Book of Wala' (Clientage)

Allah the Almighty said: {And if you do not know their fathers, then they are your brothers in religion and your mawali (clients)} [33:5]. He means the adopted ones. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Wala' belongs to the one who emancipated" [1]. Sa'id narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us, from Abdullah ibn Dinar, from Ibn Umar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) forbade the sale of Wala' and its gift. It is mutually agreed upon [2]. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Allah has cursed the one who takes [as patrons] those other than his own mawali" [3]. Al-Tirmidhi said: This is a hasan sahih hadith. He (peace be upon him) also said: "The mawla (client) of a people is one of them" [4]. A sahih hadith. Al-Khallal narrated with his chain of authority from Isma'il ibn Abi Khalid, from Abdullah ibn Abi Awfa, who said: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to me: "Wala' is a bond like the bond of lineage; it is not sold and it is not gifted."

1050 - Issue: He said: (Wala' belongs to the one who emancipated, even if their religions differ).

The scholars have reached a consensus that whoever emancipates a slave, or upon whom a slave is emancipated, and does not emancipate him as a sa'ibah (an emancipated slave whose inheritance belongs to the public treasury), he possesses the Wala' over him. The basis for this is the statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him): "Wala' belongs to the one who emancipated." They also reached a consensus that the master inherits the entire estate of his freedman if he dies, provided their religions are the same and he does not leave behind any heir other than him. This is because of the statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him): "Wala' is a bond like the bond of lineage." Lineage is inherited through and from, and similarly, Wala' is [inherited]. Sa'id narrated from Abd al-Rahman ibn Ziyad: Shu'bah narrated to us, from al-Hakam, from Abdullah ibn Shaddad, who said: The daughter of Hamza had a freedman whom she had emancipated. He died and left behind his daughter and his emancipator, the daughter of Hamza. The Prophet (peace be upon him) gave his daughter the half and gave his emancipator, the daughter of Hamza, the half. He said: Khalid ibn Abdullah narrated to us, from Yunus, from al-Hasan, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Inheritance belongs to the asaba (agnatic heirs); if there are no [asaba, it belongs to the mawla]." And from him, that a man...