A man freed six of his slaves at the time of his death, and he had no other property besides them. When this reached the Prophet ﷺ, he was angered by it and said, "I was about to refuse to perform the funeral prayer over him."Then he called for the slaves, divided them into three groups, and drew lots among them. He freed two and kept four in slavery.
أخبرنا علي بن حجر قال أنبأنا هشيم عن منصور وهو ابن زاذان عن الحسن
أن رجلا أعتق ستة مملوكين له عند موته ولم يكن له مال غيرهم فبلغ ذلك النبي ﷺ فغضب من ذلك وقال لقد هممت أن لا أصلي عليه ثم دعا مملوكيه فجزأهم ثلاثة أجزاء ثم أقرع بينهم فأعتق اثنين وأرق أربعة
[Sahih] Reported by Ahmad, 4/430, from Hushaym through him. Hasan explicitly stated that he heard it directly, as recorded at 4/440, and it is also found in al-Kubra, hadith no. 2085. There is another route for it in Muslim, book of Oaths, chapter of one who frees his share in a jointly owned slave, hadith no. 1668.