large number of other Companions, the Tābi‘īn and Taba‘ Tābi‘īn , this number definitely reaches into the millions. However, the truth is that even the number of freed slaves mentioned in this narration, which have been attributed to the above-mentioned Companions, is not completely accurate. Rather, the actual number is far greater. For example, with regards to Ḥaḍrat ‘Ā’ishah ra it is proven from a narration that she freed forty slaves upon a single instance alone. 2 From another narration it becomes evident that it was her practice to free slaves abundantly. Therefore, to assume that throughout the course of her entire life she only freed sixty-seven slaves, would most definitely be incorrect. Similarly, the number which has been attributed to the Holy Prophet sa , may be correct in relation to his personal circumstances, because his financial state at a personal level was not very good. Moreover, after the institution of these injunctions, the Holy Prophet sa only lived for a short period in time thereafter. However, this number definitely does not include those slaves who were freed by the Holy Prophet sa in his capacity as Head of the Islāmic State, the number of which was very great. Another thing to remember with respect to the Holy Prophet sa is that many narrations substantiate that 1 Subulus-Salāmi Al-Mūṣilatu Ilā Bulūghil-Marāmi, By Muḥammad bin Ismā‘īl Al-Amīruṣ-Ṣan‘ānī, Kitābul-‘Itqit-Targhību Fil-‘Itq, Volume 8, p. 105, Dārubnil-Jauzī, Al-Mamlikatul-‘Arabiyyatus- Sa‘ūdiyyah (1421 A. H. ) 2 Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Adab, Bābul-Hijrah, Ḥadīth No. 6073 - 6075