1010 – Samura b. Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Whoever kills his slave, we shall kill him; and whoever mutilates his slave, we shall mutilate him.” The tradition was transmitted by Aḥmad and the Four Sunan compilers, and al-Tirmidhī judged it ḥasan. It comes through the chain of al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī from Samura, and scholars have differed as to whether al-Ḥasan actually heard from him.

In another wording recorded by Abū Dāwūd and al-Nasāʾī there is the additional phrase: “And whoever castrates his slave, we shall castrate him.” Al-Ḥākim declared this addition authentic, and al-Dhahabī concurred (1).

Hadith grading:
The ḥadith is weak.
The author states: It was narrated by Imām Aḥmad and the Four, and al-Tirmidhī deemed it ḥasan. The report is via al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī from Samura b. Jundub, and there are three opinions regarding al-Ḥasan’s direct hearing from Samura: Ibn Maʿīn held that al-Ḥasan heard nothing from him; others say he heard from him only the ḥadith on ʿaqīqa; while Ibn al-Madīnī affirmed that al-Ḥasan did in fact hear from Samura. According to this last view the ḥadith is ṣaḥīḥ, but on the first two it is mursal and therefore disconnected. Moreover, Aḥmad’s version that runs: “from Qatāda, from al-Ḥasan, from Samura—though he did not hear from him,” is likewise disconnected. Other reports exist on this subject, yet none is conclusive.

As for the additional wording found in Abū Dāwūd and al-Nasāʾī, al-Ḥākim declared it authentic and al-Dhahabī agreed.

Vocabulary:
• jadʿ (mutilation): the cutting off of the nose, ear, or lip, but it is used most specifically for the nose.