Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 2168
حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ الْقَطَّانُ، حَدَّثَنَا هَاشِمُ بْنُ الْقَاسِمِ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ الرَّازِيُّ، عَنْ عَاصِمٍ، عَنْ أَبِي الْمُهَلَّبِ، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ الإِفْرِيقِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي أُمَامَةَ، قَالَ نَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ عَنْ بَيْعِ الْمُغَنِّيَاتِ وَعَنْ شِرَائِهِنَّ وَعَنْ كَسْبِهِنَّ وَعَنْ أَكْلِ أَثْمَانِهِنَّ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Said al-Qattan narrated to us; Hashim ibn al-Qasim narrated to us; Abu Jafar al-Razi narrated to us, from Asim, from Abu al-Muhallab, from Ubayd Allah al-Ifriqi, from Abu Umamah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the sale and purchase of singing women, their earnings, and consuming the prices paid for them.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ نَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ عَنْ بَيْعِ الْمُغَنِّيَاتِ وَعَنْ شِرَائِهِنَّ وَعَنْ كَسْبِهِنَّ وَعَنْ أَكْلِ أَثْمَانِهِنَّ .
Al-mughanniyat literally means female singers; in this legal context it may refer especially to enslaved singing women. The Arabic enumerates selling them, buying them, their earnings, and consuming their sale prices.
Should the historical legal referent be made explicit as enslaved singing women, or retained literally as “singing women”?