Sunan Ibn Majah
The Chapters on Divorce
كتاب الطلاق
Chapter 29
خِيَارِ الأَمَةِ إِذَا أُعْتِقَتْ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAli ibn Muhammad narrated to us; Wakiʿ narrated to us, from Usamah ibn Zayd, from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad, from ʿAʾishah, who said: ‘Three established rulings concerning Barirah were applied: she was given the choice when she was emancipated; her husband was enslaved; and people would give her charity, which she would then offer as a gift to the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace). He would say, “It is charity for her, but a gift for us.”’ He also said, ‘The right of walaʾ belongs to the one who emancipates.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَتْ مَضَى فِي بَرِيرَةَ ثَلاَثُ سُنَنٍ خُيِّرَتْ حِينَ أُعْتِقَتْ وَكَانَ زَوْجُهَا مَمْلُوكًا وَكَانُوا يَتَصَدَّقُونَ عَلَيْهَا فَتُهْدِي إِلَى النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَيَقُولُ " هُوَ عَلَيْهَا صَدَقَةٌ وَهُوَ لَنَا هَدِيَّةٌ " .
ثلاث سنن is literally ‘three sunnahs/practices’; here it introduces three established rulings or precedents concerning Barirah.
Does ‘three established rulings concerning Barirah’ convey the legal sense of سنن without implying these are merely habitual acts?
وَقَالَ " الْوَلاَءُ لِمَنْ أَعْتَقَ " .
الولاء is a technical legal bond/entitlement arising from emancipation; retaining walaʾ preserves the term but may be unfamiliar.
Should walaʾ be retained as a technical term in this concise statement?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAli ibn Muhammad narrated to us; Wakiʿ narrated to us, from Sufyan, from Mansur, from Ibrahim, from al-Aswad, from ʿAʾishah, who said: Barirah was ordered to observe a waiting period of three menstrual cycles.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَتْ أُمِرَتْ بَرِيرَةُ أَنْ تَعْتَدَّ،
The verb تعتد refers to observing the prescribed waiting period (ʿiddah); the following specifies three menstrual cycles.
Is ‘observe a waiting period of three menstrual cycles’ clear while preserving the legal sense of تعتد?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ismaʿil ibn Tawbah narrated to us; ʿAbbad ibn al-ʿAwwam narrated to us, from Yahya ibn Abi Ishaq, from ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Udhaynah, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) gave Barirah the choice.
Chapter 30
فِي طَلاَقِ الأَمَةِ وَعِدَّتِهَا
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Tarif and Ibrahim ibn Saʿid al-Jawhari narrated to us; they said: ʿUmar ibn Shabib al-Musli narrated to us, from ʿAbdullah ibn ʿIsa, from ʿAtiyyah, from Ibn ʿUmar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘The divorce of an enslaved woman is two [pronouncements], and her waiting period is two menstrual cycles.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " طَلاَقُ الأَمَةِ اثْنَتَانِ وَعِدَّتُهَا حَيْضَتَانِ " .
The report gives a count of two for divorce of an enslaved woman and two menstrual cycles for her waiting period; the first count’s unit is implicit in Arabic.
Does adding ‘pronouncements’ in brackets make the implied count clear without expanding the ruling beyond the source?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us; Abu ʿAsim narrated to us; Ibn Jurayj narrated to us, from Muzahir ibn Aslam, from al-Qasim, from ʿAʾishah, from the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), who said: ‘The divorce of an enslaved woman is two pronouncements, and her qurʾ is two menstrual cycles.’ Abu ʿAsim said: I mentioned it to Muzahir and said, ‘Narrate it to me just as you narrated it to Ibn Jurayj.’ He then informed me, from al-Qasim, from ʿAʾishah, from the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), who said: ‘The divorce of an enslaved woman is two pronouncements, and her qurʾ is two menstrual cycles.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قَالَ " طَلاَقُ الأَمَةِ تَطْلِيقَتَانِ وَقُرْؤُهَا حَيْضَتَانِ " .
قُرْء can refer to a menstrual period or a period of purity; this report glosses the waiting interval as two حيضات (menstrual cycles) in related wording but uses qurʾ here.
Should qurʾ be retained or translated as ‘menstrual cycles’ in this report’s wording?
قَالَ أَبُو عَاصِمٍ فَذَكَرْتُهُ لِمُظَاهِرٍ فَقُلْتُ حَدِّثْنِي كَمَا حَدَّثْتَ ابْنَ جُرَيْجٍ .
Abu ʿAsim asks Muzahir to relay the same report in the form he had narrated to Ibn Jurayj; the following repeats the matn.
Does the rendering preserve Abu ʿAsim’s request and the repeated transmission without collapsing the second narration?
Chapter 31
طَلاَقِ الْعَبْدِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Yahya narrated to us; Yahya ibn ʿAbdullah ibn Bukayr narrated to us; Ibn Lahiʿah narrated to us, from Musa ibn Ayyub al-Ghafiqi, from ʿIkrimah, from Ibn ʿAbbas, who said: A man came to the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, my master married me to his enslaved woman, and now he wants to separate me from her.’ He said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) ascended the pulpit and said, ‘O people, why does one of you marry his male slave to his female slave and then want to separate them? The authority to divorce belongs only to the one who takes hold of the shin [that is, the husband].’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ فَصَعِدَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ الْمِنْبَرَ فَقَالَ " يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ مَا بَالُ أَحَدِكُمْ يُزَوِّجَ عَبْدَهُ أَمَتَهُ ثُمَّ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يُفَرِّقَ بَيْنَهُمَا إِنَّمَا الطَّلاَقُ لِمَنْ أَخَذَ بِالسَّاقِ " .
إنما الطلاق لمن أخذ بالساق literally means ‘divorce is only for the one who takes hold of the shin/leg’; it is an idiom identifying the husband as the one with divorce authority.
Does ‘the one who takes hold of the shin [that is, the husband]’ preserve the Arabic idiom while making its intended referent clear?
Chapter 32
مَنْ طَلَّقَ أَمَةً تَطْلِيقَتَيْنِ ثُمَّ اشْتَرَاهَا
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Zanjawayh, Abu Bakr, narrated to us; ʿAbd al-Razzaq narrated to us; Maʿmar narrated to us, from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, from ʿUmar ibn Muʿattib, from Abu al-Hasan, the client of Banu Nawfal, who said: Ibn ʿAbbas was asked about a man who had divorced his wife twice, then both were emancipated: ‘May he marry her?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ He was asked, ‘On whose authority?’ He replied, ‘The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) ruled accordingly.’ ʿAbd al-Razzaq said: ʿAbdullah ibn al-Mubarak said, ‘Abu al-Hasan has surely placed a tremendous rock upon his own neck.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
امْرَأَتَهُ تَطْلِيقَتَيْنِ ثُمَّ أُعْتِقَا أَيَتَزَوَّجُهَا قَالَ نَعَمْ .
The dual verb أُعْتِقَا indicates that both were emancipated; the question asks whether the man may marry his former wife after the two divorces and their emancipation.
Does ‘then both were emancipated’ accurately represent the dual subject without adding who emancipated them?
قَالَ عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ لَقَدْ تَحَمَّلَ أَبُو الْحَسَنِ هَذَا صَخْرَةً عَظِيمَةً عَلَى عُنُقِهِ .
تحمل ... صخرة عظيمة على عنقه is a forceful metaphor suggesting an enormous burden/responsibility borne by Abu al-Hasan.
Does the literal ‘placed a tremendous rock upon his own neck’ preserve the criticism’s vivid metaphor?
Chapter 33
عِدَّةِ أُمِّ الْوَلَدِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAli ibn Muhammad narrated to us; Wakiʿ narrated to us, from Saʿid ibn Abi ʿArubah, from Matar al-Warraq, from Rajaʾ ibn Haywah, from Qabisah ibn Dhuʾayb, from ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAs, who said: ‘Do not distort for us the practice of our Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace): the waiting period of an umm walad is four months and ten days.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Umm walad: an enslaved woman who has borne a child to her enslaver.
قَالَ لاَ تُفْسِدُوا عَلَيْنَا سُنَّةَ نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ عِدَّةُ أُمِّ الْوَلَدِ أَرْبَعَةُ أَشْهُرٍ وَعَشْرًا .
Umm walad is a technical status, commonly referring to an enslaved woman who bore a child to her enslaver; the report gives the waiting period without further specifying the case circumstances.
Does retaining umm walad with a concise note preserve the technical category accurately?
Chapter 34
كَرَاهِيَةِ الزِّينَةِ لِلْمُتَوَفَّى عَنْهَا زَوْجُهَا
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us; Yazid ibn Harun narrated to us; Yahya ibn Saʿid informed us, from Humayd ibn Nafiʿ, who heard Zaynab, daughter of Umm Salamah, relate that she heard Umm Salamah and Umm Habibah mention that a woman came to the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) and said, ‘My daughter’s husband has died, and her eye is troubling her; she wants to apply kohl to it.’ The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘One of you used to throw a piece of dung when a year had passed. It is only four months and ten days.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " قَدْ كَانَتْ إِحْدَاكُنَّ تَرْمِي بِالْبَعْرَةِ عِنْدَ رَأْسِ الْحَوْلِ وَإِنَّمَا هِيَ أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ وَعَشْرًا " .
The phrase ترمي بالبعرة عند رأس الحول alludes to a former mourning practice involving throwing a piece of dung at the end of a year; the report contrasts that interval with four months and ten days.
Does the literal image ‘throw a piece of dung when a year had passed’ preserve the report’s reference without overexplaining the practice?
وَأُمَّ حَبِيبَةَ تَذْكُرَانِ أَنَّ امْرَأَةً أَتَتِ النَّبِيَّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَقَالَتْ إِنَّ ابْنَةً لَهَا تُوُفِّيَ عَنْهَا زَوْجُهَا فَاشْتَكَتْ عَيْنُهَا فَهِيَ تُرِيدُ أَنْ تَكْحَلَهَا .
تكتحل means to apply kohl to the eye; the singular ‘her eye’ refers to the daughter’s eye that was troubling her.
Is ‘apply kohl to it’ clear and faithful to the statement?
Chapter 35
هَلْ تُحِدُّ الْمَرْأَةُ عَلَى غَيْرِ زَوْجِهَا
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us; Sufyan ibn ʿUyaynah narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from ʿUrwah, from ʿAʾishah, from the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), who said: ‘It is not permissible for a woman to observe mourning for a deceased person for more than three days, except for her husband.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قَالَ " لاَ يَحِلُّ لاِمْرَأَةٍ أَنْ تُحِدَّ عَلَى مَيِّتٍ فَوْقَ ثَلاَثٍ إِلاَّ عَلَى زَوْجٍ " .
تحدّ means to observe the prescribed mourning period (ihdad), not simply to feel grief; the distinction matters in this legal report.
Does ‘observe mourning’ convey the prescribed practice without adding specific restrictions?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Hannad ibn al-Sari narrated to us; Abu al-Ahwas narrated to us, from Yahya ibn Saʿid, from Nafiʿ, from Safiyyah bint Abi ʿUbayd, from Hafsah, the wife of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘It is not permissible for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to observe mourning for a deceased person for more than three days, except for her husband.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
زَوْجِ النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قَالَتْ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " لاَ يَحِلُّ لاِمْرَأَةٍ تُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ أَنْ تُحِدَّ عَلَى مَيِّتٍ فَوْقَ ثَلاَثٍ إِلاَّ عَلَى زَوْجٍ " .
تحدّ means to observe the prescribed mourning period (ihdad), as in the preceding report; ‘observe mourning’ is used here.
Does ‘observe mourning’ preserve the legal sense without overexplaining the practice?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us; ʿAbdullah ibn Numayr narrated to us, from Hisham ibn Hassan, from Hafsah, from Umm ʿAtiyyah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: ‘A woman must not observe mourning for a deceased person for more than three days, except that a woman observes mourning for her husband for four months and ten days. She must not wear dyed clothing, except an ʿasb garment; she must not apply kohl or perfume, except at the end of her menstrual period, when she may use a small amount of qust and azfar.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
ʿAsb is a type of patterned or dyed cloth; qust and azfar are aromatic substances used in this context.
قَالَتْ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " لاَ تُحِدُّ عَلَى مَيِّتٍ فَوْقَ ثَلاَثٍ إِلاَّ الْمَرْأَةُ تُحِدُّ عَلَى زَوْجِهَا أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ وَعَشْرًا وَلاَ تَلْبَسُ ثَوْبًا مَصْبُوغًا إِلاَّ ثَوْبَ عَصْبٍ وَلاَ تَكْتَحِلُ وَلاَ تَطَيَّبُ إِلاَّ عِنْدَ أَدْنَى طُهْرِهَا بِنُبْذَةٍ مِنْ قُسْطٍ وَأَظْفَارٍ " .
The final exception permits a small amount of qust and azfar at أدنى طهرها, i.e. at the end of her menstrual period/when she has become pure; the precise ritual sequence is compressed in this wording.
Does ‘at the end of her menstrual period’ convey أدنى طهرها without adding a ritual sequence absent from this text?
قَالَتْ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " لاَ تُحِدُّ عَلَى مَيِّتٍ فَوْقَ ثَلاَثٍ إِلاَّ الْمَرْأَةُ تُحِدُّ عَلَى زَوْجِهَا أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ وَعَشْرًا وَلاَ تَلْبَسُ ثَوْبًا مَصْبُوغًا إِلاَّ ثَوْبَ عَصْبٍ وَلاَ تَكْتَحِلُ وَلاَ تَطَيَّبُ إِلاَّ عِنْدَ أَدْنَى طُهْرِهَا بِنُبْذَةٍ مِنْ قُسْطٍ وَأَظْفَارٍ " .
ثوب عصب names a specific textile or garment; its precise fabric description is not stated in the report.
Should ʿasb be retained as a transliterated garment term with a short note rather than given a more specific textile identification?
Chapter 36
الرَّجُلِ يَأْمُرُهُ أَبُوهُ بِطَلاَقِ امْرَأَتِهِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us; Yahya ibn Saʿid al-Qattan and ʿUthman ibn ʿUmar narrated to us; they said: Ibn Abi Dhiʾb narrated to us, from his maternal uncle al-Harith ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman, from Hamzah ibn ʿAbdullah ibn ʿUmar, from ʿAbdullah ibn ʿUmar, who said: ‘I was married to a woman whom I loved, but my father disliked her. ʿUmar mentioned this to the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), and he ordered me to divorce her, so I divorced her.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Jaʿfar narrated to us; Shuʿbah narrated to us, from ʿAtaʾ ibn al-Saʾib, from Abu ʿAbd al-Rahman, that a man was ordered by his father—or his mother; Shuʿbah was uncertain—to divorce his wife, and he made a vow to free one hundred people. He went to Abu al-Dardaʾ and found him performing the forenoon prayer at length; he prayed during the time between noon and afternoon, then asked him about it. Abu al-Dardaʾ said, ‘Fulfill your vow and honor your parents.’ Abu al-Dardaʾ also said, ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) say: “The parent is the central gate of Paradise, so take care of your parents, or leave them.”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
أَمَرَهُ أَبُوهُ أَوْ أُمُّهُ - شَكَّ شُعْبَةُ - أَنْ يُطَلِّقَ،
The narrator explicitly notes doubt whether the order came from the man’s father or mother; rendered as an explicit alternative.
Does ‘his father—or his mother; Shuʿbah was uncertain’ preserve the narrator’s uncertainty clearly?
امْرَأَتَهُ فَجَعَلَ عَلَيْهِ مِائَةَ مُحَرَّرٍ .
مائة محرر literally refers to one hundred emancipated persons; the surrounding advice to fulfill a vow supports understanding this as a vow to emancipate one hundred people.
Does ‘made a vow to free one hundred people’ convey the likely meaning without overstating the compressed wording?
وَقَالَ أَبُو الدَّرْدَاءِ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ يَقُولُ " الْوَالِدُ أَوْسَطُ أَبْوَابِ الْجَنَّةِ فَحَافِظْ عَلَى وَالِدَيْكَ أَوِ اتْرُكْ " .
أوسط أبواب الجنة literally means the middle or central gate of Paradise; the imperative ‘take care of your parents, or leave them’ is preserved literally, though its pragmatic force is elliptical.
Does ‘central gate of Paradise’ and the direct closing imperative preserve the report’s metaphor and wording?