his brother, ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿAbd Allāh, from Abū Hurayrah, with a similar report. This version mentions a black slave girl who could not speak clearly. The man said, “I am obliged to free a believing slave.” The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asked her, “Who is your Lord?” She pointed toward heaven with her hand. He then asked, “Who am I?” She gestured with her hand between heaven and earth, meaning that he was the Messenger of Allah. The remainder is the same.

He also narrated a similar report through Abū Dāwūd al-Tayālisī, from al-Masʿūdī, with this chain of transmission. This version likewise mentions a slave girl without intelligible speech, unable to express herself clearly, and gives the wording, “Set her free.” He added, “On one occasion, al-Masʿūdī said, ‘Set her free, for she is a believer.’”

A report to much the same effect has also been narrated from ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Zuhrī, with a connected chain through Abū Hurayrah