for them. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) heard this, and Aishah informed the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said: "Take her and stipulate the wala' (patronage), for the wala' belongs only to the one who manumits." Aishah did so, then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stood among the people, praised Allah, extolled Him, and then said: "To proceed, what is wrong with men who stipulate conditions that are not in the Book of Allah? Whatever condition is not in the Book of Allah is invalid, even if it were a hundred conditions. The decree of Allah is more worthy, and the condition of Allah is more binding, and the wala' belongs only to the one who manumits." [This is] agreed upon. Thus, he invalidated the condition, but did not invalidate the contract. Ibn al-Mundhir said: The report of Barirah is established, and we know of no report that contradicts it, so acting upon it is obligatory. If it is said: The intent of his saying "Stipulate the wala' for them" means against them, based on the fact that he ordered her to do it, and he would not order her to do something corrupt, we say: This interpretation is not valid for two reasons: First, the wala' belongs to her by virtue of her manumitting, so there is no need to stipulate it. Second, they refused the sale unless the wala' was stipulated for them, so how would he order her to do something he knows they would not accept from her? As for his ordering it, it is not an order in the literal sense; rather, it is a form of command meant to indicate equality between stipulating it and abandoning it, like the saying of the Almighty: {Ask forgiveness for them or do not ask forgiveness for them}, and His saying: {So be patient or do not be patient}. The implied meaning is: Stipulate the