Sahih Bukhari Volume 3, Book 51, Hadith 2579

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَشَّارٍ، حَدَّثَنَا غُنْدَرٌ، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ الْقَاسِمِ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُهُ مِنْهُ، عَنِ الْقَاسِمِ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ ـ رضى الله عنها ـ أَنَّهَا أَرَادَتْ أَنْ تَشْتَرِيَ بَرِيرَةَ، وَأَنَّهُمُ اشْتَرَطُوا وَلاَءَهَا، فَذُكِرَ لِلنَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ اشْتَرِيهَا فَأَعْتِقِيهَا، فَإِنَّمَا الْوَلاَءُ لِمَنْ أَعْتَقَ ‏"‏‏.‏ وَأُهْدِيَ لَهَا لَحْمٌ، فَقِيلَ لِلنَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم هَذَا تُصُدِّقَ عَلَى بَرِيرَةَ‏.‏ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ هُوَ لَهَا صَدَقَةٌ وَلَنَا هَدِيَّةٌ ‏"‏‏.‏ وَخُيِّرَتْ‏.‏ قَالَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ زَوْجُهَا حُرٌّ أَوْ عَبْدٌ قَالَ شُعْبَةُ سَأَلْتُ عَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ عَنْ زَوْجِهَا‏.‏ قَالَ لاَ أَدْرِي أَحُرٌّ أَمْ عَبْدٌ

Narrated By 'Aisha : I intended to buy Buraira but her masters stipulated that her Wala should be for them. When the Prophet was told about it, he said to me, "Buy and manumit her, as the Wala' is for the liberator." Once Buraira was given some meat, and the Prophet asked, "What is this?" I said, "It has been given to Buraira in charity." He said, "It is sadaqa for her but a gift for us." Buraira was given the option (to stay with her husband or to part with him). AbdurRahman (a sub-narrator) wondered, "Was her husband a slave or a free man?" Shu'ba (another sub-narrator) said, "I asked 'Abdur-Rahman whether her husband was a slave or a free man. He replied that he did not know whether he was a slave or a free man."