Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 2065
حَدَّثَنَا الْعَبَّاسُ بْنُ يَزِيدَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا غُنْدَرٌ، حَدَّثَنَا مَعْمَرٌ، عَنِ الْحَكَمِ بْنِ أَبَانَ، عَنْ عِكْرِمَةَ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، أَنَّ رَجُلاً، ظَاهَرَ مِنِ امْرَأَتِهِ فَغَشِيَهَا قَبْلَ أَنْ يُكَفِّرَ فَأَتَى النَّبِيَّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَذَكَرَ ذَلِكَ لَهُ فَقَالَ " مَا حَمَلَكَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ " . فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ رَأَيْتُ بَيَاضَ حِجْلَيْهَا فِي الْقَمَرِ فَلَمْ أَمْلِكْ نَفْسِي أَنْ وَقَعْتُ عَلَيْهَا . فَضَحِكَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ وَأَمَرَهُ أَلاَّ يَقْرَبَهَا حَتَّى يُكَفِّرَ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Al-ʿAbbas ibn Yazid narrated to us, saying: Ghundar narrated to us: Maʿmar narrated to us, from al-Hakam ibn Aban, from ʿIkrimah, from Ibn ʿAbbas: A man made a zihar declaration against his wife and had intercourse with her before making expiation. He went to the Prophet and told him what had happened. The Prophet asked, ‘What prompted you to do that?’ He said, ‘Messenger of Allah, I saw the pale gleam of her anklets in the moonlight, and I could not control myself, so I had intercourse with her.’ The Messenger of Allah laughed and instructed him not to approach her until he had made expiation.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Zihar is retained as a technical term. حِجْلَيْهَا refers to her anklets; the phrase may evoke their bright appearance in the moonlight.
فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ رَأَيْتُ بَيَاضَ حِجْلَيْهَا فِي الْقَمَرِ فَلَمْ أَمْلِكْ نَفْسِي أَنْ وَقَعْتُ عَلَيْهَا .
The phrase بَيَاضَ حِجْلَيْهَا refers to the whiteness or pale gleam of her anklets; whether the image is of the jewelry or her lower legs is not fully clear.
Does ‘the pale gleam of her anklets’ best preserve the stated image?