Sunan Ibn Majah
Chapters on Dress
كتاب اللباس
Chapter 25
لُبْسِ جُلُودِ الْمَيْتَةِ إِذَا دُبِغَتْ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah narrated to us; Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah narrated to us, from al-Zuhrī, from ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿAbd Allāh, from Ibn ʿAbbās, from Maymūnah, that a sheep belonging to Maymūnah’s freedwoman passed by him—that is, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. It had been given to her in charity as a carcass. He said, “Why did they not take its hide, tan it, and make use of it?” They said, “Messenger of Allah, it is carrion.” He replied, “Only eating it is forbidden.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The parenthetical identification of ‘him’ as the Prophet is stated in the Arabic. The report distinguishes the hide, which may be tanned and used, from eating the carcass.
لِمَوْلاَةِ مَيْمُونَةَ مَرَّ بِهَا - يَعْنِي النَّبِيَّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ - قَدْ أُعْطِيَتْهَا مِنَ الصَّدَقَةِ مَيْتَةً فَقَالَ " هَلاَّ أَخَذُوا إِهَابَهَا فَدَبَغُوهُ فَانْتَفَعُوا بِهِ " .
The sheep is described as belonging to Maymūnah’s mawlah (freedwoman or client) and as having been given to her in charity after death.
Does ‘Maymūnah’s freedwoman’ and ‘given to her in charity as a carcass’ preserve the relationships and sequence without adding context?
قَالَ " إِنَّمَا حَرُمَ أَكْلُهَا " .
The Arabic limits the prohibition to eating the carcass; the sentence does not expand on other uses beyond the preceding reference to tanning and using its hide.
Does ‘Only eating it is forbidden’ preserve the stated scope of the prohibition?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah narrated to us; ʿAbd al-Raḥīm ibn Sulaymān narrated to us, from Layth, from Shahr ibn Ḥawshab, from Salmān, who said: One of the Mothers of the Believers had a sheep that died. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, passed by it and said, “What harm would it have done her household if they had made use of its hide?”
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah narrated to us; Khālid ibn Makhlad narrated to us, from Mālik ibn Anas, from Yazīd ibn Qusayṭ, from Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, from his mother, from ʿĀʾishah, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, instructed that use be made of the hides of carrion once they had been tanned.
Chapter 26
مَنْ كَانَ لاَ يَنْتَفِعُ مِنَ الْمَيْتَةِ بِإِهَابٍ وَلاَ عَصَبٍ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abū Bakr narrated to us; Jarīr narrated to us, from Manṣūr. And Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah narrated to us; ʿAlī ibn Mushir narrated to us, from al-Shaybānī. And Abū Bakr narrated to us; Ghundar narrated to us, from Shuʿbah. All of them narrated from al-Ḥakam, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUkaim, who said: A letter from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came to us, saying: “Do not make use of any hide from a dead animal, nor of its sinew.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic prohibits use of a hide and sinew from a dead animal but does not specify ‘untanned’; that adjective appears in the supplied English witness only. The three transmission routes and their shared source are retained.
قَالَ أَتَانَا كِتَابُ النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " أَنْ لاَ تَنْتَفِعُوا مِنَ الْمَيْتَةِ بِإِهَابٍ وَلاَ عَصَبٍ " .
The supplied English witness says ‘untanned skin,’ but the Arabic source simply says hide and sinew from carrion, without an adjective about tanning.
Should the recorded translation omit ‘untanned’ and follow the Arabic wording as given?
Chapter 27
صِفَةِ النِّعَالِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad narrated to us; Wakīʿ narrated to us, from Sufyān, from Khālid al-Ḥadhdhāʾ, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥārith, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-ʿAbbās, who said: The Prophet’s sandal had two toe straps, with the sandal straps doubled.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Qibāl refers to the straps at the front of a sandal; the Arabic says there were two and that their straps were doubled, without further specifying the construction.
قَالَ كَانَ لِنَعْلِ النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قِبَالاَنِ مَثْنِيٌّ شِرَاكُهُمَا .
Qibāl identifies the forward straps of a sandal, and the statement that the straps were doubled is concise and does not describe their exact arrangement.
Does ‘two toe straps, with the sandal straps doubled’ preserve the stated construction without over-specifying it?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah narrated to us; Yazīd ibn Hārūn narrated to us, from Hammām, from Qatādah, from Anas, who said: The Prophet’s sandal had two toe straps.
Chapter 28
لُبْسِ النِّعَالِ وَخَلْعِهَا
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abū Bakr narrated to us; Wakīʿ narrated to us, from Shuʿbah, from Muḥammad ibn Ziyād, from Abū Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “When one of you puts on his sandals, let him begin with the right; and when he takes them off, let him begin with the left.”
Chapter 29
الْمَشْىِ فِي النَّعْلِ الْوَاحِدِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abū Bakr narrated to us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Idrīs narrated to us, from Ibn ʿAjlān, from Saʿīd ibn Abī Saʿīd, from Abū Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Let none of you walk wearing one sandal or one leather boot: take them both off, or walk wearing both.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Khuff refers to a leather foot-covering or boot; the Arabic contrasts one sandal with one khuff and directs the wearer either to remove both or wear both.
قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " لاَ يَمْشِي أَحَدُكُمْ فِي نَعْلٍ وَاحِدٍ وَلاَ خُفٍّ وَاحِدٍ لِيَخْلَعْهُمَا جَمِيعًا أَوْ لِيَمْشِ فِيهِمَا جَمِيعًا " .
Khuff names a leather foot-covering whose shape may be translated as a leather sock or boot.
Is ‘leather boot’ an understandable concise rendering of khuff here?
Chapter 30
الاِنْتِعَالِ قَائِمًا
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad narrated to us; Abū Muʿāwiyah narrated to us, from al-Aʿmash, from Abū Ṣāliḥ, from Abū Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade a man from putting on sandals while standing.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad narrated to us; Wakīʿ narrated to us, from Sufyān, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Dīnār, from Ibn ʿUmar, who said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade a man from putting on sandals while standing.
Chapter 31
الْخِفَافِ السُّودِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abū Bakr narrated to us; Wakīʿ narrated to us; Dalham ibn Ṣāliḥ al-Kindī narrated to us, from Ḥujayr ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Kindī, from Ibn Buraydah, from his father, that the Negus gifted the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, two plain black leather boots, and he wore them.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Khuffayn is the dual of khuff, a leather foot-covering or boot; sādijin describes them as plain or unadorned.
أَهْدَى لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ خُفَّيْنِ سَاذَجَيْنِ أَسْوَدَيْنِ فَلَبِسَهُمَا .
Khuff is a leather foot-covering, which can be glossed as a boot or leather sock; the Arabic also says the pair was plain and black.
Is ‘two plain black leather boots’ a sufficiently clear rendering of khuffayn sādijayn as used here?
Chapter 32
الْخِضَابِ بِالْحِنَّاءِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abū Bakr narrated to us; Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah narrated to us, from al-Zuhrī, who heard Abū Salamah and Sulaymān ibn Yasār. They both reported from Abū Hurayrah, tracing it back to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who said: “The Jews and Christians do not dye, so be different from them.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic uses the verb ‘dye’ without stating an object; the supplied English witness makes ‘their hair’ explicit. The translation leaves the object unstated.
يَبْلُغُ بِهِ النَّبِيَّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قَالَ " إِنَّ الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَارَى لاَ يَصْبُغُونَ فَخَالِفُوهُمْ " .
The Arabic says only that the Jews and Christians do not dye, without naming what is dyed; the English witness supplies ‘their hair.’
Should the translation leave the object unstated as in the Arabic source?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abū Bakr narrated to us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Idrīs narrated to us, from al-Ajlaḥ, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Buraydah, from Abū al-Aswad al-Dīlī, from Abū Dharr, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “The best things with which you dye gray hair are henna and katam.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Katam is retained as the name of a plant dye; the Arabic lists it alongside henna as a means of coloring gray hair.
قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " إِنَّ أَحْسَنَ مَا غَيَّرْتُمْ بِهِ الشَّيْبَ الْحِنَّاءُ وَالْكَتَمُ " .
Katam is a specific dye plant and has no single familiar English equivalent.
Should ‘katam’ remain transliterated beside henna rather than be replaced with a broader botanical gloss?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abū Bakr narrated to us; Yūnus ibn Muḥammad narrated to us; Sallām ibn Abī Muṭīʿ narrated to us, from ʿUthmān ibn Mawhab, who said: I went in to Umm Salamah. She brought out for me some of the Messenger of Allah’s hair, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, dyed with henna and katam.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says ‘some hair from the hair of the Messenger’; ‘some of the Messenger’s hair’ preserves the wording without reducing it to a single strand. Katam is retained as a plant-dye name.
قَالَ فَأَخْرَجَتْ إِلَىَّ شَعَرًا مِنْ شَعَرِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ مَخْضُوبًا بِالْحِنَّاءِ وَالْكَتَمِ .
The Arabic uses a collective expression for some of the Prophet’s hair and names henna and katam as the dyes.
Does ‘some of the Messenger’s hair’ preserve the collective wording without specifying a number of strands?
Chapter 33
الْخِضَابِ بِالسَّوَادِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah narrated to us; Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUlayyah narrated to us, from Layth, from Abū al-Zubayr, from Jābir, who said: Abū Quḥāfah was brought to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, on the day of the Conquest, and his head was like a thughāmah. The Messenger of Allah said, “Take him to one of his women so that she may change it, and keep him away from black.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Thughāmah is a plant used as an image for whiteness; the Arabic compares Abū Quḥāfah’s head to it. ‘Change it’ refers to his hair, and the instruction explicitly says to avoid black.
قَالَ جِيءَ بِأَبِي قُحَافَةَ يَوْمَ الْفَتْحِ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ وَكَأَنَّ رَأْسَهُ ثَغَامَةٌ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " اذْهَبُوا بِهِ إِلَى بَعْضِ نِسَائِهِ فَلْتُغَيِّرْهُ وَجَنِّبُوهُ السَّوَادَ " .
Thughāmah is a plant name used in a comparison for whiteness; ‘change it’ refers contextually to the white hair, and the woman addressed is not individually named.
Does retaining thughāmah with a concise note preserve the image while keeping the hair referent and female agent clear?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abū Hurayrah al-Ṣayrafī—Muḥammad ibn Firās—narrated to us; ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ibn Zakariyyā al-Rāsibī narrated to us; Daffāʿ ibn Daghfal al-Sadūsī narrated to us, from ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn Ṣayfī, from his father, from his grandfather, Ṣuhayb al-Khayr, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “The best thing with which you dye [your hair] is this black dye: it is more pleasing to your women in you and makes you more awe-inspiring in the hearts of your enemies.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The first transmission phrase names Abū Hurayrah al-Ṣayrafī and Muḥammad ibn Firās together; their precise grammatical relationship is not marked with a connector in this text, so both names are retained. The object of dyeing is also implicit; ‘your hair’ is supplied from context.
صُهَيْبِ الْخَيْرِ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " إِنَّ أَحْسَنَ مَا اخْتَضَبْتُمْ بِهِ لَهَذَا السَّوَادُ أَرْغَبُ لِنِسَائِكُمْ فِيكُمْ وَأَهْيَبُ لَكُمْ فِي صُدُورِ عَدُوِّكُمْ " .
The Arabic says ‘the best thing with which you dye’ without naming the object, and refers to ‘this black’; the context suggests dyeing hair, but that noun is unstated.
Does ‘[your hair]’ in brackets appropriately mark the contextual object while retaining ‘this black dye’?
Chapter 34
الْخِضَابِ بِالصُّفْرَةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah narrated to us; Abū Usāmah narrated to us, from ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿUmar, from Saʿīd ibn Abī Saʿīd, that ʿUbayd ibn Jurayj asked Ibn ʿUmar: “I see you dyeing your beard yellow with wars.” Ibn ʿUmar replied: “As for my dyeing my beard yellow, I saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, dyeing his beard yellow.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Wars (wurs) is a yellow dye plant. The Arabic mentions wars in the question but not again in Ibn ʿUmar’s reply; the dye is not repeated in the second clause.
سَأَلَ ابْنَ عُمَرَ قَالَ رَأَيْتُكَ تُصَفِّرُ لِحْيَتَكَ بِالْوَرْسِ فَقَالَ ابْنُ عُمَرَ أَمَّا تَصْفِيرِي لِحْيَتِي فَإِنِّي رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ يُصَفِّرُ لِحْيَتَهُ .
Wars is named in the question but omitted from Ibn ʿUmar’s repeated statement in the Arabic; the supplied witness repeats it in that second clause.
Should the translation avoid repeating ‘with wars’ in Ibn ʿUmar’s reply, following the Arabic?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abū Bakr narrated to us; Isḥāq ibn Manṣūr narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn Ṭalḥah narrated to us, from Ḥumayd ibn Wahb, from Ibn Ṭāwūs, from Ṭāwūs, from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, passed by a man who had dyed his hair with henna and said, “How good this is!” Then he passed by another man who had dyed his hair with henna and katam, and said, “This is better than that.” Then he passed by another man who had dyed his hair yellow and said, “This is better than all of that.” He added: Ṭāwūs used to dye yellow.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report names henna and katam for the first two colors; for the third it says only ‘yellow.’ The closing note that Ṭāwūs used to dye yellow is retained with its subject as stated.
ثُمَّ مَرَّ بِآخَرَ قَدْ خَضَبَ بِالصُّفْرَةِ فَقَالَ " هَذَا أَحْسَنُ مِنْ هَذَا كُلِّهِ " .
The report gives three successive comparisons and names the final treatment only as yellow, without identifying its dye.
Does ‘This is better than all of that’ preserve the final comparison and avoid supplying an unstated dye?
قَالَ وَكَانَ طَاوُسٌ يُصَفِّرُ .
The closing ‘he said’ does not restate the speaker, then notes that Ṭāwūs used to dye yellow.
Does ‘He added: Ṭāwūs used to dye yellow’ retain the report’s attribution without over-explaining it?
Chapter 35
مَنْ تَرَكَ الْخِضَابَ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā narrated to us; Abū Dāwūd narrated to us; Zuhayr narrated to us, from Abū Isḥāq, from Abū Juḥayfah, who said: I saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace—this part of him was white, meaning his ʿanfāqah.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
ʿAnfaqah is the hair on the area between the lower lip and the chin. The Arabic identifies that part as white.
يَعْنِي عَنْفَقَتَهُ .
The Arabic identifies the white part as the ʿanfaqah, a specific facial-hair area, while the pointing expression ‘this part’ has no visual referent in the text.
Does retaining ‘this part of him’ and naming the ʿanfaqah in the explanation preserve both the demonstrative and the clarification?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā narrated to us; Khālid ibn al-Ḥārith and Ibn Abī ʿAdī narrated to us, from Ḥumayd, who said: Anas ibn Mālik was asked, “Did the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, dye his hair?” He replied: He was seen to have only about seventeen or twenty gray hairs at the front of his beard.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The number is given as an approximation with two alternatives, seventeen or twenty; both are retained rather than resolved.
قَالَ سُئِلَ أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ أَخَضَبَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قَالَ إِنَّهُ لَمْ يَرَ مِنَ الشَّيْبِ إِلاَّ نَحْوَ سَبْعَةَ عَشَرَ أَوْ عِشْرِينَ شَعَرَةً فِي مُقَدَّمِ لِحْيَتِهِ .
The Arabic estimates the number as around seventeen or twenty hairs at the front of the beard.
Does ‘about seventeen or twenty gray hairs’ preserve the stated approximation and alternatives?