Marriage

Abdallah ibn Masud reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Young man, those of you who can support a wife should marry, for it keeps you from looking at strange women and preserves you from immorality; but those who cannot should devote themselves to fasting, for it is a means of suppressing sexual desire.”* (Bukhari and Muslim.) * Waja has been translated freely above. It means castration.

God’s Messenger objected to Uthman ibn Mazun living in celibacy. If he had given him permission we would have had ourselves castrated.

Abu Hurayrah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “A woman may be married for four reasons, for her property, her rank, her beauty and her religion; so get the one who is religious and prosper.”* (Bukhari and Muslim.) * Taribat yadaka literally, “may your hands cleave to the dust”. It is explained as being used to encourage one to action, and so it has been translated above by “prosper.”

Abdallah ibn Amr reported God’s Messenger as saying, “The whole world is to be enjoyed, but the best thing in the world is a good woman.”

Abu Hurayrah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “The best of the women who ride on camels are the good women of Quraish, for they are the most affectionate to small children and the most careful of what belongs to their husbands.”

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “I have not left behind me a trial more injurious to men than women.”

Abu Said al-Khudri reported God’s Messenger as saying, “The world is sweet and verdant, and God having put you in it in your turn watches how you act; so fear the world and fear women, for the first trial of the B. Israil had to do with women.”

a woman, a dwelling and a beast.

When we were near Medina on our return from an expedition in which we had accompanied the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) I told him that I had recently married.

He asked, “Have you married?” and when I told him that I had, he asked whether I had married a virgin or a woman who had previously been married. On my telling him that it was one who had previously been married he said, “Why did you not marry a virgin, so that you could play with her and she could play with you?”

Then when we arrived and were about to enter he said, “Wait so that we may enter by night, i.e. in the evening, in order that the woman with disheveled hair may comb it and the woman whose husband has been away may get herself ready.”* (Bukhari and Muslim.) * Tastahidd literally means to shave the hair on the private parts, and is explained as being used here in the sense or preparing herself for her husband’s enjoyment.

the slave whose master has agreed to let him buy his freedom when he wishes to pay the sum, the one who marries desiring to live a chaste life, and the one who fights in God’s path. Tirmidhi, Nasai and.

He reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When someone with whose religion and character you are satisfied asks your daughter in marriage, accede to his request. If you do not do so there will be temptation in the earth and extensive corruption.”

Maqil ibn Yasar reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Marry women who are loving and very prolific, for I shall outnumber the peoples by you.” Abu Dawud and Nasai transmitted it.

Abd ar-Rahman ibn Salim ibn Utba ibn ‘Uwaim ibn Saida al-Ansari, on his father’s authority, told that his grandfather reported God’s Messenger as saying, ‘Marry virgins, for they have the sweetest mouths, the most prolific wombs, and are most satisfied with little.’ Ibn Majah transmitted in mursal form.’

Ibn Abbas reported God’s Messenger as saying, “You have seen nothing like marriage for increasing the love of two people.” Ibn Majah transmitted.

Anas reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Those who wish to be pure and purified when they meet God should marry free women.” Ibn Majah transmitted.

Abu Umama told that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) used to say, “After fear of God a believer gains nothing better for him than a good wife who obeys him if he gives her a command, pleases him if he looks at her, is true to him if he adjures her to do something, and is sincere towards him regarding her person and his property if he is absent.” Ibn Majah transmitted.

Anas reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When a man marries he has fulfilled half of the religion; so let him fear God regarding the remaining half.” Baihaqi transmitted in Shuab al-iman.

Aishah reported the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) as saying, “The marriage which produces most blessing is that which involves least burden.” Baihaqi transmitted in Shuab al-iman.

A man came to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and told him he had contracted to marry a woman of the Ansar, to which he replied, “Then look at her, for there is something in the eyes of the Ansar.”* * Meaning that some of them have features which cause aversion.

Ibn Masud reported God’s Messenger as saying, “A woman must not come in close contact with another and then describe her to her husband, for that is as if he were looking at her.”

Abu Said reported God’s Messenger as saying, “A man must not look at a man’s private parts or a woman at a woman’s, and a man must not come close to a man in one garment or a woman to a woman in one garment.”

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “A man must not spend the night in the house of a woman who has been married unless he is her husband or a close relative.”

Uqbah ibn Amir reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Avoid going in where women are.” A man said, “Messenger of God, tell me about the relatives of a woman’s husband,” to which he replied, “The relatives of a woman’s husband are death.”* *The word “death” is used to indicate a strong prohibition, the idea being that they are a cause of temptation to a man’s wife.

Umm Salamah asked permission of God’s Messenger to be cupped and he ordered Abu Taiba to cup her. He said he thought he was her foster-brother, or a lad who had not reached the age of puberty.

I asked God’s Messenger about an accidental glance and he ordered me to turn my eyes away.

Jabir reported God’s Messenger as saying, “A woman advances in the form of a devil and retires in the form of a devil. When one of you is charmed by a woman and she affects his heart he should go to his wife and have intercourse with her, for that will repel what he is feeling.”

Jabir reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When one of you asks a woman in marriage, if he is able to look at what will induce him to marry her, he should do so.”

I asked a woman in marriage and God’s Messenger asked me whether I had looked at her. When I replied that I had not, he said, “Then look at her, for it is better that there should be love between you.”

God’s Messenger saw a woman who charmed him, so he went to Sauda who was making perfume in the company of some women. They left him, and after he had satisfied his desire he said, “If any man sees a woman who charms him he should go to his wife, for she has the same kind of thing as the other woman.”

He reported the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) as saying, “A woman should be concealed, for when she goes out the devil looks at her.”* * The basic idea is to lift up the eyes to look at something. Here it is explained as meaning either that the devil makes her attractive to men, or that he looks at her to seduce her and to seduce people by her.

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: to Ali, “Do not give a second look, Ali, for while you are not to blame for the first you have no right to the second.”

Amr ibn Shuaib, on his father’s authority, told that his grandfather reported the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) as saying, “When one of you marries his slave to his slave girl he must not look at her private parts.” A version has, “he must not look at what is below the navel and above the knee.”

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “Do you not know that the thigh is a private part?”

Ali told that God’s Messenger said to him, “Do not uncover your thigh, Ali, and do not look at the thigh of anyone alive or dead.”

Muhammad ibn Jahsh told that God’s Messenger came upon Mamar when his thighs were uncovered and said, “Cover your thighs, Mamar, for the thighs are private parts.” It is transmitted in Sharh as-sunna.

Ibn Umar reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Avoid being naked, for with you are those who never leave you (the recording angels) except when you are relieving yourselves and when a man has intercourse with his wife; so observe modesty before them and honour them.”

I was with God’s Messenger along with Maimuna when Ibn Umm Maktum approached and came in to visit him, so he told us to veil ourselves. I said, “Messenger of God, is he not blind and unable to see us?” He replied, “Are you blind and unable to see him?”

Bahz ibn Hakim, on his father’s authority, told that his grandfather reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Cover your private parts, except from your wife or your female slave,” and said he asked him to tell him what a man might do when alone. He replied, “God has most right to modesty from you.”

Umar reported the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) as saying, “Whenever a man is alone with a woman the devil makes a third.”

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “Do not visit women whose husbands are away from home, for the devil circulate in you like your blood.” He was asked if this applied to him also and said, “To me also, but God has helped me against him so that I may be safe.”

When the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) brought Fatima a slave whom he presented to her she was wearing a garment which did not reach her feet when she put it over her head, and did not reach her head when she covered her feet with it. Noticing her predicament, God’s Messenger said, “There is nothing to worry about. It is only your father and your slave.”

Umm Salamah told that once when the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was with her there was in the house a hermaphrodite who said to Abdallah ibn Abu Umayya, Umm Salamah’s brother, “If God conquers at-Taif for you tomorrow, I shall lead you to the daughter of Ghailan who has four folds of fat in front and eight behind.” Thereupon the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Do not let these people visit you.”

While I was walking along carrying a heavy stone my garment fell off and I was unable to get it. God’s Messenger saw me and said to me, “Put on your garment and do not go naked.”* * “Put on” is singular and “do not go” is plural, indicating that the first part of the sentence is addressed to al-Miswar and that the second is a general injunction.

Aishah said, “I never looked at (or, I never saw) God’s Messenger’s private parts.”

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “If any Muslim happens to look at a woman’s beauties and then lowers his eyes, God will produce for him an act of worship whose sweetness he will experience.”

Al-Hasan told in mursal form that he heard God’s Messenger had said, “God curse the one who looks and the one who is looked at!” Baihaqi transmitted it in Shuab al-iman.

Abu Hurayrah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “A woman without a husband* must not be married till she is consulted, and a virgin must not be married till her permission is asked.” When asked how her permission was indicated he replied that it was by her saying nothing. * Ayyim. This means a woman who has no husband. It may mean a woman who has not been married, whether a virgin or not, or a woman previously married who has no husband. See n. 2.

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “A woman without a husband has more right to her person than her guardian, and a virgin’s permission must be asked about herself, her permission being her silence.”

In a version he said, “A woman who has been previously married* has more right to her person than her guardian, and a virgin must be consulted, her permission consisting in her saying nothing.”

In another version he said, “A woman who has been previously married has more right to her person than her guardian” and a virgin’s father must ask her permission about herself, her permission being her silence. * Thayyib. This means a woman previously married who has no husband. In view of the context it is argued that ayyim is used above in this sense.

Khansa daughter of Khidham told that when her father married her when she had previously been married and she disapproved of that, she went to God’s Messenger and he revoked her marriage. A version by Ibn Majah has “the marriage her father.”

Aishah said that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) married her when she was seven, she was brought to live with him when she was nine bringing her toys with her, and he died when she was eighteen.

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “There is no marriage without a guardian.”

Aishah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “If any woman marries without the consent of her guardian her marriage is void, her marriage is void, her marriage is void. If there is cohabitation she gets her dower for the intercourse her husband has had. If there is a dispute*, the sultan is the guardian of one who has none.” * i.e., among guardians, Mirqat iii. 418 says that if their dispute would keep a woman from being married, they are treated as non-existent.

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, ‘Adulteresses are those women who marry themselves without evidence.’ The soundest view is that it does not go back farther than Ibn Abbas

Abu Hurayrah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “An orphan girl should be consulted about herself; if she says nothing that indicates her permission, but if she refuses, the authority of the guardian cannot be exercised against her will.” Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and Nasai transmitted it, and.

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “Any slave who marries without his master’s permission is a fornicator.”

Ibn Abbas told that a virgin came to God’s Messenger and mentioned that her father had married her against her will, so the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) allowed her to exercise her choice.

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “A woman may not give a woman in marriage, nor may she give herself in marriage, for the immoral woman is the one who gives herself in marriage.”

Abu Said and Ibn Abbas reported God’s Messenger as saying, “He who has a son born to him should give him a good name and a good education and marry him when he reaches puberty. If he does not marry him when he reaches puberty and He commits sin, its guilt rests only upon his father.” Baihaqi transmitted in Shuab al-iman.

Umar ibn al-Khattab and Anas ibn Malik reported God’s Messenger as saying that it is written in the Torah, “If anyone does not give his daughter in marriage when she reaches twelve and she commits sin, the guilt of that rests on him.” Baihaqi transmitted in Shuab al-iman.

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) came and entered when I had been conducted to my husband, and sat on my bedding as you are sitting beside me. Some little girls of ours began to play the tambourine and eulogise those of my ancestors who were killed at the battle of Badr, and then one of them said: “And among us is a prophet who knows what will happen tomorrow.” Thereupon he said, “Stop this and say what you were saying.”

Aishah told that when a bride was conducted to one of the Ansar, God’s Prophet said, “Have you no amusement? The Ansar are delighted by amusement.”

“God’s Messenger married me in Shawwal and cohabited with me in Shawwal, so which of the wives of God’s Messenger was more beloved by him than I?”

Uqbah ibn Amir reported God’s Messenger as saying, “The most worthy conditions you fulfil are those by which you make sexual intercourse lawful.”

Abu Hurayrah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “A man must ‘not ask a woman in marriage when his brother has done so already, until he marries or gives her up.’”

He reported God’s Messenger as saying, “A woman must not ask to have her sister* divorced in order to deprive her of what belongs to her, but she must marry, because she will have what has been decreed for her.” (Bukhari and Muslim.) * The word ‘sister’ is here used in a general sense. The tradition has been explained as referring to one of a man’s wives trying to get him to divorce another, but it probably refers to a woman whom the man has asked in marriage wanting him to divorce his wife before she marries him.

Ibn Umar said God’s Messenger prohibited shighar, which means that a man gives his daughter in marriage on condition that the other gives his daughter to him in marriage without any dower being paid by either. In a version by Muslim he said, “There is no shighar in Islam.”

Ali said that at the battle for Khaibar God’s Messenger forbade the temporary marriage (muta) of women, and eating the flesh of domestic asses.

In the year of Autas* God’s Messenger permitted a temporary marriage for three nights, but afterwards he prohibited it. *This was after the battle of Hunain in 8 A.H.

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “Every sermon which does not contain a tashahhud is like a hand cut off.”

He reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Every important matter which is not begun by an expression of praise to God is maimed.”

Aishah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Make this marriage publicly known, solemnise it in the mosques, and play tambourines in honour of it.”

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “The distinction between what is lawful and what is unlawful is the song and the tambourine at a wedding.” Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Nasai and.

I had a girl of the Ansar whom I gave in marriage, and God’s Messenger said, “Why do you not sing, Aishah, for this clan of the Ansar like singing?” Ibn Hibban transmitted it in his Sahih.

Aishah gave a woman relative of hers among the Ansar in marriage and God’s Messenger came and said, “Have you escorted the girl to her husband?” On being told that they had, he asked whether they had sent someone along with her to sing, and when she replied that they had not, he said, “The Ansar are a people who give a place to love songs. I wish you had sent with her someone to say, ‘We have come to you, we have come to you; so may God preserve us and preserve you’.”

Samurah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “If two guardians have given any woman in marriage she marries the man for whom the first arranged, and if anyone sells anything to two men it goes to the first of them.” Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Nasai and.

When we were on an expedition along with God’s Messenger and had no women with us we asked whether we should not have ourselves castrated, but he forbade us to do that. Then he granted us licence to contract temporary marriages, and one would marry a woman giving a garment as dower up to a fixed date. Then Abdallah recited, “You who believe, do not make unlawful the good things which God has made lawful for you” (Al-Ma’idah 5:87).

The temporary marriage applied only in the early days of Islam. A man would come to a settlement where he had no acquaintance and marry a woman for the period it was thought he would stay there, and she would look after his belongings and cook for him. But Ibn Abbas said that when the verse came down, “Except their wives or the captives their right hands possess,” (Al-Mu’minun 23:6) intercourse with anyone else became unlawful.

Going in and finding Qaraza ibn Kab and Abu Masud al-Ansari at a wedding where girls were singing I said, “Is this being done in the presence of you two who are companions of God’s Messenger and were present at Badr?” They replied, “Sit down if you wish and listen along with us, or go away if you wish, for we have been given licence for amusement at a wedding.” Nasai transmitted it.

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “A man may not marry a woman and her paternal aunt, or a woman and her maternal aunt.”

Aishah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “What is unlawful by reason of consanguinity is unlawful by reason of fosterage.”

My paternal uncle through fosterage came and asked permission to enter, but I refused to allow him till I asked God’s Messenger. When he came I asked him and he said, “He is your paternal uncle, so give him permission.” I replied, “Messenger of God, it was only the woman who suckled me and not the man” whereupon he said, “He is your paternal uncle, so let him come in where you are.” That was after seclusion was instituted for us.

Ali said, “Messenger of God, would you like the daughter of your paternal uncle Hamza, for she is the most beautiful girl in Quraish?” He replied, “Do you not know that Hamza is my foster-brother, and that God has prohibited by reason of fosterage what He has prohibited by reason of genealogy?”

Umm al-Fadl stated that God’s Prophet said, “Being suckled once or twice does not make marriage unlawful.” In Aishah’s version he said, “One or two sucks do not make marriage unlawful.” In another by Umm al-Fadl he said, “One suckling or two does not make marriage unlawful.” These are versions by Muslim.

Aishah said that in what was sent down in the Qur’an ten known sucklings made marriage unlawful, but they were abrogated by five known ones, and when God’s Messenger died these words were among what was recited in the Qur’an.

She said that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) visited her when a man was with her and he seemed to disapprove of that. She told him that he was her brother and he replied, “Consider* who your brothers are, for fosterage is that consequent on hunger” (Fosterage applies only to infants and not to children who are able to take solid food). * The verb is in the plural, indicating that this is a general instruction and not simply a reply to Aishah.

Uqba b. al-Harith said he married a daughter of Ihab ibn Aziz and a woman came and said she had suckled Uqba and the woman whom he had married, to which he replied, “I am not aware that you suckled me, and you did not inform me.”

So he sent to the family of Abu Ihab and asked them, and when they told him that they did not know whether she had suckled their daughter he rode to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) in Medina and asked him.

God’s Messenger said, “How can you hesitate when you have been told?” Uqba therefore separated from her and she married another husband.

At the battle of Hunain God’s Messenger sent an army to Autas, and they met an enemy and fought with them. Having prevailed over them and taken captives the Prophet’s companions seemed to hold back from having intercourse with them because of their husbands among the polytheists. Then God most high sent down regarding that, “And women already married, except those whom your right hands possess” (An-Nisa 4:24).

That means that they were lawful for them when their ‘idda* period came to an end. * The period which a widow or divorced woman must observe before remarriage. See Ch. 26.’

God’s Messenger forbade that a woman should be married to one who had married her paternal aunt, or a paternal aunt to one who had married her brother’s daughter, or a woman to one who had married her maternal aunt, or a maternal aunt to one who had married her sister’s daughter. A younger sister must not be married to one who has married an elder sister, nor an elder sister to one who has married a younger sister. Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Darimi and Nasai transmitted it, Nasai’s version ending with “her sister’s daughter.”

My maternal uncle Abu Burda ibn Niyar passed me carrying a standard, and I asked him where he was going. He replied, “The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) has sent me to bring him the head of a man who has married his father’s wife.” A version by Abu Dawud, Nasai, Ibn Majah and Darimi has, “He has ordered me to cut off his head and take his property.” This version has “my paternal uncle” instead of “my maternal uncle.”

Umm Salamah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “The only suckling which makes marriage unlawful is that which is taken from, the breast and enters the bowels, and is taken before the time of weaning.”

Hajjaj ibn Hajjaj al-Aslami quoted his father as saying, “Messenger of God, what will remove from me the obligation due for fostering a child.”* He replied, “A slave or a slave-girl of good quality.” *It is said that Arabs liked to give a woman who had fostered a child something over and above the hire. This tradition deals with the amount to be considered full compensation for services rendered. Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Nasai and.

When I was sitting with the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) a woman came forward and the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) spread out his cloak and she sat on it. Then when she went away someone said that this woman had suckled the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).

Ibn Umar told that Ghailan ibn Salamah ath-Thaqafi accepted Islam and that he had had ten wives in the pre-Islamic period who accepted Islam along with him; so the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) told him to keep four and separate from the rest of them.

When I accepted Islam I had five wives, so I consulted the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and he said, “Separate from one and keep four.” I therefore decided on the one who had been longest with me and had been barren for sixty years,* and separated from her. * This statement may seem strange when one considers that Naufal is said to have died in the Caliphate of Yazid ibn Muawiyah (60-64 A.H.).

Some say he lived 60 years in the pre-Islamic period and 60 years in Islam. Others says he died aged 100. He is said to have accepted Islam at the Conquest of Mecca. The tradition cannot mean that he had been married to this woman for 60 years; it probably indicates that she was both barren and much older than he. She was possibly his first wife.

Cf. Ibn Abu Hatim, al-Jarh wat-tadil, IV, i, 487 i.; Istiab, p. 293; Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib, x, 492; Isaba, iii, 1191. It is transmitted in Sharh as-sunna.

Ad-Dahhak ibn Fairuz ad-Dailamli told on his father’s authority that he had said, “Messenger of God, I have accepted Islam and I am married to two sisters.” He replied, “Choose whichever of them you wish.”

Ibn Abbas told that a woman who had accepted Islam married, and her husband (i.e. the one she had left to marry another when she became a Muslim) went to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and said, “Messenger of God, I have accepted Islam and she knew that I had done so.” So God’s Messenger took her away from her second husband and restored her to her first. In a version he said, “She accepted Islam along with me,” so he restored her to him.

In Sharh as-sunna it is related that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) restored a number of women to their husbands by the first marriage when they had both accepted Islam after the change of religion and dwelling. Among them was the daughter of al-Walid ibn Mughira, the wife of Safwan ibn Umayya. She accepted Islam on the day of the Conquest, but her husband fled from Islam.

Then his cousin Wahb ibn Umair was sent to him with God’s Messenger’s cloak as a guarantee of security to Safwan, and when he came God’s Messenger granted him a respite of four months before accepting Islam, so she stayed with him. Umm Hakim daughter of al-Harith ibn Hisham, the wife of Ikrima ibn Abu Jahl, accepted Islam in Mecca on the day of the Conquest, but her husband fled from Islam and went to the Yemen.

Umm Hakim journeyed and came to him in the Yemen, and when she invited him to accept Islam he did so, and they remained married.

Seven classes of women are prohibited by reason of consanguinity and seven by reason of relationship by marriage. He then recited, “Prohibited to you are your mothers…” (An-Nisa 4:23).

Amr ibn Shuaib, on his father’s authority, said that his grandfather reported God’s Messenger as saying, “If any man marries a woman and cohabits with her it is not lawful for him to marry her daughter, but if he does not cohabit with her he may marry her daughter; and if any man marries a woman it is not lawful of him to marry her mother whether he has cohabited with her or not.” Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a tradition which is not sound, with respect to its isnad.

It is transmitted only by Ibn Lahia and al-Muthanna b. as-Sabbah on the authority of Amr ibn Shuaib, and they are both declared to be weak in tradition.

“When a man has intercourse with his wife through the vagina, but being on her back, the child will have a squint,” so the verse came down, “Your wives are a tilth to you, so come to your tilth however you will” (Al-Baqarah 2:223).

He said that in the period when the Qur’an was coming down they used to withdraw the penis.* * i.e. before emission of semen, to avoid conception. (Bukhari and Muslim.) Muslim added that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) heard of that and did not prohibit it.

He told of a man who went to God’s Messenger and said, “I have a slave-girl who is our servant and I have intercourse with her, but do not want her to conceive.” He replied, “Withdraw your penis from her if you wish, for what is decreed for her will come to her.” After a time the man came and told him the girl had become pregnant, and he said, “I told you that what was decreed for her would come to her.”

We went out with God’s Messenger on the expedition to the B. al-Mustaliq (an expedition in 6 A.H) and took some Arab women captive, and we desired the women, for we were suffering from the absence of our wives. We liked withdrawing the penis and wanted to do so, but we asked ourselves whether we could do it when God’s Messenger was among us before asking him.

So we asked him about that and he replied, “It does not matter if you do not do it, for every soul that is to be born up to the day of resurrection will be born.”

He said that when God’s Messenger was asked about withdrawing the penis he replied, “The child does not come from all the liquid, and when God intends to create anything nothing can prevent Him.”

Sad ibn Abu Waqqas told of a man who came to God’s Messenger and said that he withdrew his penis from his wife. He asked him why he did that and the man replied that he feared for her child, so God’s Messenger said, “If that were injurious it would injure the Persians and the Greeks.”* * This is explained as referring to a woman who is suckling a child, and the fear that the child, would be injured if she became pregnant.

I was with God’s Messenger along with some people when he was saying, “I intended to prohibit suckling during pregnancy* but I considered the Greeks and the Persians and saw that they suckled their children during pregnancy without any injury being caused to their children thereby.”

Then they asked him about withdrawing the penis and God’s Messenger replied, “That is the secret burying alive” and reference is made to it in the words, “When the girl buried alive will be asked (At-Takwir 81:8).” *(Ghila. It means either suckling during pregnancy, or intercourse with a woman while she is suckling a child.

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “The most serious breach of trust in God’s sight on the day of resurrection…” A version has, “Among those who will have the worst position in God’s sight on the day of resurrection is the man who has intercourse with his wife, and she with him, and then spreads her secret.”* * i.e. talks about the subject to others, or tells people about defects or beauties he has found in her.

God’s Messenger received the revelation, “Your wives are a tilth to you, so come to your tilth…” (Al-Baqarah 2:223) that means from in front or behind, but avoid the anus and intercourse during menstruation.

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “God is not ashamed of the truth. Do not have intercourse with women through the anus.”

Abu Hurayrah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “He who has intercourse with his wife through her anus is accursed.”

He reported God’s Messenger as saying, “God will not look at him who has intercourse with his wife through her anus.” It is transmitted in Sharh as-sunna.

Ibn Abbas reported God’s Messenger as saying, “God will not look at a man who has intercourse with a man or a woman through the anus.”

Asma daughter of Yazid said she heard God’s Messenger say, “Do not kill your children secretly, for the milk with which a child is suckled while his mother is pregnant overtakes the horseman and throws him from his horse.”* * It is here said that a child which is suckled while his mother is pregnant will suffer from it in later life, the tradition speaking specifically of his being thrown from his horse and killed.

Umar ibn al-Khattab said God’s Messenger forbade withdrawing the penis from a free woman unless she gives permission.

Urwa told on Aishah’s authority that God’s Messenger said to her concerning Barira, “Take her and set her free.” Now her husband was a slave, so God’s Messenger gave her her choice and she chose to separate from him; but if he had been free he would not have given her her choice.

Barira’s husband was a negro slave called Mughith whom I can still picture going round behind her in the streets of Medina weeping with the tears flowing on his beard.

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said to al- Abbas, “Are you not astonished, Abbas, at Mughith’s love; of Barira and Barira’s hatred of Mughith?” The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) expressed a wish that she would take him back, but when she asked whether he was giving her a command and he replied that he was merely interceding, she said, “I have no need of him.”

Aishah said she wanted to set free two slaves of hers who were married, so she consulted the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and he ordered her to begin with the man before the woman. Abu Dawud and Nasai transmitted it.

She said that Barira became free when she was with Mughith and God’s Messenger gave her her choice saying, “If he has intercourse with you, you will not be allowed to exercise choice.”

Sahl ibn Sad told of a woman who came to God’s Messenger and offered herself to him. When she had stood for a long time (i.e. without receiving an answer) a man got up and said, “Messenger of God, marry her to me if you have no need of her.”

He asked him if he had anything to give her as dower, and when he replied that he had nothing but the lower garment he was wearing, he said, “Look for something, even though it should be an iron ring.” Then when the man had sought and found nothing God’s Messenger asked whether he knew any of the Qur’an, and when he replied that he knew surah so and so and surah so and so, he said, “I have given you her in marriage for the part of the Qur’an which you know.”

In a version he said, “Go away, for I have given you her in marriage; and teach her some of the Qur’an.”

Abu Salamah said he asked Aishah how much the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) had given as dower, and she replied that his dower to his wives was twelve uqiyas* and a nashsh. She asked whether he knew what a nashsh was, and when he replied that he did not, she said it was half an uqiya; so the total was five hundred dirhams. * The uqiya was 40 dirhams. Muslim transmitted it. Nashsh is in the nominative in Sharh as-sunna and all the sources.

Do not go to extremes in giving women their dower, for if it represented honour in this world and piety in Gods sight, the one of you most entitled to do so would have been God’s Prophet. I am not aware of God’s Messenger marrying any of his wives or giving any of his daughters in marriage for more than twelve uqiyas. Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Nasai.

Jabir reported God’s Messenger as saying, “If anyone gives as a dower to his wife two handfuls of flour or dates he has made her lawful for him.”

Amir ibn Rabia said that a woman of the B. Fazara was married for a dower of two sandals. When God’s Messenger asked whether she was satisfied with two sandals regarding her person and her property and she replied that she was, he gave his approval.

‘Alqama quoted Ibn Masud as saying he was asked about a man who had married a woman without fixing any settlement on her or cohabiting with her till he died. Ibn Masud said she should receive the type of dower given to women of her class with so diminution or excess, observe the ‘idda period and have her share of the inheritance.

Maqil ibn Sinan al-Ashjai then got up and said, ‘God’s Messenger gave a decision regarding Birwa’ daughter of Washiq, a woman of our tribe, to the same effect as the decision you have given; and Ibn Masud was pleased about the decision.’’

Umm Habiba said she was married to Abdallah ibn Jahsh who died in Abyssinia, so the Negus married her to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), giving her on his behalf a dower of four thousand. (A version has four thousand dirhams.) He sent her to God’s Messenger with Shurahbil ibn Hasana. Abu Dawud and Nasai transmitted it.

Abu Talha married Umm Sulaim, the dower between them being acceptance of Islam. Umm Sulaim had become a Muslim before Abu Talha, and when he asked her in marriage she said, “I have become a Muslim, so if you become one I shall marry you.” He then accepted Islam and that was the dower arranged between them. Nasai transmitted it.

Anas said the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) saw the trace of yellow on Abd ar-Rahman ibn Auf and asked what that was. He replied, “I have married a woman for a nawat* weight of gold.” He said, “God bless you! Hold a wedding- feast, even if only with a sheep.” *a weight of five dirhams.

He said that God’s Messenger did not hold such a wedding-feast for any of his wives as he did for Zainab. He held a wedding-feast with a sheep.

He said that God’s Messenger held a wedding-feast when he took up cohabitation with Zainab daughter of Jahsh and gave the people their fill of bread and meat.

He said that God’s Messenger set Safiya free and married her, making her freedom her dower, and he held a wedding-feast for her with hais (A dish made of dates mixed with clarified butter and dried curd, kneaded and rubbed together. Sometimes flour was added.)

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) stayed three nights between Khaibar and Medina when he took up cohabitation with Safiya, and I called the Muslims to his wedding-feast which included no bread or meat. He just ordered some cloths to be spread, and dates, dried curd and clarified butter were thrown on them.

Safiya daughter of Shaiba said the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) held a wedding-feast for one of his wives with two muds of barley.

Abdallah ibn Umar reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When one of you is invited to a wedding-feast he must attend it.” In a version by Muslim he said, “He must accept, whether it is a wedding-feast or something of that nature.”

Jabir reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When one of you is invited to a meal he must accept. If he wishes he may eat, but if he wishes he may leave the food alone.”

Abu Hurayrah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “The worst kind of food is that at a wedding-feast to which the rich are invited and from which the poor are left out. If anyone rejects an invitation he has disobeyed God and His Messenger.”

One of the Ansar whose kunya was Abu Shuaib had a servant who sold meat. He said, “Prepare for me food which will be enough for five; perhaps I shall invite the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) along with other four.” He prepared a small meal for him, and then he went and invited him. A man followed them, and the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “A man has followed us, Abu Shuaib, so if you wish you may let him join us, but if you wish you may leave him outside.” He replied, “No, I shall let him join us.”

Anas said the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) held a wedding-feast for Safiya with meal and dates.

Safinah told that Ali ibn Abu Talib prepared food for a man who was his guest, and Fatima said, “I wish we had invited God’s Messenger and he had eaten with us.” They invited him and when he came he put his hands on the side-posts of the door, but when he saw the figured curtain which had been put at the end of the house he went away.

Fatima said she followed him and asked, “What turned you back, Messenger of God?” He replied, “It is not fitting for me or for any prophet to enter a house which is decorated.”

Abdallah ibn Umar reported God’s Messenger as saying, “He who does not accept an invitation which he receives has disobeyed God and His Messenger, and he who enters without an invitation enters as a thief and goes out as a raider.”

A companion of God’s Messenger reported him as saying, “When two people come together to issue an invitation accept that of the one who lives nearer you, but if one of them comes before the other accept the invitation of the one who comes first.”

Ibn Masud reported God’s Messenger as saying, “The food on the first day is a duty, that on the second is a sunna, but that on the third day is to make men hear of it; and if anyone makes men hear of what he does God will make him heard of” (i.e. will publish his hypocrisy on the day of resurrection).

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) forbade that the food of two people who were rivalling one another should be eaten. Abu Dawud transmitted it. Muhyi as-Sunna said the sound version is that it comes from Ikrima from the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) in mursal form.

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “The invitations of two people who are rivalling one another should not be accepted, and the food they provide should not be eaten.” The imam Ahmad said it means two people who are competing with one another in providing a feast out of self-glory and ostentation. Baihaqi transmitted in Shuab al-iman.

Imran ibn Husayn said God’s Messenger forbade accepting invitations to food provided by profligates. Baihaqi transmitted in Shuab al-iman.

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “When one of you visits his brother Muslim he should eat of his food without asking questions and drink from what he provides without asking questions.” Baihaqi transmitted the three traditions in Shuab al-iman, saying that if is sound, it is because a Muslim would obviously give him only food and drink which were lawful in his opinion.

When God’s Messenger died he left nine wives, eight of whom he used to visit equally. (The next tradition explains this)

Aishah told that when Sauda became old she said, “Messenger of God, I appoint to Aishah the day you visit me” (Cf. the last tradition in this chapter). So God’s Messenger allotted two days to Aishah, hers and Sauda’s.

She said that during the illness of which God’s Messenger died he was asking, “Where do I go tomorrow? Where do I go tomorrow?” That was on Aishah’s day. His wives therefore permitted him to go where he wished, and he stayed in Aishah’s house till he died there.

She said that when God’s Messenger intended to go on a journey he cast lots among his wives and the one who was chosen by lot went on it with him.

It pertains to the sunna that when a man who has a wife marries a virgin he should stay with her for seven nights and then divide the time between them, but if he marries a woman who has been previously married he should stay with her three nights and then divide his time between his wives. Abu (Qilaba remarked that if he wished he could say that Anas traced it to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).

Abu Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman told that when God’s Messenger married Umm Salamah he said to her in the morning, “You are not being humbled in my estimation. If you wish I shall stay with you seven nights as I did with my other wives, but if you wish I shall stay three and then visit my wives in turn.” She replied, “Stay three nights.” In a version he said, “The virgin gets seven nights and the woman who has had a previous husband three.”

Aishah told that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) used to divide his time among his wives equally and say, “O God, this is my division concerning what I possess, so do not blame me concerning what Thou possessest and I do not.” Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Nasai.

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “When a man has two wives and does not treat them equally he will come on the day of resurrection with a side hanging down.” Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Nasai.

Ata told that when they were with Ibn Abbas at Maimuna’s funeral in Sarif he said, “This is God’s Messenger’s wife, so when you lift her bier do not shake her or disturb her, but be gentle with her, for God’s Messenger had nine wives with eight of whom he shared his time, but to one of them he did not allot a share.”

Ata said they heard that the one to whom God’s Messenger did not allot a share was Safiya who was the last of them to die. She died in Medina. Razin said that someone other than Ata declared she was Sauda, and that is sounder. She gave her day to Aishah when God’s Messenger intended to divorce her, saying to him, “Keep me. I have given my day to Aishah. Perhaps I may be one of your wives in paradise.”

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “Act kindly toward women, for they were created from a rib and the most crooked part of a rib is its top. If you attempt to straighten it you will break it, and if you leave it alone it will remain crooked; so act kindly towards women.”

He reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Woman has been created from a rib and will in no way be straight for you; so if you enjoy her you will do so while crookedness remains in her; but if you attempt to straighten her you will break her, breaking her being divorcing her.”

He reported God’s Messenger as saying, “A believer must not hate a believing woman; if he dislikes one of her characteristics he will be pleased with another.”

He reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Had it not been for the B. Israil meat would not have gone bad, and had it not been for Eve a woman would never have acted unfaithfully towards her husband.”

Abdallah ibn Zama reported God’s Messenger as saying, “None of you must whip his wife as a slave is whipped and then have intercourse with her at the end of the day.” A version has, “One of you has recourse to whipping his wife as a slave is whipped and perhaps he lies with her at the end of the day.” He then gave them an exhortation about laughing when someone breaks wind, saying, “Why does one of you laugh at what he does himself?”

I was playing with dolls in the Prophet’s house and I had companions who played with me; but when God’s Messenger entered they would withdraw from him. He would then send them to me and they would play with me.

I swear by God that I have seen the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) standing at the door of my room when the Abyssinians were playing with spears in the mosque and God’s Messenger was covering me with his cloak in order that I might look over his shoulder* at their sport. He would then stand for my sake till I was the one who departed; so estimate the time a young girl eager for amusement would wait. * Literally “between his ear and his shoulder.”

She told that God’s Messenger said to her, “I know when you are pleased with me and when you are angry with me.” She asked how he knew that and he replied that when she was pleased with him she said, “No, by Muhammad’s Lord,” but when she was angry with him she said, “No, by Abraham’s Lord.” She then said, “I swear by God, Messenger of God, that that is so; it is only your name that I omit.”

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “When a woman who has been called to come to her husband’s bed refuses and he spends the night angry, the angels curse her till the morning.” In a version by both of them he said, “By Him in whose hand my soul is, if any woman who has been called to come to her husband’s bed refuses, He who is in heaven is displeased with her till her t husband is pleased with her.”

Asma told of a woman who said, “Messenger of God, I have a fellow-wife; will it be wrong for me to boast of receiving from my husband what he does not give me?” He replied, “The one who boasts of receiving what he has not been given is like him who has put on the two garments of falsehood.”

God’s Messenger swore he would stay away from his wives for a month. His foot being dislocated, he stayed in an upper room for twenty-nine nights and then came down; and when it was remarked to him that he has sworn to stay away for a month, he replied, “The month has twenty-nine days.”* *This is most probably with reference to the month in question, as it cannot be considered a general statement.

Being jealous of the women who offered themselves to God’s Messenger I asked, “Does a woman offer herself?” Then when God most high sent down, “You may defer any of them you wish and take to yourself any you wish, and if you desire any you have set aside no sin is chargeable to you” (Al-Ahzab 33:51) said, “It seems to me that your Lord hastens to satisfy your desire.”

Aishah told that when she was with God’s Messenger on a journey she raced him on foot and beat him, but when she grew she raced him and he beat her. He said, “This makes up for that beating.”

She reported God’s Messenger as saying, “The best of you is he who is best to his family, and I am the best among you to my family. When one of you dies speak no ill of him.”

Anas reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When a woman observes the five times of prayer, fasts during Ramadan, preserves her chastity and obeys her husband, she may enter by any of the gates of paradise she wishes.”* * A way of saying nothing will prevent her from entering paradise. Abu Nuaim transmitted it in al-Hilya.

Abu Hurayrah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “If I were to order anyone to prostrate himself before another, I would order a woman to prostrate herself before her husband.”

Umm Salamah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Any woman who dies when her husband is pleased with her will enter paradise.”

Talq ibn Ali reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When a man calls his wife to satisfy his desire she must go to him even if she is occupied at the oven.”

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: no woman annoys her husband in this world without his wife among the large-eyed maidens saying, “You must not annoy him. God curse you! He is only a passing guest with you and is about to leave you to come to us.”

“Messenger of God, what right can any wife demand of her husband?” He replied, “That you should give her food when you eat, clothe her when you clothe yourself, not strike her on the face, and do not revile her or separate from her except in the house” (An-Nisa 4:34).

Laqit ibn Sabira told that he said, “Messenger of God, I have a wife who has something in her tongue,” meaning foul speech. He told him to divorce her, but when he replied that he had a son from her and she was a companion, he said, “Give her a command (meaning give her an exhortation), and if there is any good in her she will accept it; but do not beat your wife as you would beat your young slave-girl.”

Iyas ibn Abdallah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Do not beat God’s handmaidens;” but when Umar came to God’s Messenger and said, “The women have become emboldened towards their husbands,” he gave licence to beat them. Then many women went round God’s Messenger’s family complaining of their husbands, and he said, “Many women have gone round Muhammad’s family complaining of their husbands. Those are not the ‘best among you.’”

Abu Hurayrah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “He who makes a wife disaffected towards her husband or a slave towards his master is not one of us.”

Aishah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Among the believers who show most perfect faith are those who have the best disposition, and are kindest to their families.”

Abu Hurayrah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “The believers who show the most perfect faith are those who have the best disposition and the best of you are those who are best to their wives.” Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan sahih tradition, and Abu Dawud transmitted it up to “disposition.”

Aishah told that when God’s Messenger arrived after the expedition to Tabuk or Hunain the wind raised an end of a curtain which was placed before her storeroom, revealing some dolls which belonged to her.

He asked her what this was and she replied that they were her dolls. Among them he saw a horse with wings made of rags and asked what that was that he saw among them.

She told him that it was a horse, and when he asked what it was that it had on it and she replied that it had wings, he said, “A horse with wings!” She replied, “Have you not heard that Solomon had horses with wings?” She said that he laughed so heartily that she could see his back teeth.

I went to al-Hira and saw them prostrating themselves before a satrap of theirs, so I said, “God’s Messenger has most right to have prostration made before him.” When I came to God’s Messenger I said, “I went to al-Hira and saw them prostrating themselves before a satrap of theirs, but you have most right to have people prostrating themselves before you.”

He replied, “Tell me; if you were to pass my grave, would you prostrate yourself before it?” Then when I said that I would not, he replied, “None of you must do it. If I were to command anyone to make prostration before another I would command women to prostrate themselves before their husbands, because of the special right over them given to the husbands by God.” Abu Dawud transmitted it, and Ahmad transmitted it on the authority of Muadh ibn Jabal.

Umar reported the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) as saying, “A man should not be asked about why he beat his wife.”

“As for her statement that I make her break her fast when she is observing it, she keeps on fasting, and I am a young man who cannot contain himself.” God’s Messenger said, “A woman may fast only with her husband’s permission.”* He continued: “As for her statement that I do not pray till the sun rises; I belong to a family which has such a reputation, hardly awakening till the sun rises.”

He said, “Then when you awake, Safwan, you must pray.” * This refers to fasting which is not obligatory.

Aishah said that once when God’s Messenger was with a number of the Emigrants and Helpers a camel came and prostrated itself before him. Thereupon his companions said, “Messenger of God, beasts and trees prostrate themselves before you, but we have most right to do so.”

He replied, “Worship your Lord and honour your brother. If I were to order any one to prostrate himself before another, I would order a woman to prostrate herself before her husband; and if he were to order her to convey stones from a yellow mountain to a black one, or from a black mountain to a white one, it would be incumbent on her to do so.”

a runaway slave, till he returns to his patrons and puts his hand in theirs; a woman with whom her husband is displeased; and a drunkard, till he becomes sober. Baihaqi transmitted it in Shuab al-iman.

Abu Hurayrah told that when God’s Messenger was asked which woman was best he replied, “The one who pleases when he looks at her, obeys him when he gives a command, and does not go against his wishes regarding her person or property by doing anything of which he disapproves.” Nasai and Baihaqi, in Shuab al-iman, transmitted it.

a thankful heart, a tongue which makes mention of God, a body which shows endurance in trial, and a wife who does not seek to be unfaithful to in her person or his property. Baihaqi transmitted it in Shuab al-iman.

Ibn Abbas told that the wife of Thabit ibn Qais came to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and said, “Messenger of God, I do not reproach Thabit ibn Qais in respect of character or religion, but I do not want to be guilty of infidelity* regarding Islam.”

God’s Messenger asked her if she would give him back his garden, and when she replied that she would, he told him to accept the garden and make one declaration of divorce. * Meaning she did not like him and so was afraid she might not show him the respect due to a husband. Kufran, translated ‘infidelity’, can also mean ‘ingratitude’.

Abdallah ibn Umar said he divorced a wife of his while she was menstruating and that when Umar mentioned the matter to God’s Messenger he became angry and said, “He must take her back and keep her till she is purified, then has another period and is purified. If it then seems good to him to divorce her he may do so when she is pure from the menstrual discharge before having intercourse with her, for that is the period of waiting which God has commanded for the divorce of women.”

A version has, “Command him to take her back, then divorce her when she is pure from the menstrual discharge, or pregnant.”

Aishah said that God’s Messenger gave them their choice and they chose God and His Messenger; so that was not reckoned as counting in any way to their divorce.

One makes atonement for something he has made unlawful for himself.* You have had a good example in God’s Messenger. * i.e. something not in itself unlawful. It is treated like an oath for breaking which atonement must be made. The Prophet’s example refers to his withdrawing from his wives for a period.

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) used to spend time with Zainab daughter of Jahsh and that he once drank honey at her house, so Hafsah and she agreed that the one whom the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) visited first should say, “I notice that you have an odour of the gum of the mimosa.* Have you eaten some?”

When he visited one of them and she said that to him he replied, “Don’t worry; I drank some honey at the house of Zainab daughter of Jahsh, but I swear that I shall not do it again. Do not tell anyone of that.” desiring to please his wives, and then there came down, “O prophet, why do you hold to be forbidden what God has made lawful for you, desiring to please your wives?

(At-Tahrim 66:1). *Maghafir; plural of Mughfur, is here used. It is the gum of a kind of mimosa called ‘urfut, the odour of which is unpleasant.’”

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “If any woman asks her husband for divorce without some strong reason the odour of paradise will be forbidden to her.”

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “The lawful thing which God hates most is divorce.”

Ali reported the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) as saying, “There is no divorce before marriage, no manumission till one has possession, no continuous fasting, no orphan hood after the age of puberty, no suckling after weaning, and no silence all day up to the night”.* * Observing a complete day’s silence as a religious practice is rejected. It is transmitted in Sharh as-sunna.

Amr ibn Shuaib, on his father’s authority, said his grandfather reported God’s Messenger as saying, “No descendant of Adam may make a vow about what he does not possess, or set free what he does not possess, or divorce what he does not possess.” Tirmidhi transmitted it, and Abu Dawud added, “or sell what he does not possess.”

Rukana ibn Abd Yazid said he divorced his wife Suhaima absolutely and when the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was informed of that he said, “I swear by God that I meant it to be only a single utterance of divorce.” God’s Messenger asked him if that was so, and when he assured him that it was, he restored her to him. Then he divorced her the second time in the time of Umar and the third time in the time of Uthman.

marriage, divorce and taking back a wife after a divorce which is not final.

Aishah told of hearing God’s Messenger say, “There is no divorce or emancipation in case of ighlaq.” It is said that the meaning of ighlaq is “constraint”.

Abu Hurayrah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Every divorce is allowable except that by an idiot or one whose mind is deranged.” Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition, and Ata ibn Ajlan, the transmitter, is a weak authority whose traditions are rejected.

a sleeper till he awakes, a boy till he reaches puberty, and an idiot till he is restored to reason. Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud transmitted it. Darimi transmitted it on the authority of Aishah, and Ibn Majah on the authority of both (i.e. Ali and Aishah

Aishah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “The divorce of a slave-woman consists in saying it twice, and her ‘idda period is two courses.’”

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “Women who withdraw themselves from their husbands and women who persuade their husbands to divorce them for a compensation are hypocrites.”* *This type of separation should be by mutual consent. Nasai transmitted it.

Nafi quoted a client to Safiya daughter of Abu Ubaid to the effect that she got a divorce from her husband in return for everything she possessed and that Abdallah ibn Umar made no objection to that.

Mahmud ibn Labid told that when God’s Messenger was informed about a man who had divorced his wife declaring it three times without any interval between them, he arose in anger and said, “Is sport being made of the Book of God who is great and glorious while I am among you?” As a result a man got up and said, “Messenger of God, shall I kill him?” Nasai transmitted it.

Malik told of hearing that a man said to Abdallah Ibn Abbas, “I have divorced my wife, uttering the divorce a hundred times, so what do you think I have made myself liable for?” Ibn Abbas replied, “She was divorced from you by three utterances, and by ninety-seven you have made a mockery of God’s verses.” He transmitted it in al- Muwatta.

Muadh ibn Jabal told that God’s Messenger said to him, “Muadh, God has created nothing on the face of the earth dearer to Him than emancipation, and God has created nothing on the face of the earth more hateful to Him than divorce.” Daraqutni transmitted it.

Aishah told that the wife of Rifaa al-Qurazi came to God’s Messenger and said, “I was married to Rifaa but he divorced me, making my divorce irrevocable. Afterwards I married Abd ar-Rahman b. az- Zubair, but all he possesses is like the fringe of a garment.” He asked her whether she wanted to return to Rifaa, but when she replied that she did, he said, “You may not until Abd ar-Rahman and you have experienced the sweetness of intercourse with one another.”

Abdallah ibn Masud said that God’s Messenger cursed the man who made a woman lawful for her first husband and the one for whom she was made lawful.* * This refers to an arrangement to marry a divorced woman and to divorce her after having intercourse so that the one who had divorced her might remarry her. Darimi transmitted it, and Ibn Majah transmitted it on the authority of Ali Ibn Abbas and Uqbah ibn Amir.

Sulaiman ibn Yasar said he met over ten of the companions of God’s Messenger all of whom said that the one who swears to stay away from his wife must be made to return to her or divorce her at the end of the period. It is transmitted in Sharh as-sunna.

Abu Salamah told that Sulaiman ibn Sakhr, also called Salamah ibn Sakhr al-Bayadi, made his wife like his mother’s back* to him till the end of Ramadan, but when only half the month had gone he had inter-course with her during the night and went to God’s Messenger and mentioned that to him.

He told him to set free a slave, but he replied that he could not get one; so he told him to fast two consecutive months, but he replied that he was unable to do that; he then told him to feed sixty poor people, but he replied that he did not possess the means, God’s Messenger then said to Farwa ibn Amr, “Give him that ‘araq (i.e., a date-basket holding fifteen or sixteen sa’s) (Cf. page 426) in order that he may feed sixty poor people.’ Tirmidhi transmitted it. *I have retained the Arabic idiom in the translation.

The phrase is said to have been used as a kind of divorce in pre-Islamic times, meaning that intercourse with the woman is being considered as intercourse with one’s mother.”

“I was a man who was more given than others to sexual intercourse.” Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah and Darimi transmitted. The version of Abu Dawud and Darimi has, “Feed sixty poor people with a camel-load of dates.”

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) as saying about one who vows to make his wife like his mother’s back and has intercourse with her before making atonement, “There is one atonement.”* * Atonement for breaking the vow should be made before doing so, but if the vow is broken then the same atonement is enough.

A man who had vowed to make his wife like his mother’s back had intercourse with her before making atonement, so he went to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and mentioned that to him.

He asked him what had induced him to do that and he replied, “Messenger of God, I saw the whiteness of her silver anklets in the moonlight and could not restrain myself from having intercourse with her.” God’s Messenger laughed and ordered him not to go near her till he had made atonement. Ibn Majah transmitted it, and Tirmidhi transmitted something similar, saying this is a hasan sahih gharib tradition.

Abu Dawud and Nasai transmitted something similar both with a full isnad and in mursal form, Nasai saying that the mursal version is nearer the truth than the one with a full isnad.

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) made a man and his wife invoke curses when the man disowned her child, and separated them and attributed the child to the woman. In his tradition transmitted by both of them it says that God’s Messenger exhorted and admonished the man and informed him that punishment in this world is easier than that in the next. He then summoned the woman and exhorted and admonished her and told her that punishment in this world is easier than that in the next.

He reported the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) as saying to two who were invoking curses regarding one another, “Your reckoning is in God’s hands, for one of you is lying.”

He then told the man that he could not remarry her, whereupon he said, “Messenger of God, what about my property?”* He replied, “There is no property for you. If you have spoken the truth, it is the price of your having had the right to intercourse with her; and if you have lied against her, it is more remote still from you than she is.” * Referring to the dower be had paid.

Abu Hurayrah told that Sad ibn Ubada asked, “If I were to find a man with my wife, should I not touch him before bringing four witnesses?” Then when God’s Messenger replied that that was so, he said, “By no means. I swear by Him who has sent you with the truth that I would take my sword to him before that.” God’s Messenger said, “Listen to what your chief says. He is jealous of his honour, but I am more jealous than he is and God is more jealous than I am.”

Al-Mughirah told that Sad b Ubada said, “If I saw a man with my wife I would strike him with the sword, and not with the flat of it.” When God’s Messenger heard of that he said, “Are you surprised at Sad’s jealousy? I swear by God that I am more jealous than he is and that God is more jealous than I am. Because of God’s jealousy He has prohibited abominations both open and secret.

No one is fonder of receiving an excuse than God, on which account He has sent warners and announcers of good news; and no one is fonder of praise than God, on which account God has promised paradise.”

Abu Hurayrah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “God most high is jealous of His honour, and the believer is jealous. God’s jealousy is to the effect that a believer should not commit what God has prohibited.”

He told of a desert Arab who came to God’s Messenger and said, “My wife has given birth to a black son and I have disowned him.” God’s Messenger asked him whether he had any camels, and when he replied that he had, he asked what their colour was and was told that they were red.

He asked if there was a dusky one among them, and was told that there were some. He asked how he thought that had come about, and was told that it was a strain to which they had reverted. Then saying that this was perhaps a strain to which the child had reverted, he did not permit him to disown him.

Aishah said that Utba ibn Abu Waqqas enjoined his brother Sad ibn Abu Waqqas that the son of Zama’s slave girl was his, and told him to look after him. In the year of the Conquest Sad took him, saying he was his brother’s son, but Abd ibn Zama claimed him as his brother. They made a simultaneous plea to God’s Messenger, Sad saying, “Messenger of God, my brother has enjoined me regarding him,” and Abd ibn Zama saying, “He is my brother and the son of my father’s slave girl, being born on his bed.”

God’s Messenger then said, “He belongs to you, Abd ibn Zama, for the child is attributed to the one on whose bed it is born, and the fornicator is deprived of any right.”1 He then told Sauda daughter of Zama to veil herself from him because of the resemblance to Utba which he saw in him, and he did not see her till he went into God’s presence.2 In a version he said, “He is your brother, Abd ibn Zama because he was born on his father’s bed.”3 1.

Al-hajar. This might alternatively mean that the fornicator is to be stoned. 2. i.e., until he died. 3. This explanatory addition does not occur in Masabih as-sunna.

One day God’s Messenger visited me looking pleased and asked if I was not surprised to hear that Mujazziz al-Mudlijl1 had entered, and seeing Usamah and Zaid2 with a rug over them covering their heads and letting their feet appear, said, “These feet are related.” (Bukhari and Muslim.) 1. Members of the tribe of Mudlij were said to have a reputation for being able to trace relationship from physical features. 2. Usamah was Zaid’s son.

Sad ibn Abu Waqqas and Abu Bakra reported God’s Messenger as saying, “If anyone knowingly claims as father one who is not his father, paradise is forbidden to him.”

‘Abu Hurayrah reported God’s Messenger as saying, ‘Do not turn against your fathers, for he who turns against his father has become an infidel.’’

“Any woman who brings into a family one who does not belong to it can expect no mercy from God (or is no observer of God’s religion) and God will not bring her into His paradise; and God will veil Himself from any man who disowns his child when he looks at him, and shame him in the presence of all creatures, first and last.” Abu Dawud, Nasai and Darimi transmitted it. 1. Al-Qur’an 24:6.

Ibn Abbas told of a man coming to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and saying, “I have a wife who rejects no one who wishes intercourse with her,” but when he told him to divorce her he replied that he loved her, so he told him that in that case he should keep her. Abu Dawud and Nasai transmitted it, Nasai saying that one of the transmitters traced it to Ibn Abbas and that one did not, adding that this tradition is not well established.

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) decided regarding one who is treated as a member of a family after the death of his father to whom he is attributed when the heirs say he is one of them, that if he is the child of a slave woman whom the father owned when he had intercourse with her he is included among those who seek his inclusion, but gets none of the inheritance which was previously divided;* he however gets his portion of the inheritance which has not already been divided, but if the father to whom he is attributed had disowned him he is not joined to the heirs.

If he is the child of a slave woman whom the father did not possess or of a freewoman with whom he had illicit intercourse, he is not joined to the heirs and does not inherit even if the one to whom he is attributed is the one who claims paternity, for he is a child of fornication whether his mother was free or a slave. Abu Dawud transmitted it. *Mirqat 3:506 explains this as a reference to what had happened in the pre-Islamic period.

Jabir ibn ‘Atik reported God’s prophet as saying, ‘There is jealousy which God loves and jealousy which God hates. That which He loves is jealousy regarding a matter of doubt, and that which He hates is jealousy regarding something which is not doubtful. There is pride which God hates and pride which God loves. That which He loves is a man’s pride when fighting and when giving sadaqa, and that which God hates is pride shown by boasting.’ A version has ‘by oppression.’ Ahmad, Abu Dawud and Nasai transmitted it.’

Amr ibn Shuaib, on his father’s authority, said that his grandfather told of a man who got up and said, “Messenger of God, so and so is my son; I had illicit intercourse with his mother in the pre-Islamic period.” God’s Messenger replied, “There is no unlawful claiming of paternity in Islam. What was done in pre-Islamic times has been annulled. The child is attributed to the one on whose bed it is born, and the fornicator is deprived of any right.”

* a Christian woman married to a Muslim, a Jewess married to a Muslim, a freewoman married to a slave, and a slave woman married to a freeman. *That is the mutual invoking of curses with which this chapter deals.

When the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) ordered a man and wife to invoke curses regarding one another, he ordered a man to put his hand on his mouth when he came to the fifth utterance, saying that it would be the deciding one. Nasai transmitted it.

Aishah said that once when God’s Messenger went out from her during the night she was jealous regarding him. Then when he came and saw what she was doing he said, “What is the matter with you, Aishah? Are you jealous?”

She replied, “Why should one like me not be jealous regarding one like you?” He said, “Your devil has come to you.” She asked, “Messenger of God, have I a devil?” He told her that she had, and when she asked him whether he had one he replied, “Yes, but God has helped me against him so that I may be safe.”

Aishah said that Fatima was in a lonely place and fear was entertained regarding the district where she was, so the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) gave her permission, i.e., to remove. In a version she asked what was the matter with Fatima and whether she did not fear God, i.e., with reference to her saying that she had no place to live and no maintenance.

Fatima was removed simply because she had so much to say against her husband’s relatives. It is transmitted in Sharh as-sunna.

My maternal aunt was divorced by three utterances of the divorce and wanted to cut down fruit from her palm-trees, but a man forbade her to go out, so she went to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and he said, “Certainly, cut down fruit from your palm-trees, for perhaps you may give sadaqa or do an act of kindness.”

Some nights after her husband’s death Subaia al-Aslamiya gave birth to a child. Then she went to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and asked permission to marry. He gave her permission and she married.

“Messenger of God, my daughter’s husband has died and her eye is troubling her, so may we apply collyrium to it?” He said “No” twice or thrice, saying only “No” all the time.

Then he said, “It is only four months and ten days, whereas in the pre-Islamic period none of you threw away the piece of dung till a year had passed.”* * The reference is to a pre-Islamic custom by which a widow threw a piece of dung when her idda period came to an end. Cf. Lane, Lexicon and Taj al-‘arus; Mirqat, 3:513 f.’

Umm Habiba and Zainab daughter of Jahsh reported God’s Messenger as saying, “It is not lawful for a woman who believes in God and the last day to observe mourning for one who has died more than three nights, except for the four months and ten days in the case of a husband.”

Umm Atiya reported God? Messenger as saying, “A woman must not observe mourning for one who has died more than three nights, except for the four months and ten days in the case of a husband, and she must not wear a dyed garment except one of the type made of dyed yarn,1 or apply collyrium, or touch perfume except for a little costus or azfar2 when she has been purified after her courses.” 1.

Asb. This word is applied to a type of Yemen garment which was made of cloth which was dyed before being woven. 2. A certain odoriferous substance resembling finger-nails, used in incense. (Bukhari and Muslim.) Abu Dawud added, “or apply henna.”

Al-Furaia daughter of Malik ibn Sinan and sister of Abu Said al-Khudri informed her that she went to God’s Messenger and asked to be allowed to return to her people among the B. Khudra, for her husband had gone out in search of some slaves of his who had run away and they had killed him.

She said she asked God’s Messenger to be allowed to return to her people, for her husband had not left her in a house which belonged to him, nor had he left any maintenance and that when he agreed she went away, but when she was in the courtyard (or in the mosque) he called her and said, “Stay in your house till the prescribed period is ended.”

She said that she observed the period in it for four months and ten days. Malik, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Nasai.

God’s Messenger came to visit me when Abu Salamah died, and I had put the juice of aloes on myself. He asked me what it was, and I told him it was only the juice of aloes and contained no perfume, so he said, “It gives the face a glow, so apply it only at night and remove it in the daytime, and do not comb yourself with scent or henna, for it is a dye.”

I asked God’s Messenger what I should use when combing myself, and he told me to use lote-tree leaves and smear my head copiously with them. Abu Dawud and Nasai transmitted it.

She reported the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) as saying, “One whose husband has died must not wear garments dyed with saffron or red clay, or jewels, and she must not apply henna or collyrium.”

Sulaiman ibn Yasar told that al-Ahwas died in Syria when his wife whom he had divorced was at the beginning of her third menstrual period, as Muawiyah ibn Abu Sufyan wrote to Zayd ibn Thabit asking him about that. Zaid wrote in reply that when she began her third period she was free from him and he was free from her; he could not inherit from her or she from him.

Said b. al-Musayyib reported Umar ibn al-Khattab as saying, “If any woman is divorced and has one or two menstrual periods then stops menstruating she must wait nine months, and if it is apparent that she is pregnant the rules concerning that are applied; otherwise she must observe a period of three months after the nine months are ended, after which she may lawfully remarry.”

When the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) passed a woman who was near the time to be delivered of a child he asked about her and was told that she was so and so’s slave woman.

He asked whether he was having sexual intercourse with her, and when he was told that he was, he said, “I am inclined to invoke a curse on him which will enter his grave with him. How can he take the child into his service when that is not lawful for him, or how can he make it an heir when that is not lawful for him?”* * The reason for the curse is said to be because he did wait the prescribed period after acquiring the woman and so could not know whether the child was his or not.

If he treated the child as a slave he might be enslaving his own son, and if he treated it as an heir he might be doing this to one who was not his son.

Abu Said al-Khurdi traced to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) the following statement regarding the captives taken at Autas, “There must be no intercourse with a pregnant woman till she gives birth to her child, or with one who is not pregnant till she has had one menstrual period.”

Ruwayfi ibn Thabit. reported God’s Messenger as saying on the day of Hunain, “It is not lawful for a man who believes in God and the last day to water what another has sown with his water (meaning intercourse with women who are pregnant); it is not lawful for a man who believes in God and the last day to have intercourse with a captive woman till she has had a menstrual period; and it is not lawful for a man who believes in God and the last day to sell spoil till it is divided.” Abu Dawud transmitted it, and Tirmidhi transmitted it up to “what another has sown with his water.”

Malik said he heard that God’s Messenger used to command that no intercourse be had with slave women till they had had a menstrual period if they were of the number who had such periods, or till three months had passed in the case of those who did not, and forbid watering another man’s water. Razin transmitted.

When a girl with whom intercourse might be had was given as a present, or sold, or set free, it was necessary to wait till she had had a menstrual period, but that this was unnecessary in the case of a virgin. Razin transmitted.

Aishah told that Hind daughter of Utba said, “Messenger of God, Abu Sufyan is a niggardly man who does not give me and my son enough; except what I take from him without his knowledge.” He replied, “Take what is enough for you and your son to the extent recognised by the law.”* * Bil maroof. This is what is generally recognised as reasonable. The amount would vary according to the circumstances of the people.

Jabir ibn Samurah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When God prospers any of you he should spend first on himself and his family.”

Abu Hurayrah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “A slave is entitled to his food and clothing, and he should have imposed on him only such work as he is capable of doing.”

Abu Dharr reported God’s Messenger as saying, “God has put your brethren under your authority, so he who has his brother put under his authority by God must feed him from what he eats, clothe him from what he wears, and not impose on him work which is too much for him, but if he does so he must help him with it.”

Abdallah ibn Amr told that a steward of his came to him and he asked him whether he had given the slaves their food. When he replied that he had not, he told him to go and give it to them, for God’s Messenger had said, “It is a serious enough fault for a man to withhold his food from one whom he possesses.” A version has, “It is a serious enough fault for a man to destroy one he is bound to sustain.”

Abu Hurayrah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When anyone’s servant prepares his food and brings it to him after being near its heat and smoke, he should make him sit down with him and eat; but if the company is large* and the food small in quantity he should put one or two mouthfuls of it in his hand.” * Mashfuhan qalilan. The word mashfuhan is applied either to food which is small in quantity, or to food which is being partaken of by a number of people.

The latter meaning obviously applies here as it is followed by qalil (small in quantity); but some people understand mashfuh here as ‘small in quantity’ followed by qalil expressing the same meaning.

Abdallah ibn Umar reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When a slave acts sincerely towards his master and worships God well, he has a double reward.”

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “How excellent it is for a slave to be taken in death by God when worshipping his Lord well and obeying his master! How excellent it is for him!”

Jarir reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When a slave runs away his prayer is not accepted.” In a version on his authority he said, “If any slave runs away protection does not apply to him.” In another version on his authority he said, “If any slave runs away from his masters he has become an infidel till he returns to them.”

Abu Hurayrah told that he heard Abul Qasim (i.e. the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)) say, “If any one reviles his slave when he is innocent of what he said, he will be beaten on the day of resurrection, unless it is as he said.”

Ibn Umar told that he heard God’s Messenger say, “If anyone beats a servant for an offence he did not commit, or slaps him, the atonement due from him is to set him free.”

When I was beatinig a servant of mine I heard a voice behind me saying, “Know, Abu Masud, that God has more power over you than you have over him.” On turning round and seeing that it was God’s Messenger, I said, “Messenger of God, he is free for God’s sake.” He replied, “If you had not done it the fire would have burned you,” or, “the fire would have touched you.”

Amr ibn Shuaib, on his father’s authority, said his grandfather told of a man coming to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and saying, “I have property and my father is in need of my property.” He replied, “You and your property belong to your father. Your children are among the finest things you acquire. Eat of what your children acquire.”

On his father’s authority he said his grandfather told of a man coming to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and saying, “I am poor with no possessions and I have an orphan to care for.” He replied, “Eat from your orphan’s property, provided you are not extravagant, or take anything before you need it, or store up any of it.” Abu Dawud, Nasai and.

Umm Salamah told that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was saying during his illness, “Maintain the prayer and care for your slaves.” Baihaqi transmitted it in Shuab al-iman, and Ahmad and Abu Dawud transmitted something similar on the authority of Ali.

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “One who treats badly those under his authority will not enter paradise.”

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:, “Treating those under one’s authority well produces prosperity, but an evil nature produces evil fortune.” Abu Dawud transmitted it, but only in al-Masabih have I seen the additional words, “Sadaqa guards against an evil type of death and kindness lengthens life.”

Abu Said reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When one of you beats his servant and he makes mention of God, you must stop beating him.” Tirmidhi and Baihaqi, in Shuab al-iman, transmitted it, but the latter has, “he should stop” instead of “you must stop beating him.”

Abu Ayyub told of hearing God’s Messenger say, “If anyone separates a mother from her child, God will separate him from his friends on the day of resurrection.”

God’s Messenger presented me with two youths who were brothers, and when I sold one of them God’s Messenger asked me, “What has happened to your young man, Ali?” When I told him he said, “Get him back, get him back.”

He said he separated a slave girl from her child, but when the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) forbade him to do that he cancelled the transaction.

gentleness towards the weak, affection towards parents, and kindness to slaves.

Abu Umama told that God’s Messenger gave Ali a youth and said, “Do not beat him, for I have been prohibited from beating people who observe the prayer, and I have seen him praying.” This is the wording in al-Masabih.

In al-Mujtaba by Daraqutni Umar ibn al-Khattab is reported as saying, “God’s Messenger forbade us to beat people who observe the prayers.”

Abdallah ibn Umar told that a man came to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and said, “Messenger of God, how often shall I forgive a servant?” He gave no reply, so the man repeated what he had said, but he still kept silence. When he asked a third time he replied, “Forgive him (The verb is in the plural) seventy times daily.” Abu Dawud transmitted it, but Tirmidhi transmitted it from Abdallah ibn Amr.

Abu Dharr reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Feed those of your slaves who please you from what you eat and clothe them from what you clothe yourselves, but sell those who do not please you and do not punish God’s creatures.”

Sahl b. al-Hanzaliya told of God’s Messenger coming upon an emaciated camel and saying, “Fear God regarding these dumb animals. Ride them when they are in good condition and let them free when they are in good condition.”

When the words of God most high came down, “Do not come near an orphan’s property except to improve it,” (Al-An’am 6:152) and “Those who devour unjustly the property of orphans…” (An-Nisa 4:10) those who were in charge of an orphan went and separated their food and drink from his, and if any of the orphan’s food or drink was left over they kept it for him until he ate it or it went bad.

Finding that a burden, they mentioned the matter to God’s Messenger, and God most high sent down, “And they ask you about orphans. Say, to set things right for them is good, and if you intermix with them they are your brethren” (Al-Baqarah 2:220). They then mixed their food and their drink with theirs.

God’s Messenger cursed those who separated a parent from his child and a brother from his brother. Ibn Majah and Daraqutni transmitted it.

Abdallah ibn Masud said that when captives were brought to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) he gave families together through dislike of separating them.

Abu Hurayrah reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Let me tell you who your evil ones are. They are those who eat alone, beat their slaves, and withhold their help.” Razin transmitted it.

Abu Bakr as-Siddiq reported God’s Messenger as saying, “One who treats badly those under his authority will not enter paradise.” He was asked whether he had not told them that this people had more slaves and orphans than any other, and replied, “Yes, so treat them as generously as you treat your children and give them food out of what you eat.”

They then asked what benefit they got out of the world, and he replied, “A horse which you equip to fight on it in God’s path, and a slave who serves you sufficiently; and when he prays he is your brother.” Ibn Majah transmittted it.

I was brought before God’s Messenger in the year of Uhud when I was fourteen and he sent me back. Then I was brought before him in the year of the Trench when I was fifteen and he gave me permission to fight.* Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz said this represents the difference between fighting men and children. * Ajazani. It may be translated as above or it may mean “he gave me a fighting man’s permission”.

Amr ibn Shuaib, on his father’s authority, said his grandfather, Abdallah ibn Amr, told of a woman who said, “Messenger of God, my womb was a vessel to this son of mine, my breasts a water-skin for him, and my lap a guard for him, yet his father has divorced me and wants to take him away from me.” God’s Messenger replied, “You have more right to him as long as you do not marry.”

Abu Hurayrah said God’s Messenger gave a boy a choice between his father and his mother.

He told of a woman who came to God’s Messenger and said, “My husband wants to take away my son, and he has provided drink and other benefits for me.” The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “This is your father and this is your mother, so take whichever of them you wish by the hand.” He took his mother’s hand and she went off with him. Abu Dawud, Nasai and Darimi transmitted.it.