Sunan Ibn Majah
The Chapters on Expiation
كتاب الكفارات
Chapter 1
يَمِينِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ الَّتِي كَانَ يَحْلِفُ بِهَا
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; Muhammad ibn Musʿab narrated to us, from al-Awzaʿi, from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, from Hilal ibn Abi Maymunah, from ʿAtaʾ ibn Yasar, from Rifaʿah al-Juhani, who said: When the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) swore an oath, he would say, ‘By the One in whose hand is Muhammad’s soul.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Hisham ibn ʿAmmar narrated to us; ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Muhammad al-Sanʿani narrated to us; al-Awzaʿi narrated to us, from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, from Hilal ibn Abi Maymunah, from ʿAtaʾ ibn Yasar, from Rifaʿah ibn ʿArabah al-Juhani, who said: The oath by which the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) would swear was: ‘I bear witness before Allah: By the One in whose hand is my soul.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ كَانَتْ يَمِينُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ التَّى يَحْلِفُ بِهَا أَشْهَدُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ " وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ " .
أشهد عند الله literally means ‘I bear witness before Allah’; the report presents it alongside وَالذي نفسي بيده as the Prophet’s oath formula, but the relation between the two expressions is compressed.
Does the colon preserve the report’s juxtaposition without implying an unstated explanation?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Ishaq al-Shafiʿi, Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn al-ʿAbbas, narrated to us; ʿAbdullah ibn Rajaʾ al-Makki narrated to us, from ʿAbbad ibn Ishaq, from Ibn Shihab, from Salim, from his father, who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) most often swore, ‘No—by the Turner of hearts!’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ كَانَتْ أَكْثَرُ أَيْمَانِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " لاَ وَمُصَرِّفِ الْقُلُوبِ " .
لاَ at the beginning of the oath formula may be an emphatic ‘No!’ rather than a negation of the oath; مُصَرِّفُ الْقُلُوبِ means the One who turns hearts.
Does ‘No—by the Turner of hearts!’ preserve the emphatic opening and the divine epithet?
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; Hammad ibn Khalid narrated to us. (A second chain:) Yaʿqub ibn Humayd ibn Kasib narrated to us; Maʿn ibn ʿIsa narrated to us. Both chains go back through Muhammad ibn Hilal, from his father, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah’s (Allah bless him and grant him peace) oath was, ‘No, and I seek Allah’s forgiveness.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ كَانَتْ يَمِينُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " لاَ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ " .
لاَ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ is the wording given as the Prophet’s oath; the initial لاَ may be emphatic (‘No’) and the second clause is ‘I seek Allah’s forgiveness.’
Does ‘No, and I seek Allah’s forgiveness’ preserve both parts without supplying an unstated divine name for the oath?
Chapter 2
النَّهْىِ أَنْ يَحْلِفَ بِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Abi ʿUmar al-ʿAdani narrated to us; Sufyan ibn ʿUyaynah narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from Salim ibn ʿAbdullah ibn ʿUmar, from his father, from ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab, that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) heard him swear by his father. The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘Allah forbids you to swear by your fathers.’ ʿUmar said, ‘After that I never swore by them, whether deliberately or in reporting someone else’s oath.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ عُمَرُ فَمَا حَلَفْتُ بِهَا ذَاكِرًا وَلاَ آثِرًا .
ذاكرا ولا آثرا is literally ‘remembering nor transmitting’; it is understood as neither swearing by them intentionally nor repeating such an oath from someone else.
Does ‘whether deliberately or in reporting someone else’s oath’ convey the two senses without claiming more than the idiom supports?
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; ʿAbd al-Aʿla narrated to us, from Hisham, from al-Hasan, from ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Samurah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘Do not swear by false gods or by your fathers.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " لاَ تَحْلِفُوا بِالطَّوَاغِي وَلاَ بِآبَائِكُمْ " .
الطواغي is a plural referring to false objects/deities of worship; ‘false gods’ conveys the sense without selecting a narrower historical referent.
Does ‘false gods’ accurately render الطواغي in this prohibition?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Ibrahim al-Dimashqi narrated to us; ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-Wahid narrated to us, from al-Awzaʿi, from al-Zuhri, from Humayd, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: ‘If someone swears an oath and says, “By al-Lat and al-ʿUzza,” let him say, “There is no god but Allah.”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Al-Lat and al-ʿUzza were pre-Islamic Arabian deities.
أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قَالَ " مَنْ حَلَفَ فَقَالَ فِي يَمِينِهِ بِاللاَّتِ وَالْعُزَّى فَلْيَقُلْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ " .
Al-Lat and al-ʿUzza are named deities invoked in the oath; the prescribed response is the declaration ‘There is no god but Allah.’
Does retaining the deities’ names with a brief note clarify the reference without changing the report’s instruction?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAli ibn Muhammad and al-Hasan ibn ʿAli al-Khallal narrated to us; they said: Yahya ibn Adam narrated to us, from Israʾil, from Abu Ishaq, from Musʿab ibn Saʿd, from Saʿd, who said: ‘I swore by al-Lat and al-ʿUzza.’ The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘Say: “There is no god but Allah alone; He has no partner.” Then blow lightly toward your left three times, seek refuge [in Allah], and do not do it again.’’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Al-Lat and al-ʿUzza were pre-Islamic Arabian deities.
قَالَ حَلَفْتُ بِاللاَّتِ وَالْعُزَّى فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " قُلْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ ثُمَّ انْفُثْ عَنْ يَسَارِكَ ثَلاَثًا وَتَعَوَّذْ وَلاَ تَعُدْ " .
انفث عن يسارك means to blow/spit lightly toward one’s left; it is distinct from forcefully spitting. تعوذ means seek refuge, with Allah understood from context.
Does ‘blow lightly toward your left’ preserve the action without making it sound like forceful spitting?
Chapter 3
مَنْ حَلَفَ بِمِلَّةٍ غَيْرِ مِلَّةِ الإِسْلاَمِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna narrated to us; Ibn Abi ʿAdi narrated to us, from Khalid al-Hadhdhaʾ, from Abu Qilabah, from Thabit ibn al-Dahhak, who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘Whoever deliberately swears falsely by a religion other than Islam is as he has claimed.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " مَنْ حَلَفَ بِمِلَّةٍ سِوَى الإِسْلاَمِ كَاذِبًا مُتَعَمِّدًا فَهُوَ كَمَا قَالَ " .
بملة سوى الإسلام means swearing by a religious creed other than Islam; كاذبًا متعمدًا qualifies the oath as deliberately false, and فهو كما قال is rendered literally as ‘he is as he has claimed.’
Does ‘swears falsely by a religion other than Islam’ preserve the stated act and condition without adding an interpretation of its consequence?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Hisham ibn ʿAmmar narrated to us; Baqiyyah narrated to us, from ʿAbdullah ibn Muharrar, from Qatadah, from Anas, who said: The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) heard a man say, ‘In that case, I would indeed be a Jew.’ The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘It has become binding.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ سَمِعَ النَّبِيُّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ رَجُلاً يَقُولُ أَنَا إِذًا لَيَهُودِيٌّ .
The man’s conditional antecedent is not included in this report; أنا إذًا ليهودي means ‘I would then be a Jew.’
Does ‘In that case, I would indeed be a Jew’ preserve the incomplete context without supplying the missing condition?
فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " وَجَبَتْ " .
وجبت literally means ‘it became obligatory/was established’; the report provides no further object or explanation for the Prophet’s brief response.
Does ‘It has become binding’ preserve the terse response without adding an unstated referent?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAmr ibn Rafiʿ al-Bajali narrated to us; al-Fadl ibn Musa narrated to us, from al-Husayn ibn Waqid, from ʿAbdullah ibn Buraydah, from his father, who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: ‘Whoever says, “I disavow Islam”: if he is lying, then he is as he has said; but if he is truthful, Islam will not return to him intact.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " مَنْ قَالَ إِنِّي بَرِيءٌ مِنَ الإِسْلاَمِ فَإِنْ كَانَ كَاذِبًا فَهُوَ كَمَا قَالَ وَإِنْ كَانَ صَادِقًا لَمْ يَعُدْ إِلَيْهِ الإِسْلاَمُ سَالِمًا " .
لم يعد إليه الإسلام سالما literally means ‘Islam does not return to him intact/safely’; it appears to warn that one who truthfully disavows Islam has left it, but this implication is not made explicit in the wording.
Does ‘Islam will not return to him intact’ preserve the source metaphor without making the theological implication more explicit?
Chapter 4
مِنْ حُلِفَ لَهُ بِاللَّهِ فَلْيَرْضَ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Ismaʿil ibn Samurah narrated to us; Asbat ibn Muhammad narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn ʿAjlan, from Nafiʿ, from Ibn ʿUmar, who said: The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) heard a man swearing by his father and said, ‘Do not swear by your fathers. Whoever swears by Allah should speak truthfully, and whoever is asked to accept an oath by Allah should be satisfied with it. Whoever is not satisfied with an oath by Allah is not of Allah.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ سَمِعَ النَّبِيُّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ رَجُلاً يَحْلِفُ بِأَبِيهِ فَقَالَ " لاَ تَحْلِفُوا بِآبَائِكُمْ مَنْ حَلَفَ بِاللَّهِ فَلْيَصْدُقْ وَمَنْ حُلِفَ لَهُ بِاللَّهِ فَلْيَرْضَ وَمَنْ لَمْ يَرْضَ بِاللَّهِ فَلَيْسَ مِنَ اللَّهِ " .
ومن حلف له بالله فليرض means that a person for whom another swears by Allah should be satisfied/accept that oath; ومن لم يرض بالله elliptically refers to not being satisfied with Allah’s oath.
Does supplying ‘with an oath by Allah’ in the final clause clarify the ellipsis while preserving the report’s intended reference?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Yaʿqub ibn Humayd ibn Kasib narrated to us; Hatim ibn Ismaʿil narrated to us, from Abu Bakr ibn Yahya ibn al-Nadr, from his father, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: ‘Jesus, son of Mary, saw a man stealing and said, “Did you steal?” He replied, “No, by the One besides whom there is no god.” Jesus said, “I believe in Allah and disbelieve my own eyes.”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
فَقَالَ عِيسَى آمَنْتُ بِاللَّهِ وَكَذَّبْتُ بَصَرِي " .
وكذبت بصري literally means ‘I called my sight false/disbelieved my eyesight’; ‘disbelieve my own eyes’ preserves the striking contrast with the man’s oath.
Does ‘disbelieve my own eyes’ retain the concise rhetorical force of the Arabic?
Chapter 5
الْيَمِينِ حِنْثٌ أَوْ نَدَمٌ
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; Abu Muʿawiyah narrated to us, from Bashshar ibn Kidam, from Muhammad ibn Zayd, from Ibn ʿUmar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘An oath results only in breach or regret.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " إِنَّمَا الْحَلِفُ حِنْثٌ أَوْ نَدَمٌ " .
الحنث is breaking an oath, while الندم is regret; the concise maxim states two possible consequences without spelling out the circumstances.
Does ‘An oath results only in breach or regret’ preserve the maxim’s compact form without adding an explanation?
Chapter 6
الاِسْتِثْنَاءِ فِي الْيَمِينِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Al-ʿAbbas ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzim al-ʿAnbari narrated to us; ʿAbd al-Razzaq narrated to us; Maʿmar informed us, from Ibn Tawus, from his father, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘Whoever swears an oath and says, “If Allah wills,” has an exception [from the oath].’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " مَنْ حَلَفَ فَقَالَ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ فَلَهُ ثُنْيَاهُ " .
ثنيا means an exception or release from the oath; the statement does not specify further conditions for invoking it.
Does ‘has an exception [from the oath]’ clarify ثنيا while avoiding additional legal conditions?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Ziyad narrated to us; ʿAbd al-Warith ibn Saʿid narrated to us, from Ayyub, from Nafiʿ, from Ibn ʿUmar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: ‘Whoever swears an oath and makes an exception by saying, “If Allah wills,” may withdraw from it if he wishes, or may keep to it if he wishes, without breaking the oath.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " مَنْ حَلَفَ وَاسْتَثْنَى إِنْ شَاءَ رَجَعَ وَإِنْ شَاءَ تَرَكَ غَيْرُ حَانِثٍ " .
استثنى إن شاء means to qualify the oath by saying ‘if Allah wills’; رجع أو ترك then describes withdrawal or proceeding, with غَيْرُ حَانِثٍ specifying no breach.
Does ‘withdraw from it … or keep to it’ accurately convey رجع and ترك while preserving the condition of not breaking the oath?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAbdullah ibn Muhammad al-Zuhri narrated to us; Sufyan ibn ʿUyaynah narrated to us, from Ayyub, from Nafiʿ, from Ibn ʿUmar—attributing it to the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace)—who said: ‘Whoever swears an oath and makes an exception does not break it.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
رِوَايَةً قَالَ " مَنْ حَلَفَ وَاسْتَثْنَى فَلَمْ يَحْنَثْ " .
روايةً marks the report as raised to the Prophet; واستثنى means making an exception to the oath, conventionally by saying ‘if Allah wills.’
Does the parenthetical attribution and ‘makes an exception’ clearly convey the transmission form and the concise ruling?
Chapter 7
مَنْ حَلَفَ عَلَى يَمِينٍ فَرَأَى غَيْرَهَا خَيْرًا مِنْهَا
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad ibn ʿAbdah narrated to us; Hammad ibn Zayd informed us; Ghaylan ibn Jarir narrated to us, from Abu Burdah, from his father, Abu Musa, who said: I came to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) with a group of Ashʿarites to ask him for mounts. The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘By Allah, I have no mounts for you, nor do I have anything on which to carry you.’ We stayed for as long as Allah willed. Then some camels were brought, and he assigned us three camels with bright humps. When we set out, some of us said to one another, ‘We came to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) asking him for mounts, and he swore that he would not provide us with any, yet he did. Let us go back.’ So we went to him and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, we came asking you for mounts, and you swore that you would not provide us with any, but then you did.’ He said, ‘By Allah, it was not I who provided you with mounts; Allah provided you with them. By Allah, whenever I swear an oath and then see that something else is better, I expiate for my oath and do what is better’—or he said, ‘I do what is better and expiate for my oath.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ فَلَبِثْنَا مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ ثُمَّ أُتِيَ بِإِبِلٍ فَأَمَرَ لَنَا بِثَلاَثَةِ إِبِلٍ ذَوْدٍ غُرِّ الذُّرَى فَلَمَّا انْطَلَقْنَا قَالَ بَعْضُنَا لِبَعْضٍ أَتَيْنَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ نَسْتَحْمِلُهُ فَحَلَفَ أَلاَّ يَحْمِلَنَا ثُمَّ حَمَلَنَا ارْجِعُوا بِنَا .
ثلاثة إبل ذود غر الذرى describes three camels with غرّ الذرى; the adjective likely evokes bright/white or prominent humps, but the precise camel description is compressed.
Does ‘three camels with bright humps’ preserve the descriptive phrase without over-specifying the animals?
ثُمَّ حَمَلْتَنَا فَقَالَ " وَاللَّهِ مَا أَنَا حَمَلْتُكُمْ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ حَمَلَكُمْ وَاللَّهِ مَا أَنَا حَمَلْتُكُمْ بَلِ اللَّهُ حَمَلَكُمْ إِنِّي وَاللَّهِ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لاَ أَحْلِفُ عَلَى يَمِينٍ فَأَرَى غَيْرَهَا خَيْرًا مِنْهَا إِلاَّ كَفَّرْتُ عَنْ يَمِينِي وَأَتَيْتُ الَّذِي هُوَ خَيْرٌ " .
The Prophet denies being the ultimate provider and attributes the provision to Allah, then describes expiation and doing what is better after an oath.
Does the translation preserve both the attribution to Allah and the expiation procedure without adding detail?
أَوْ قَالَ " أَتَيْتُ الَّذِي هُوَ خَيْرٌ وَكَفَّرْتُ عَنْ يَمِينِي " .
The narrator explicitly gives an alternative ordering: doing what is better and expiating, or expiating and doing what is better.
Does the closing alternative retain the reported variant order?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAli ibn Muhammad and ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAmir ibn Zurarah narrated to us; they said: Abu Bakr ibn ʿAyyash narrated to us, from ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn Rufiʿ, from Tamim ibn Tarfah, from ʿAdi ibn Hatim, who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘Whoever swears an oath and then sees that something else is better should do what is better and expiate for his oath.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Abi ʿUmar al-ʿAdani narrated to us; Sufyan ibn ʿUyaynah narrated to us; Abu al-Zarʿa, ʿAmr ibn ʿAmr, narrated to us from his uncle Abu al-Ahwas, ʿAwf ibn Malik al-Jushami, from his father, who said: I said, ‘Messenger of Allah, my cousin comes to me, and I swear that I will neither give him anything nor maintain ties with him.’ He said, ‘Expiate for your oath.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
أُعْطِيَهُ وَلاَ أَصِلَهُ .
ولا أصله means not maintaining kinship ties with him; the object of ‘give him’ is not specified, so ‘anything’ leaves it open.
Does ‘neither give him anything nor maintain ties with him’ preserve the omitted object and the kinship idiom?