Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 1874
حَدَّثَنَا هَنَّادُ بْنُ السَّرِيِّ، حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ، عَنْ كَهْمَسِ بْنِ الْحَسَنِ، عَنِ ابْنِ بُرَيْدَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، قَالَ جَاءَتْ فَتَاةٌ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَقَالَتْ إِنَّ أَبِي زَوَّجَنِي ابْنَ أَخِيهِ لِيَرْفَعَ بِي خَسِيسَتَهُ . قَالَ فَجَعَلَ الأَمْرَ إِلَيْهَا . فَقَالَتْ قَدْ أَجَزْتُ مَا صَنَعَ أَبِي وَلَكِنْ أَرَدْتُ أَنْ تَعْلَمَ النِّسَاءُ أَنْ لَيْسَ إِلَى الآبَاءِ مِنَ الأَمْرِ شَىْءٌ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Buraydah reported that a young woman came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, ‘My father married me to his brother’s son so that he could raise his low standing through me.’ The Prophet left the matter to her. She said, ‘I approve of what my father did, but I wanted women to know that fathers have no authority in this matter.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The final statement is rendered according to its broad literal wording and may concern the scope of a father’s authority in marriage.
فَقَالَتْ قَدْ أَجَزْتُ مَا صَنَعَ أَبِي وَلَكِنْ أَرَدْتُ أَنْ تَعْلَمَ النِّسَاءُ أَنْ لَيْسَ إِلَى الآبَاءِ مِنَ الأَمْرِ شَىْءٌ .
The woman’s final statement is a broad legal-sounding claim about fathers’ authority, and its precise scope is not explained in this report.
Should this be understood as denying fathers any authority in marriage or as referring to this specific arrangement?