to take him for an exemplar (33:21) and imitate him. His acting in this manner was undoubtedly based on his interpretation of the Quranic revelation, and that interpretation, of which the proof exists in his act, must be followed by all Muslims. He was divinely guided to act in this manner, and a Muslim who does not follow his example follows his own desire, instead of following the Divine guidance. But more than this, the Holy Prophet most emphatically laid it down that the master of a slave-girl should educate her, set her free and marry her: “The Holy Prophet said, There are three people for whom there is a double reward; a person belonging to the Ahl al-Kitāb who believes in his own prophet and believes in Muḥammad, and the slave owned by another when he performs his obligations towards Allāh and his obligations towards his master, and the man who has a slave-girl with him,44 then he teaches her good manners and instructs her well in polite accomplishment, and he educates her and gives her a good education, then he sets her free and marries her; he has a double reward” (Bu.3:31; 49:14,16; 56:145; 60:48; 67:13; M.16:14; AD.12:5. etc.). This ḥadīth which is repeated in the Bukhārī no less than six times, and is accepted by all the six reliable collections of Ḥadīth, claims a very high degree of reliability. If its words were only recommendatory, they would still show what reform the Holy Prophet desired to bring about, and combined with his own practice they lead to certain conclusion that his ultimate object was to raise slave-girls to a status of perfect equality with free women. But the recommendation is really of an imperative nature. It is not meant that the man who believes in his own prophet may reject the Holy Prophet Muḥammad, nor that the slave who performs his obligations towards his master may not care for his obligations towards God. The double reward is rather due to the fact that he overcomes a great temptation. A man who believes in one prophet thinks that it is sufficient for him, but this is not actually the case; a belief in the Holy Prophet Muḥammad is a greater necessity, as the man who believes in him believes in other prophets as well. Similarly, it is not sufficient for the slave to do his duty to his master; to bear in mind his obligations towards the Great Master is a greater necessity still. And thus, even if the master treats his slave-girl well, and gives her
44 In only one report of this ḥadīth (Bu. 3:31), some copies of Bukhārī add the words kāna yaṭ a’uhā after amat (slave-girl), in which case the meaning would be that he had a slave-girl with whom he used to have sexual relations, but the more authoritative copies do not contain these words. That this addition is a later interpolation is clear from the fact that Bukhārī narrates this ḥadīth five times again through different channels, and these words do not occur in any copy in all these places, nor is this addition met with in Muslim and Abū Dāwud. But even if the Holy Prophet spoke them, he was referring to the conditions that prevailed before this reform was introduced.