I say: He is weak because of his poor memory. Al-Haythamī likewise identified this as its defect, saying (4/244):

“In its chain is Muḥammad ibn Abī Laylā. He had a poor memory, although he was declared trustworthy.”

I say: Al-Bazzār also transmitted it through his chain (1/14/13—al-Kashf), but did not mention al-Ḥakam in its chain. He said:

“Something similar to this has been narrated in different wordings.”

I say: This wording, attributed to the Prophet, has another chain. Yazīd ibn Ḥakīm narrated: “Yaḥyā ibn al-Sakan narrated to us, from Qays ibn al-Rabīʿ, from Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit, from Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī, from Ḥunayn, from Ibn ʿAbbās,” with the same report, except that he said:

“I am obliged to free a believing slave …”

He did not mention his mother.

Al-Ṭabarānī recorded it in al-Awsaṭ (2/143/1/7212): “Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā narrated to us: Yazīd narrated to us,” with the same chain. He said:

“No one narrated it from Ḥabīb except Qays.”

I say: He is weak on account of his memory. Yaḥyā ibn al-Sakan—who was first from al-Raqqah and then from Basra—is weak, even though Ibn Ḥibbān declared him trustworthy.

Yazīd ibn Ḥakīm is of unknown status; Ibn Abī Ḥātim mentioned neither criticism nor accreditation concerning him.

As for the other wording, Saʿīd ibn al-Marzubān narrates it from ʿIkrimah, from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said:

A man came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, accompanied by a black slave woman, and said, “I am obliged to free a slave—I think he said: a believing slave—so will this suffice for me?” He asked her:

“Where is Allah?”