وَحَدَّثَنَا أَبُو كُرَيْبٍ، مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْعَلاَءِ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا الأَعْمَشُ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، التَّيْمِيِّ عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ أَبِي مَسْعُودٍ الأَنْصَارِيِّ، قَالَ كُنْتُ أَضْرِبُ غُلاَمًا لِي فَسَمِعْتُ مِنْ خَلْفِي صَوْتًا " اعْلَمْ أَبَا مَسْعُودٍ لَلَّهُ أَقْدَرُ عَلَيْكَ مِنْكَ عَلَيْهِ " . فَالْتَفَتُّ فَإِذَا هُوَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ هُوَ حُرٌّ لِوَجْهِ اللَّهِ . فَقَالَ " أَمَا لَوْ لَمْ تَفْعَلْ لَلَفَحَتْكَ النَّارُ أَوْ لَمَسَّتْكَ النَّارُ " .
When I was beating my servant, I heard a voice behind me (saying): Abu Mas'ud, bear in mind Allah has more dominance over you than you have upon him. I turned and (found him) to be Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). I said: Allah's Messenger, I set him free for the sake of Allah. Thereupon he said: Had you not done that, (the gates of) Hell would have opened for you, or the fire would have burnt you.
Source: Sahih Muslim — repository translation · Imam Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Naysaburi — authenticity/grade metadata requires independent source review · Sunnah.comAudio not available for the selected reciter.
Source: Sahih Muslim — repository arabic · Imam Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Naysaburi · Sunnah.com