Sunan Ibn Majah
The Chapters on Expiation
كتاب الكفارات
Chapter 8
مَنْ قَالَ كَفَّارَتُهَا تَرْكُهَا
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; ʿAbdullah ibn Numayr narrated to us, from Harithah ibn Abi al-Rijal, from ʿAmrah, from ʿAʾishah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: ‘Whoever swears an oath to sever kinship ties or to do something improper, the right course is not to carry it out.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَتْ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " مَنْ حَلَفَ فِي قَطِيعَةِ رَحِمٍ أَوْ فِيمَا لاَ يَصْلُحُ فَبِرُّهُ أَنْ لاَ يَتِمَّ عَلَى ذَلِكَ " .
فبره means the proper/righteous fulfillment or course regarding the oath; أن لا يتم على ذلك means not to complete or proceed with what was sworn.
Does ‘the right course is not to carry it out’ convey فبره أن لا يتم على ذلك without turning it into a ruling about expiation not stated here?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAbd al-Muʾmin al-Wasiti narrated to us; ʿAwn ibn ʿUmarah narrated to us; Rawh ibn al-Qasim narrated to us, from ʿUbaydullah ibn ʿUmar, from ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb, from his father, from his grandfather, that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: ‘Whoever swears an oath and then sees that something else is better, let him abandon it, for abandoning it is its expiation.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قَالَ " مَنْ حَلَفَ عَلَى يَمِينٍ فَرَأَى غَيْرَهَا خَيْرًا مِنْهَا فَلْيَتْرُكْهَا فَإِنَّ تَرْكَهَا كَفَّارَتُهَا " .
فليتركها فإن تركها كفارتها literally says ‘let him leave it, for leaving it is its expiation’; the pronoun may refer to the oath or the act sworn to, and this wording differs from reports that explicitly mention expiating and doing what is better.
Does ‘abandon it, for abandoning it is its expiation’ preserve the ambiguous pronoun and this report’s distinctive formulation?
Chapter 9
كَمْ يُطْعِمُ فِي كَفَّارَةِ الْيَمِينِ
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; Ziyad ibn ʿAbdullah al-Bakkaʾi narrated to us; ʿUmar ibn ʿAbdullah ibn Yaʿla al-Thaqafi narrated to us, from al-Minhal ibn ʿAmr, from Saʿid ibn Jubayr, from Ibn ʿAbbas, who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) made expiation with a saʿ of dates and instructed the people to do the same. Whoever could not find any was to give half a saʿ of wheat.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
A saʿ is a traditional measure of volume.
قَالَ كَفَّرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ بِصَاعٍ مِنْ تَمْرٍ وَأَمَرَ النَّاسَ بِذَلِكَ فَمَنْ لَمْ يَجِدْ فَنِصْفُ صَاعٍ مِنْ بُرٍّ .
كفّر means he made expiation; the object is omitted here. The report specifies a full saʿ of dates, or half a saʿ of wheat for whoever could not find dates/that amount.
Does ‘made expiation with a saʿ of dates … half a saʿ of wheat’ preserve the stated quantities and omitted object without over-defining the measure?
Chapter 10
{مِنْ أَوْسَطِ مَا تُطْعِمُونَ أَهْلِيكُمْ}
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; ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi narrated to us; Sufyan ibn ʿUyaynah narrated to us, from Sulayman ibn Abi al-Mughirah, from Saʿid ibn Jubayr, from Ibn ʿAbbas, who said: ‘One man would provide his family with ample sustenance, while another would provide his family with meager sustenance. Then this was revealed: “from the average of what you feed your families.”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ كَانَ الرَّجُلُ يَقُوتُ أَهْلَهُ قُوتًا فِيهِ سَعَةٌ وَكَانَ الرَّجُلُ يَقُوتُ أَهْلَهُ قُوتًا فِيهِ شِدَّةٌ فَنَزَلَتْ {مِنْ أَوْسَطِ مَا تُطْعِمُونَ أَهْلِيكُمْ} .
قوتًا فيه سعة / فيه شدة describes provision with abundance/ease versus provision under hardship or scarcity; the verse quotation is the wording of Qur’an 5:89.
Does ‘ample sustenance’ versus ‘meager sustenance’ preserve the contrast without adding an unstated social classification?
قَالَ كَانَ الرَّجُلُ يَقُوتُ أَهْلَهُ قُوتًا فِيهِ سَعَةٌ وَكَانَ الرَّجُلُ يَقُوتُ أَهْلَهُ قُوتًا فِيهِ شِدَّةٌ فَنَزَلَتْ {مِنْ أَوْسَطِ مَا تُطْعِمُونَ أَهْلِيكُمْ} .
The quoted phrase is from Qur’an 5:89; the report itself gives no verse number.
Should the quotation remain unnumbered in the translation, as in the source wording?
Chapter 11
النَّهْىِ أَنْ يَسْتَلِجَّ الرَّجُلُ فِي يَمِينِهِ وَلاَ يُكَفِّرَ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Sufyan ibn Wakiʿ narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Humayd al-Maʿmari narrated to us, from Maʿmar, from Hammam, who said: I heard Abu Hurayrah say: Abu al-Qasim (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘If one of you persists in an oath, that is more sinful for him before Allah than the expiation he has been commanded to make.’ Muhammad ibn Yahya narrated to us; Yahya ibn Salih al-Wuhazi narrated to us; Muʿawiyah ibn Sallam narrated to us, from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, from ʿIkrimah, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), with a report like it.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
يَقُولُ قَالَ أَبُو الْقَاسِمِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " إِذَا اسْتَلَجَّ أَحَدُكُمْ فِي الْيَمِينِ فَإِنَّهُ آثَمُ لَهُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مِنَ الْكَفَّارَةِ الَّتِي أُمِرَ بِهَا " .
استلجّ في اليمين means to persist obstinately in an oath; the comparative phrase says this is more sinful before Allah than the prescribed expiation.
Does ‘persists in an oath’ convey the action being discouraged without specifying the oath’s content, which is not given here?
عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ نَحْوَهُ .
نحوه indicates a report with similar wording/content through a second chain; the exact repeated matn is not restated.
Does ‘with a report like it’ preserve the abbreviated second transmission?
Chapter 12
إِبْرَارِ الْمُقْسِمِ
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 ʿAli ibn Salih, from Ashʿath ibn Abi al-Shaʿthaʾ, from Muʿawiyah ibn Suwayd ibn Muqarrin, from al-Baraʾ ibn ʿAzib, who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) instructed us to honor the request of one who adjures us by an oath.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ أَمَرَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ بِإِبْرَارِ الْمُقْسِمِ .
إبرار المقسم literally means fulfilling or honoring the request of a person who swears/adjures another; the text does not explicitly name Allah as the one by whom the requester swears.
Does ‘honor the request of one who adjures us by an oath’ preserve the idiom without adding a specific divine name?
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 Fudayl narrated to us, from Yazid ibn Abi Ziyad, from Mujahid, from ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Safwan—or from Safwan ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman al-Qurashi; the narrator was uncertain—who said: On the day Mecca was conquered, he brought his father and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, grant my father a share in the Hijrah.’ He replied, ‘There is no Hijrah.’ The man went to al-ʿAbbas and said, ‘You know me.’ He said, ‘Yes.’ Al-ʿAbbas came out wearing a shirt without a cloak and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, you know so-and-so and the ties between us and him. He has brought his father so that he may pledge allegiance to you for the Hijrah.’ The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘There is no Hijrah.’ Al-ʿAbbas said, ‘I adjure you.’ The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) then extended his hand and touched his hand, and said, ‘I have granted my uncle’s request, but there is no Hijrah.’ Muhammad ibn Yahya narrated to us; al-Hasan ibn al-Rabiʿ narrated to us, from ʿAbdullah ibn Idris, from Yazid ibn Abi Ziyad, with a report like it. Yazid ibn Abi Ziyad explained: ‘That is, there is no Hijrah from a land whose people have embraced Islam.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
أَوْ عَنْ صَفْوَانَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الْقُرَشِيِّ،
The transmitter gives two alternative names: ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Safwan or Safwan ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman al-Qurashi.
Does the translation make clear that the source itself is uncertain between the two names?
قَالَ لَمَّا كَانَ يَوْمُ فَتْحِ مَكَّةَ جَاءَ بِأَبِيهِ فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ اجْعَلْ لأَبِي نَصِيبًا فِي الْهِجْرَةِ .
The request is for a share in the Hijrah on the day of Mecca’s conquest; the report later explains that there is no Hijrah from a land whose people have embraced Islam.
Does ‘grant my father a share in the Hijrah’ preserve the request without implying a specific rite beyond the stated pledge?
فَمَدَّ النَّبِيُّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ يَدَهُ فَمَسَّ يَدَهُ فَقَالَ " أَبْرَرْتُ عَمِّي وَلاَ هِجْرَةَ " .
أبررت عمي literally means ‘I have fulfilled/honored my uncle’; translated as granting his request in this appeal, while retaining the statement that there is no Hijrah.
Does ‘I have granted my uncle’s request’ convey أبررت عمي in context without changing the continued ruling?
قَالَ يَزِيدُ بْنُ أَبِي زِيَادٍ يَعْنِي لاَ هِجْرَةَ مِنْ دَارٍ قَدْ أَسْلَمَ أَهْلُهَا .
Yazid ibn Abi Ziyad explicitly glosses ‘no Hijrah’ as no Hijrah from a land whose people have accepted Islam.
Does the closing explanatory gloss preserve the report’s own clarification of the ruling?
Chapter 13
النَّهْىِ أَنْ يُقَالَ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ وَشِئْتَ
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; ʿIsa ibn Yunus narrated to us; al-Ajlakh al-Kindi narrated to us, from Yazid ibn al-Asamm, from Ibn ʿAbbas, who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: ‘When one of you swears an oath, do not say, “As Allah wills and you will.” Rather, say, “As Allah wills, then you will.”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " إِذَا حَلَفَ أَحَدُكُمْ فَلاَ يَقُلْ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ وَشِئْتَ .
The report contrasts coordination with ‘and’ (و) against sequencing with ‘then’ (ثم), preserving Allah’s precedence in the expression.
Does the translation retain the contrast between ‘and’ and ‘then’ explicitly?
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; Sufyan ibn ʿUyaynah narrated to us, from ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿUmayr, from Ribʿi ibn Hirash, from Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, that a Muslim man dreamed he met a man from the People of the Book, who said, ‘What an excellent people you are, if only you did not associate partners with God by saying, “As Allah wills and as Muhammad wills.”’ He mentioned this to the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), who said, ‘By Allah, I knew this was being said among you. Say, “As Allah wills, then Muhammad wills.”’ Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abi al-Shawarib narrated to us; Abu ʿAwanah narrated to us, from ʿAbd al-Malik, from Ribʿi ibn Hirash, from al-Tufayl ibn Sakhbarah, the maternal brother of ʿAʾishah, from the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), with a report like it.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ رَأَى فِي النَّوْمِ أَنَّهُ لَقِيَ رَجُلاً مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ فَقَالَ نِعْمَ الْقَوْمُ أَنْتُمْ لَوْلاَ أَنَّكُمْ تُشْرِكُونَ تَقُولُونَ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ وَشَاءَ مُحَمَّدٌ .
The dream report criticizes joining Allah’s will and Muhammad’s will with وَ; the correction explicitly uses ثم (‘then’) to indicate sequence.
Does ‘associate partners with God by saying … and …’ preserve the report’s criticism of the expression without supplying a broader theological explanation?
وَذَكَرَ ذَلِكَ لِلنَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَقَالَ " أَمَا وَاللَّهِ إِنْ كُنْتُ لأَعْرِفُهَا لَكُمْ قُولُوا مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ ثُمَّ شَاءَ مُحَمَّدٌ " .
إن كنت لأعرفها لكم is an emphatic expression meaning the Prophet knew this expression was being used among them; the pronoun refers to the expression just reported.
Does ‘I knew this was being said among you’ convey the emphatic phrase without overinterpreting how the Prophet knew it?
أَخِي عَائِشَةَ لأُمِّهَا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ بِنَحْوِهِ .
The second chain names al-Tufayl ibn Sakhbarah as ʿAʾishah’s maternal brother and abbreviates the matn as ‘with a report like it.’
Does the second transmission preserve both the kinship description and the abbreviated form?
Chapter 14
مَنْ وَرَّى فِي يَمِينِهِ
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; ʿUbaydullah ibn Musa narrated to us, from Israʾil. (Another chain:) Yahya ibn Hakim narrated to us, from ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi, from Israʾil, from Ibrahim ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿla, from his grandmother, from her father, Suwayd ibn Hanzalah, who said: We set out intending to go to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace), and Waʾil ibn Hujr was with us. An enemy of his seized him. The people felt uneasy about swearing an oath, so I swore that he was my brother, and the man let him go. We came to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace), and I told him that the people had felt uneasy about swearing, while I had sworn that Waʾil was my brother. He said, ‘You spoke the truth: a Muslim is the brother of a Muslim.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
سُوَيْدِ بْنِ حَنْظَلَةَ قَالَ خَرَجْنَا نُرِيدُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ وَمَعَنَا وَائِلُ بْنُ حُجْرٍ فَأَخَذَهُ عَدُوٌّ لَهُ فَتَحَرَّجَ النَّاسُ أَنْ يَحْلِفُوا فَحَلَفْتُ أَنَا أَنَّهُ أَخِي فَخَلَّى سَبِيلَهُ فَأَتَيْنَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَأَخْبَرْتُهُ أَنَّ الْقَوْمَ تَحَرَّجُوا أَنْ يَحْلِفُوا وَحَلَفْتُ أَنَا أَنَّهُ أَخِي فَقَالَ " صَدَقْتَ الْمُسْلِمُ أَخُو الْمُسْلِمِ " .
The narrator calls Waʾil ‘my brother’; the Prophet’s response clarifies the intended bond as brotherhood between Muslims, not necessarily a biological relationship.
Does the closing statement make clear that ‘brother’ is affirmed as Muslim brotherhood?
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; Hushaym informed us, from ʿAbbad ibn Abi Salih, from his father, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘An oath is according to the intention of the person who demands it.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " إِنَّمَا الْيَمِينُ عَلَى نِيَّةِ الْمُسْتَحْلِفِ " .
المستحلف is the person who asks or requires another to swear an oath; the maxim assigns the oath’s intention to that party.
Does ‘the person who demands it’ distinguish the one requesting the oath from the person who swears it?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAmr ibn Rafiʿ narrated to us; Hushaym narrated to us; ʿAbdullah ibn Abi Salih informed us, from his father, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘Your oath is according to what your counterpart accepts as truthful from you.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " يَمِينُكَ عَلَى مَا يُصَدِّقُكَ بِهِ صَاحِبُكَ " .
يمينك على ما يصدقك به صاحبك literally ties ‘your oath’ to what the other party believes/accepts as true from you; the judicial context is not elaborated in this wording.
Does ‘what your counterpart accepts as truthful from you’ preserve the compact statement without adding a courtroom procedure?
Chapter 15
النَّهْىِ عَنِ النَّذْر
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 ʿAbdullah ibn Murrah, from ʿAbdullah ibn ʿUmar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) forbade making vows and said, ‘A vow only extracts something from a miser.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ نَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ عَنِ النَّذْرِ وَقَالَ " إِنَّمَا يُسْتَخْرَجُ بِهِ مِنَ اللَّئِيمِ " .
إنما يستخرج به من اللئيم literally means ‘by it, something is extracted from the miser’; the statement presents vows as eliciting an expenditure from someone who would otherwise be ungenerous.
Does ‘A vow only extracts something from a miser’ preserve the terse metaphor without adding a specific object?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad ibn Yusuf narrated to us; ʿUbaydullah narrated to us, from Sufyan, from Abu al-Zinad, from al-Aʿraj, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: ‘A vow brings a son of Adam nothing except what has been decreed for him. Rather, destiny prevails, and through the vow something is drawn out of a miser, making easy for him what had not been easy for him before. Allah has said, “Spend, and I will spend on you.”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " إِنَّ النَّذْرَ لاَ يَأْتِي ابْنَ آدَمَ بِشَىْءٍ إِلاَّ مَا قُدِّرَ لَهُ وَلَكِنْ يَغْلِبُهُ الْقَدَرُ مَا قُدِّرَ لَهُ فَيُسْتَخْرَجُ بِهِ مِنَ الْبَخِيلِ فَيَتَيَسَّرُ عَلَيْهِ مَا لَمْ يَكُنْ يَتَيَسَّرُ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ قَبْلِ ذَلِكَ وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ أَنْفِقْ أُنْفِقْ عَلَيْكَ " .
لا يأتي ابن آدم بشيء إلا ما قدر له says a vow brings no outcome beyond what is decreed; فيستخرج به من البخيل describes extracting an expenditure from the miser through the vow, after which it becomes easy for him.
Does ‘through the vow something is drawn out of a miser, making easy for him what had not been easy for him before’ preserve the causal sequence without implying the vow changes what was decreed?
قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " إِنَّ النَّذْرَ لاَ يَأْتِي ابْنَ آدَمَ بِشَىْءٍ إِلاَّ مَا قُدِّرَ لَهُ وَلَكِنْ يَغْلِبُهُ الْقَدَرُ مَا قُدِّرَ لَهُ فَيُسْتَخْرَجُ بِهِ مِنَ الْبَخِيلِ فَيَتَيَسَّرُ عَلَيْهِ مَا لَمْ يَكُنْ يَتَيَسَّرُ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ قَبْلِ ذَلِكَ وَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ أَنْفِقْ أُنْفِقْ عَلَيْكَ " .
The closing words are presented as Allah’s saying: ‘Spend, and I will spend on you’; no source reference is given in the report.
Does the quoted imperative and response preserve the source’s attribution without adding a citation?
Chapter 16
النَّذْرِ فِي الْمَعْصِيَةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Sahl ibn Abi Sahl narrated to us; Sufyan ibn ʿUyaynah narrated to us; Ayyub narrated to us, from Abu Qilabah, from his paternal uncle, from ʿImran ibn al-Husayn, who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘No vow is valid in an act of disobedience, nor concerning what a son of Adam does not possess.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " لاَ نَذْرَ فِي مَعْصِيَةٍ وَلاَ نَذْرَ فِيمَا لاَ يَمْلِكُ ابْنُ آدَمَ " .
لا نذر في معصية is a concise legal negation rendered as ‘no vow is valid’; لا نذر فيما لا يملك ابن آدم means no vow concerning something outside a person’s possession/authority.
Does ‘No vow is valid’ convey the legal force without adding a consequence not stated here?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad ibn ʿAmr ibn al-Sarh al-Misri, Abu Tahir, narrated to us; Ibn Wahb narrated to us; Yunus informed us, from Ibn Shihab, from Abu Salamah, from ʿAʾishah, that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: ‘There is no vow in an act of disobedience, and its expiation is the expiation for an oath.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قَالَ " لاَ نَذْرَ فِي مَعْصِيَةٍ وَكَفَّارَتُهُ كَفَّارَةُ يَمِينٍ " .
The report first denies a vow in disobedience, then states its expiation is like that of an oath; the wording does not explain the legal relationship between the clauses.
Does retaining both clauses as stated avoid resolving a legal tension that the report leaves unexplained?
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; Abu Usamah narrated to us, from ʿUbaydullah, from Talhah ibn ʿAbd al-Malik, from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad, from ʿAʾishah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: ‘Whoever vows to obey Allah must fulfill it, and whoever vows to disobey Allah must not disobey Him.’
Chapter 17
مَنْ نَذَرَ نَذْرًا وَلَمْ يُسَمِّهِ
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; Ismaʿil ibn Rafiʿ narrated to us, from Khalid ibn Yazid, from ʿUqbah ibn ʿAmir al-Juhani, who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: ‘Whoever makes a vow without specifying it, its expiation is the expiation for an oath.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " مَنْ نَذَرَ نَذْرًا وَلَمْ يُسَمِّهِ فَكَفَّارَتُهُ كَفَّارَةُ يَمِينٍ " .
ولم يسمه means that the person did not specify/name the vow; the report gives no further detail about the vow’s content.
Does ‘without specifying it’ preserve the wording without assuming what was or was not vowed?
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; Kharijah ibn Musʿab narrated to us, from Bukayr ibn ʿAbdullah ibn al-Ashajj, from Kurayb, from Ibn ʿAbbas, from the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), who said: ‘Whoever makes a vow without specifying it, its expiation is the expiation for an oath; whoever makes a vow that he is unable to fulfill, its expiation is the expiation for an oath; and whoever makes a vow that he is able to fulfill must fulfill it.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قَالَ " مَنْ نَذَرَ نَذْرًا وَلَمْ يُسَمِّهِ فَكَفَّارَتُهُ كَفَّارَةُ يَمِينٍ وَمَنْ نَذَرَ نَذْرًا لَمْ يُطِقْهُ فَكَفَّارَتُهُ كَفَّارَةُ يَمِينٍ وَمَنْ نَذَرَ نَذْرًا أَطَاقَهُ فَلْيَفِ بِهِ " .
The report distinguishes an unspecified vow, an unmanageable vow, and a vow within one’s ability; the first two are assigned oath expiation, while the last must be fulfilled.
Does ‘unable to fulfill’ versus ‘able to fulfill’ preserve the contrast in لم يطق / أطاقه without adding other conditions?
Chapter 18
الْوَفَاءِ بِالنَّذْرِ
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; Hafs ibn Ghiyath narrated to us, from ʿUbaydullah ibn ʿUmar, from Nafiʿ, from Ibn ʿUmar, from ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab, who said: ‘I had made a vow during the pre-Islamic period. After I became Muslim, I asked the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) about it, and he instructed me to fulfill my vow.’