A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, "Messenger of Allah, my master gave me his slave-girl in marriage, and now he wants to separate us."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then ascended the pulpit and said, "People, what is the matter with one of you who marries his slave to his slave-girl and then wishes to separate them? Divorce belongs only to the one who holds the leg."
أتى النبي ﷺ رجل فقال: يا رسول الله إن سيدي زوجني أمته، وهو يريد أن يفرق بيني وبينها. قال: فصعد رسول الله ﷺ المنبر فقال: يا أيها الناس ما بال أحدكم يزوج عبده أمته ثم يريد أن يفرق بينهما، إنما الطلاق لمن أخذ بالساق.
Ibn Majah (2081) narrated from Muhammad bin Yahya, who said, Yahya bin Abdullah bin Bukayr told us, Ibn Lahia told us, from Musa bin Ayub Ghafiqi, from Ikrima, from Ibn Abbas, and he mentioned it. Its chain is daif because of Ibn Lahia, but it has corroborating narrations that strengthen it.Among them is what Daraqutni (4/37) and Bayhaqi (7/360) both narrated through another route, from Baqiya bin Walid, Abu Hajjaj Mahri told us, from Musa bin Ayub Ghafiqi, and he mentioned it. Abu Hajjaj Mahri is Rushdin bin Saad Masri, who is also daif. Bayhaqi said, "Ibn Lahia contradicted him and narrated it from Musa bin Ayub as a mursal narration," and this is what Daraqutni and Bayhaqi both narrated through the route of Musa bin Dawud, Ibn Lahia told us, from Musa bin Ayub, from Ikrima, that a slave came to the Prophet ﷺ, and he mentioned the hadith without mentioning Ibn Abbas in it.Among them also is what Tabarani narrated in Mujam al-Kabir from the hadith of Yahya Himani, Yahya bin Yaala told us, from Musa bin Ayub, as a raised (marfu) narration. Yahya Himani and his teacher Yahya bin Yaala, who is Aslami Kufi, are both daif.Similar in meaning is what was narrated from Isma bin Malik, who said, a slave came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, "My master married me off, and he wants to separate me from my wife." He said, so the Prophet ﷺ ascended the pulpit and said, "O people, divorce belongs only to the one who takes hold of the leg." This was narrated by Daraqutni (4/37), and its chain contains Fadl bin Mukhtar, from Ubaydullah bin Mawhab, from Isma bin Malik, and he mentioned it. Fadl bin Mukhtar is Abu Sahl Basri, who is very daif. Dhahabi mentioned him in Mizan (3/358) and said, Abu Hatim said, "His hadiths are unrecognized (munkar), he narrates falsehoods." And Ibn Adi said, "His hadiths are unrecognized (munkar), most of them are not corroborated."As for what was narrated from Abu Hasan, the freedman of the Banu Nawfal, that he sought a ruling from Ibn Abbas concerning a male slave who was married to a female slave, and he divorced her with two divorces, and then afterward they were both freed, whether it would be permissible for him to propose marriage to her. He said, "Yes, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ruled accordingly," this is daif. It was narrated by Abu Dawud (2187), Nasai (3427), Ibn Majah (2082), Ahmad (2031), and Bayhaqi (7/370–371), all of them through the hadith of Yahya bin Abu Kathir, from Umar bin Mutab, from Abu Hasan, and he mentioned it. Umar bin Mutab is very daif. Ibn Madini said of him, "His hadith is unrecognized (munkar)." And Nasai said, "He is not strong."Abu Dawud said, "I heard Ahmad bin Hanbal say, Abdul-Razzaq said, Ibn Mubarak said to Mamar, 'Who is this Abu Hasan? He has certainly borne a great burden.'" Abu Dawud said, "This Abu Hasan, Zuhri narrated from him. Zuhri said, 'He was among the jurists.' Zuhri narrated several hadiths from Abu Hasan." Abu Dawud said, "Abu Hasan is known, but this hadith is not acted upon." End of quote.And Bayhaqi said, after quoting Ibn Madini's statement about Umar bin Mutab, "He is unknown (majhul), no one narrated from him except Yahya."His statement, "Divorce belongs only to the one who takes hold of the leg," means that divorce is the right of the husband, who is the one entitled to take hold of the woman's leg, and this is not a right belonging to the master.