Sahih al-Bukhari
Limits and Punishments set by Allah (Hudood)
كتاب الحدود
Chapter 35
بَابُ إِذَا زَنَتِ الأَمَةُ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAbdullah ibn Yusuf narrated to us: Malik informed us, from Ibn Shihab, from ʿUbaydullah ibn ʿAbdullah, from Abu Hurayra and Zayd ibn Khalid (may God be pleased with them), that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about a slave woman who committed adultery and had not been previously married. He said, “If she commits adultery, flog her. If she does so again, flog her. If she does so again, flog her. Then sell her, even for a braided rope.” Ibn Shihab said: I do not know whether this was after the third or the fourth time.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The narrator is uncertain whether the sale was ordered after the third or fourth offense; the repeated flogging instructions are preserved as stated.
Chapter 36
لاَ يُثَرَّبُ عَلَى الأَمَةِ إِذَا زَنَتْ وَلاَ تُنْفَى
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAbdullah ibn Yusuf narrated to us: Al-Layth narrated to us, from Saʿid al-Maqburi, from his father, from Abu Hurayra, who said that he heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: “If a slave woman commits adultery and her adultery is established, let him flog her and not reproach her. If she does so again, let him flog her and not reproach her. If she commits adultery a third time, let him sell her, even for a rope made of hair.” Ismaʿil ibn Umayya also related it from Saʿid, from Abu Hurayra, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
This version explicitly requires that the adultery be established and says not to reproach the woman after flogging her; it specifies sale after the third offense. A second transmission route is noted at the end.
Chapter 37
أَحْكَامِ أَهْلِ الذِّمَّةِ وَإِحْصَانِهِمْ إِذَا زَنَوْا وَرُفِعُوا إِلَى الإِمَامِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Musa ibn Ismaʿil narrated to us: ʿAbd al-Wahid narrated to us: Al-Shaybani narrated to us: I asked ʿAbdullah ibn Abi Awfa about stoning. He said, “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) carried it out.” I asked, “Before or after Surat al-Nur?” He said, “I do not know.” ʿAli ibn Mushir, Khalid ibn ʿAbdullah, al-Muharibi, and ʿUbayda ibn Humayd also related it from al-Shaybani. Some of them said Surat al-Maʾida. The first wording is more accurate.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The narrator reports two variant surah names in the question: most accurately, Surat al-Nur; some transmitters gave Surat al-Maʾida. The answer about timing remains “I do not know.”
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ismaʿil ibn ʿAbdullah narrated to me: Malik narrated to me, from Nafiʿ, from ʿAbdullah ibn ʿUmar (may God be pleased with them both), who said: The Jews came to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) and told him that a man and a woman among them had committed adultery. The Messenger of God asked them, “What do you find in the Torah concerning stoning?” They said, “We expose them to public disgrace and flog them.” ʿAbdullah ibn Salam said, “You are lying. It contains stoning.” They brought the Torah and unrolled it. One of them placed his hand over the verse about stoning and read what came before and after it. ʿAbdullah ibn Salam said to him, “Lift your hand.” He lifted his hand, and there was the verse about stoning. They said, “You have spoken truly, Muhammad. The verse about stoning is in it.” The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that both be stoned. I saw the man bend over the woman, shielding her from the stones.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report says the man bent over the woman to shield her from the stones during the punishment. The Torah verse had been concealed beneath the hand of the person reading around it.
Chapter 38
بَابُ إِذَا رَمَى امْرَأَتَهُ أَوِ امْرَأَةَ غَيْرِهِ بِالزِّنَا عِنْدَ الْحَاكِمِ وَالنَّاسِ، هَلْ عَلَى الْحَاكِمِ أَنْ يَبْعَثَ إِلَيْهَا فَيَسْأَلَهَا عَمَّا رُمِيَتْ بِهِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAbdullah ibn Yusuf informed us: Malik informed us, from Ibn Shihab, from ʿUbaydullah ibn ʿAbdullah ibn ʿUtba ibn Masʿud, from Abu Hurayra and Zayd ibn Khalid, who informed him that two men brought a dispute to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him). One of them said, “Judge between us according to the Book of God.” The other, who was the more learned of the two, said, “Yes, Messenger of God, judge between us according to the Book of God, but allow me to speak.” He said, “Speak.” The man said, “My son worked for this man as a hired laborer”—Malik explained that an ʿasif is a hired worker—“and committed adultery with his wife. I was told that my son was liable to stoning, so I paid him one hundred sheep and one of my slave girls. Then I asked the people of knowledge, and they told me that my son was liable to one hundred lashes and exile for a year, and that only his wife was liable to stoning.” The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “By Him in whose hand is my soul, I will judge between you according to the Book of God. Your sheep and your slave girl are to be returned to you.” He gave the son one hundred lashes and exiled him for a year. He ordered Unays al-Aslami to go to the other man’s wife and, if she confessed, to stone her. She confessed, and he stoned her.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Malik explicitly glosses ʿasif as a hired laborer. This version says the father paid one hundred sheep and one of his slave girls, both of which were ordered returned; it records that the son was flogged and exiled and that the wife was stoned after confessing.
Chapter 39
بَابُ مَنْ أَدَّبَ أَهْلَهُ أَوْ غَيْرَهُ دُونَ السُّلْطَانِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ismaʿil narrated to us: Malik narrated to me, from ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn al-Qasim, from his father, from ʿAʾisha, who said: Abu Bakr (may God be pleased with him) came while the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) had his head resting on my thigh. He said, “You have held up the Messenger of God and the people, and they have no water.” He reproached me and poked me in the side with his hand. The only thing that kept me from moving was the Messenger of God’s position. Then God revealed the verse about dry ablution.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report links the incident, in which the travelers had no water, with the revelation of the verse permitting dry ablution (tayammum).
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Yahya ibn Sulayman narrated to us: Ibn Wahb narrated to me: ʿAmr informed me that ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn al-Qasim related to him, from his father, from ʿAʾisha, who said: Abu Bakr came and jabbed me forcefully, saying, “You have detained the people because of a necklace.” I was close to death because of the Messenger of God’s position, and it hurt me. This is a similar account. “Jabbed” and “struck” have the same meaning.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The transmission note says this account is similar to the preceding report and explains that the two Arabic verbs for striking have the same meaning. The necklace is not further described here.
Chapter 40
مَنْ رَأَى مَعَ امْرَأَتِهِ رَجُلاً فَقَتَلَهُ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Musa narrated to us: Abu ʿAwana narrated to us: ʿAbd al-Malik narrated to us, from Warad, al-Mughira’s secretary, from al-Mughira, who said: Saʿd ibn ʿUbada said, “If I saw a man with my wife, I would strike him with the sword, not with its flat side.” This reached the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said, “Are you surprised at Saʿd’s jealousy? I am more jealous than he is, and God is more jealous than I am.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The phrase “not with its flat side” emphasizes that Saʿd meant a blow with the sword’s edge.
Chapter 41
مَا جَاءَ فِي التَّعْرِيضِ
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Ismaʿil narrated to us: Malik narrated to me, from Ibn Shihab, from Saʿid ibn al-Musayyab, from Abu Hurayra (may God be pleased with him), that a Bedouin came to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, “My wife has given birth to a dark-skinned boy.” He asked, “Do you have camels?” The man said, “Yes.” He asked, “What colors are they?” He said, “Red.” He asked, “Are there any dusky-gray ones among them?” He said, “Yes.” He asked, “How did that happen?” The man said, “I suppose some inherited trait showed itself.” He said, “Perhaps this son of yours has inherited a trait from his lineage.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report uses the example of a red camel with a dusky-gray offspring to explain the possibility of an inherited trait in the boy; it does not state an accusation or judgment about the mother.
Chapter 42
كَمِ التَّعْزِيرُ وَالأَدَبُ
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ʿAbdullah ibn Yusuf narrated to us: Al-Layth narrated to us: Yazid ibn Abi Habib narrated to me, from Bukayr ibn ʿAbdullah, from Sulayman ibn Yasar, from ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Jabir ibn ʿAbdullah, from Abu Burda (may God be pleased with him), who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say, “No one is to be flogged with more than ten lashes except in one of God’s prescribed penalties.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report distinguishes discretionary flogging limited to ten lashes from a prescribed legal penalty (hadd).
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAmr ibn ʿAli narrated to us: Fudayl ibn Sulayman narrated to us: Muslim ibn Abi Maryam narrated to us: ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Jabir narrated to me, from someone who heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say, “No punishment is to exceed ten strokes except in one of God’s prescribed penalties.”
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Yahya ibn Sulayman narrated to us: Ibn Wahb narrated to me: ʿAmr informed me that Bukayr related to him: While I was sitting with Sulayman ibn Yasar, ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Jabir came and related something to Sulayman. Sulayman then turned to us and said: ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Jabir told me that his father had told him that he heard Abu Burda al-Ansari say: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say, “Do not flog with more than ten lashes except in one of God’s prescribed penalties.”
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Yahya ibn Bukayr narrated to us: Al-Layth narrated to us, from ʿUqayl, from Ibn Shihab: Abu Salama narrated to us that Abu Hurayra (may God be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade uninterrupted fasting. Some Muslim men said to him, “But you fast continuously, Messenger of God.” The Messenger of God said, “Which of you is like me? I spend the night with my Lord feeding me and giving me drink.” When they refused to stop fasting continuously, he fasted with them for one day, then another. Then they saw the new moon, and he said, “If it had been delayed, I would have prolonged it for you,” as a deterrent to them when they had refused. Shuʿayb, Yahya ibn Saʿid, and Yunus also related it from al-Zuhri. ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Khalid related it from Ibn Shihab, from Saʿid, from Abu Hurayra, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report concerns uninterrupted fasting without breaking the fast between days. The Prophet’s statement about his Lord feeding and giving him drink is kept as stated; several transmission routes are noted at the end.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAyyash ibn al-Walid narrated to me: ʿAbd al-Aʿla narrated to us: Maʿmar narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from Salim, from ʿAbdullah ibn ʿUmar, who said: In the time of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him), people were beaten if they sold food in the place where they had bought it in bulk, before taking it to their own baggage.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report describes bulk-purchased food being moved to the buyers’ baggage before resale; it states that violators were beaten during the Prophet’s time.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAbdan narrated to us: ʿAbdullah informed us: Yunus informed us, from al-Zuhri, who said: ʿUrwa informed me, from ʿAʾisha (may God be pleased with her), who said: The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) never sought retribution for himself over anything done to him. But when God’s sacred limits were violated, he took action for God.
Chapter 43
مَنْ أَظْهَرَ الْفَاحِشَةَ وَاللَّطْخَ وَالتُّهَمَةَ بِغَيْرِ بَيِّنَةٍ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAli narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us: Al-Zuhri related from Sahl ibn Saʿd, who said: I witnessed the couple who invoked mutual imprecation when I was fifteen years old. He separated them, and her husband said, “I would be lying about her if I kept her.” Sahl said: I remembered al-Zuhri’s words: “If she gives birth to a child with such-and-such features, then he is [so-and-so]; and if she gives birth to a child with such-and-such features, as though he were a lizard, then he is [so-and-so].” I heard al-Zuhri say, “She gave birth to a child with the features he disliked.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source replaces the first sets of identifying features and their conclusions with “such-and-such,” so they are left unspecified. It ends by saying the child was born with features the husband disliked.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAli ibn ʿAbdullah narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us: Abu al-Zinad narrated to us, from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad, who said: Ibn ʿAbbas mentioned the couple who invoked mutual imprecation. ʿAbdullah ibn Shaddad said, “She is the woman about whom the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘If I were to stone a woman without evidence…’” Ibn ʿAbbas said, “No, that was a woman who made it public.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
This is a clipped exchange. The final phrase says only that the other woman “made it public”; the object of that statement is not present in this source block.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAbdullah ibn Yusuf narrated to us: Al-Layth narrated to us: Yahya ibn Saʿid narrated to us, from ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn al-Qasim, from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad, from Ibn ʿAbbas (may God be pleased with them both), who said: The matter of mutual imprecation was mentioned in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and ʿAsim ibn ʿAdi made a remark about it. Then he left, and a man from his people came to him, complaining that he had found someone with his wife. ʿAsim said, “I have only been tested with this because of what I said.” He took the man to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and told him what he had found his wife doing. The husband was sallow, lean, and had straight hair; the man he claimed to have found with his wife was dark-complexioned, stout, and heavyset. The Prophet said, “O God, make it clear.” The woman gave birth to a child resembling the man her husband said he had found with her. The Prophet then conducted mutual imprecation between them. A man in the gathering said to Ibn ʿAbbas, “Is she the woman about whom the Prophet said, ‘If I were to stone anyone without evidence, I would stone her’?” He replied, “No. That was a woman who used to display wickedness openly in Islam.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
This report describes the husband and the alleged other man by contrasting their appearance, then says the child resembled the latter. The final exchange distinguishes this woman from another woman who openly displayed wickedness.
Chapter 44
رَمْىِ الْمُحْصَنَاتِ
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ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn ʿAbdullah narrated to us: Sulayman narrated to us, from Thawr ibn Zayd, from Abu al-Ghayth, from Abu Hurayra, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: “Avoid the seven destructive sins.” They asked, “Messenger of God, what are they?” He said, “Associating partners with God; magic; killing a soul that God has forbidden [you to kill], except with due right; consuming usury; consuming an orphan’s property; turning your backs on the enemy on the day of battle; and slandering chaste, believing women who are unaware.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report lists seven major sins; the final item concerns slander against chaste, believing women described as unaware.
Chapter 45
قَذْفِ الْعَبِيدِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Musaddad narrated to us: Yahya ibn Saʿid narrated to us, from Fudayl ibn Ghazwan, from Ibn Abi Nuʿm, from Abu Hurayra (may God be pleased with him), who said: I heard Abu al-Qasim (peace and blessings be upon him) say, “Whoever slanders his enslaved person, when that person is innocent of what he says, will be flogged on the Day of Resurrection, unless the accusation is true.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report concerns a master’s false accusation against an enslaved person; it states that the accusation must be true for the threatened punishment not to apply.