Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1154
جامع الترمذي#1154Sahihحَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ حُجْرٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا جَرِيرُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْحَمِيدِ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، قَالَتْ كَانَ زَوْجُ بَرِيرَةَ عَبْدًا فَخَيَّرَهَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَاخْتَارَتْ نَفْسَهَا وَلَوْ كَانَ حُرًّا لَمْ يُخَيِّرْهَا .
Aishah narrated:“Barfah’s husband was a slave, so the Messenger of Allah let her chose, and she chose herself, and if he was a free man she would not have had a choice.”
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:
Ahmad Muhammad ShakirSahih
Al-AlbaniSahih
Zubair Ali ZaiSahih Muslim
In-book reference: 12:9