Hadith: Walā' is for the one who manumits

عن عائشة بنت أبي بكر رضي الله عنهما قالت: كانت في بريرة ثلاث سنن: خُيِّرَتْ على زوجها حين عتقت. وأُهْدِيَ لها لحم، فدخل علي رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم والبُرْمَةُ على النار، فدعا بطعام، فَأُتِيَ بخبز وأُدْمٌ من أدم البيت، فقال: ألم أَرَ البرمة على النار فيها لحم؟ قالوا: بلى، يا رسول الله، ذلك لحم تُصدِّق به على بريرة، فكرهنا أن نطعمك منه، فقال: هو عليها صدقة، وهو منها لنا هدية. وقال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فيها: إنما الوَلاء لمن أعتق».
[صحيح] - [متفق عليه]

‘Ā’ishah bint Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: There were three Sunnahs established in connection with Barīrah: When she was manumitted from slavery, she was given the choice whether to remain with her husband or leave him. She was once given a gift of meat, and the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) came in while the pot of meat was cooking on the fire. He asked for something to eat so he was brought some bread and condiments from the household stock. Thereupon he asked: "Didn't I see a pot of meat cooking on the fire?" They said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah. That meat was given as charity to Barīrah, and you do not eat from charity." He said: "It is charity to her, and it is a gift from her to us." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said with regards to her: "Walā' (allegiance/inheritance) is for the one who manumits."
[Authentic hadith] - [Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim]

Explanation

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) recalls the blessings related to her freed bondmaid Barīrah, finding goodness in that deal of manumission that brought them close: Allah, the Almighty, legislated three Sunnahs related to her which remained as general religious rulings for all Muslims until the end of time. The first Sunnah: She was given the choice regarding her marriage. Barīrah was freed while being married to Mughīth, who was also a slave. So, she was given the choice to either remain married to him or to be separated from him, because after being freed from slavery, they were no longer equivalent in status as she was a free woman and he was still a slave. Equivalency of status is taken into consideration in this case. She chose to annul her marriage, and this became a Sunnah (permissible) for anyone else in a similar situation. The second Sunnah: she was given some meat as a charity while she was still living in the house of ‘Ā’ishah. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) came in while the meat was cooking on the fire. He asked for food so they brought him some bread and condiment which they normally ate. They did not bring him any of the meat that was given to Barīrah as charity because of their knowledge that he did not eat from charity. So he asked: "Didn't I see meat cooking on the fire?" They replied: "Yes, but it was given as charity to Barīrah and we disliked to give you any." So he said: "It is considered charity for her, and for us it is a gift from her." The third Sunnah: her former masters, when they agreed to sell her to ‘Ā’ishah, stipulated that her allegiance (or right of inheritance) would be to them, so that they would receive pride that she is ascribed to them and perhaps receive some material benefit from her, such as inheritance, or support, or other. So the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Walā' is for the one who frees the slave, not for the one who sells the slave or any other." Walā' is a relation between the master and the slave, after the latter's manumission, via which the master inherits the slave, in case he has no heirs or in case something is left after everyone takes his assigned share of the inheritance.