title of chapter of Sahih Muslim book 10(hadith 3901) by Imam Nawawi

Question

I'm interested in following title of chapter of Sahih Muslim book 10 by Imam Nawawi :PERMISSIBILITY OF SELLING AN ANIMAL FOR AN ANIMAL OF ITS KIND BY SUPERIORITY.Does this mean that the position of the slaves(mentioned in hadith) is the same as animals? If not so what is the reason of naming the title in that way?

Answer 1

The Arabic word in issue here is الحيوان: Translating this as "animal" as was done here is technically valid (and by the same technicality, all humans are animals, not just the slaves), but in this context it would probably be better translated as "living creature".

Of particular note, this is exactly the same term used in the chapter on باب تحريم تصوير صورة الحيوان, or "The Prohibition Of Making Images Of Living Beings" which is commonly understood to refer to all forms of animate life, human or animal.