Muwatta Malik 1489
موطأ مالك#1489SahihThese are the words of a Companion, not of the Prophet ﷺ. The chain is graded on its own terms.
حَدَّثَنِي مَالِكٌ، عَنْ نَافِعٍ، أَنَّ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ عُمَرَ، كَانَ يَقُولُ الْمُكَاتَبُ عَبْدٌ مَا بَقِيَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ كِتَابَتِهِ شَىْءٌ .
Malik related to me from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar said, "A mukatab is a slave as long as any of his kitaba remains to be paid
Scholarly Authentication
The label above is the grade most of these scholars gave — one dissenting opinion no longer speaks for all of them. If any scholar calls a narration fabricated, that verdict is shown instead, whatever the others say. Each scholar's own wording:
Salim al-HilaliMauquf Sahih
In-book reference: 39:1