Sunan Ibn Majah
The Chapters on Expiation
كتاب الكفارات
Chapter 18
الْوَفَاءِ بِالنَّذْرِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Yahya and ʿAbdullah ibn Ishaq al-Jawhari narrated to us; they said: ʿAbdullah ibn Rajaʾ narrated to us; al-Masʿudi informed us, from Habib ibn Abi Thabit, from Saʿid ibn Jubayr, from Ibn ʿAbbas, that a man came to the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, I have vowed to sacrifice at Buwanah.’ He asked, ‘Is there anything of the practices of the pre-Islamic period in your mind?’ The man said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Then fulfill your vow.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Buwanah is the name of a place.
جَاءَ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنِّي نَذَرْتُ أَنْ أَنْحَرَ بِبُوَانَةَ فَقَالَ " فِي نَفْسِكَ شَىْءٌ مِنْ أَمْرِ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ " .
The Prophet asks whether the man has anything in mind ‘of the affair/practice of the Jahiliyyah’; the place and proposed sacrifice are not further described in this wording.
Does ‘anything of the practices of the pre-Islamic period in your mind’ preserve the broad question without inferring the site’s history?
قَالَ " أَوْفِ بِنَذْرِكَ " .
The instruction to fulfill the vow follows the man’s denial that he intended a pre-Islamic practice.
Does ‘Then fulfill your vow’ preserve the sequence and condition stated in the report?
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; Marwan ibn Muʿawiyah narrated to us, from ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman al-Taʾifi, from Maymunah bint Kardam al-Yasariyyah, that her father met the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) while she was riding behind him. He said, ‘I have vowed to sacrifice at Buwanah.’ The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) asked, ‘Is there an idol there?’ He said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Then fulfill your vow.’ Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us; Ibn Dukayn narrated to us, from ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman, from Yazid ibn Miqsam, from Maymunah bint Kardam, from the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), with a report like it.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Buwanah is the name of a place.
لَقِيَ النَّبِيَّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ وَهِيَ رَدِيفَةٌ لَهُ فَقَالَ إِنِّي نَذَرْتُ أَنْ أَنْحَرَ بِبُوَانَةَ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " هَلْ بِهَا وَثَنٌ " .
وهي رديفة له means that Maymunah was riding behind her father when he met the Prophet; the report identifies the place as Buwanah and asks whether an idol was there.
Does ‘while she was riding behind him’ preserve the pronoun’s likely reference to her father without adding further detail about the journey?
قَالَ " أَوْفِ بِنَذْرِكَ " .
The Prophet permits fulfillment after confirming that there was no idol at the site; the second chain abbreviates the same report.
Does ‘Then fulfill your vow’ preserve the stated sequence and condition?
Chapter 19
مَنْ مَاتَ وَعَلَيْهِ نَذْرٌ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Rumh narrated to us; al-Layth ibn Saʿd informed us, from Ibn Shihab, from ʿUbaydullah ibn ʿAbdullah, from Ibn ʿAbbas, that Saʿd ibn ʿUbadah asked the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) for a ruling about a vow incumbent upon his mother, who died without fulfilling it. The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘Fulfill it on her behalf.’
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 Bukayr narrated to us; Ibn Lahiʿah narrated to us, from ʿAmr ibn Dinar, from Jabir ibn ʿAbdullah, that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) and said, ‘My mother died with a vow to fast, and she died before fulfilling it.’ The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘Let her guardian fast on her behalf.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " لِيَصُمْ عَنْهَا الْوَلِيُّ " .
الولي means the guardian or responsible next of kin; the report does not specify which relative is intended.
Does ‘her guardian’ preserve الولي without narrowing it to a particular family member?
Chapter 20
مَنْ نَذَرَ أَنْ يَحُجَّ مَاشِيًا
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 Yahya ibn Saʿid, from ʿUbaydullah ibn Zahr, from Abu Saʿid al-Ruʿayni, that ʿAbdullah ibn Malik informed him that ʿUqbah ibn ʿAmir informed him that his sister had vowed to walk barefoot and without a head covering. He mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace), who said, ‘Tell her to ride, to wear a head covering, and to fast for three days.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
أَخْبَرَهُ أَنَّ عُقْبَةَ بْنَ عَامِرٍ أَخْبَرَهُ أَنَّ أُخْتَهُ نَذَرَتْ أَنْ تَمْشِيَ حَافِيَةً غَيْرَ مُخْتَمِرَةٍ وَأَنَّهُ ذَكَرَ ذَلِكَ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَقَالَ " مُرْهَا فَلْتَرْكَبْ وَلْتَخْتَمِرْ وَلْتَصُمْ ثَلاَثَةَ أَيَّامٍ " .
غير مختمرة means without wearing a khimar/head covering; the report gives three instructions (ride, cover her head, fast three days) but no explanation of their legal relation to the vow.
Does ‘without a head covering’ accurately render غير مختمرة, and should the instructions remain without added rationale?
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; ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn Muhammad narrated to us, from ʿAmr ibn Abi ʿAmr, from al-Aʿraj, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) saw an old man walking between his two sons and asked, ‘What is the matter with him?’ His sons said, ‘It is because of a vow, Messenger of Allah.’ He said, ‘Ride, old man, for Allah has no need of you or your vow.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ ابْنَاهُ نَذْرٌ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ .
The sons answer tersely, نذر يا رسول الله (‘a vow, Messenger of Allah’), implying the man is walking because of a vow; the report does not state the vow’s exact wording.
Does ‘It is because of a vow’ make the elliptical reply natural without supplying the vow’s content?
قَالَ " ارْكَبْ أَيُّهَا الشَّيْخُ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِيٌّ عَنْكَ وَعَنْ نَذْرِكَ " .
الله غني عنك وعن نذرك literally says Allah is free of need of the man and his vow; it is a blunt instruction to stop the difficult act.
Does the literal ‘Allah has no need of you or your vow’ preserve the statement’s direct force?
Chapter 21
مَنْ خَلَطَ فِي نَذْرِهِ طَاعَةً بِمَعْصِيَةٍ
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; Ishaq ibn Muhammad al-Farawi narrated to us; ʿAbdullah ibn ʿUmar narrated to us, from ʿUbaydullah ibn ʿUmar, from ʿAtaʾ, from Ibn ʿAbbas, that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) passed by a man in Mecca who was standing in the sun. He asked, ‘What is this?’ They said, ‘He vowed to fast, not seek shade until night, not speak, and to remain standing.’ He said, ‘Let him speak, seek shade, and sit, and let him complete his fast.’ Al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Shanabah al-Wasiti narrated to us; al-ʿAlaʾ ibn ʿAbd al-Jabbar narrated to us, from Wuhayb, from Ayyub, from ʿIkrimah, from Ibn ʿAbbas, from the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), with a report like it. And Allah knows best.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالُوا نَذَرَ أَنْ يَصُومَ وَلاَ يَسْتَظِلَّ إِلَى اللَّيْلِ وَلاَ يَتَكَلَّمَ وَلاَ يَزَالَ قَائِمًا .
The man’s vow combines fasting with not taking shade, not speaking, and remaining standing; the Prophet’s instruction exempts the latter conditions but preserves the fast.
Does the translation keep all four vowed elements distinct and avoid implying he should abandon the fast?
قَالَ " لِيَتَكَلَّمْ وَلْيَسْتَظِلَّ وَلْيَجْلِسْ وَلْيُتِمَّ صِيَامَهُ " .
The Prophet commands him to speak, seek shade, sit, and complete the fast; the second chain is abbreviated as a similar report.
Does the sequence clearly distinguish the permitted actions from the fast he is to complete?