Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 1859
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو كُرَيْبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ الْمُحَارِبِيُّ، وَجَعْفَرُ بْنُ عَوْنٍ، عَنِ الإِفْرِيقِيِّ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ يَزِيدَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " لاَ تَزَوَّجُوا النِّسَاءَ لِحُسْنِهِنَّ فَعَسَى حُسْنُهُنَّ أَنْ يُرْدِيَهُنَّ وَلاَ تَزَوَّجُوهُنَّ لأَمْوَالِهِنَّ فَعَسَى أَمْوَالُهُنَّ أَنْ تُطْغِيَهُنَّ وَلَكِنْ تَزَوَّجُوهُنَّ عَلَى الدِّينِ وَلأَمَةٌ خَرْمَاءُ سَوْدَاءُ ذَاتُ دِينٍ أَفْضَلُ " .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘Do not marry women for their beauty, for their beauty may bring them ruin; and do not marry them for their wealth, for their wealth may lead them to transgress. Rather, marry them for their religious commitment. A black enslaved woman with a pierced nose who has religious commitment is better.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The adjective kharmāʾ describes a physical feature of the nose; ‘pierced’ is a cautious rendering.
قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " لاَ تَزَوَّجُوا النِّسَاءَ لِحُسْنِهِنَّ فَعَسَى حُسْنُهُنَّ أَنْ يُرْدِيَهُنَّ وَلاَ تَزَوَّجُوهُنَّ لأَمْوَالِهِنَّ فَعَسَى أَمْوَالُهُنَّ أَنْ تُطْغِيَهُنَّ وَلَكِنْ تَزَوَّجُوهُنَّ عَلَى الدِّينِ وَلأَمَةٌ خَرْمَاءُ سَوْدَاءُ ذَاتُ دِينٍ أَفْضَلُ " .
The exact physical feature denoted by kharmāʾ is not clear from this source text alone.
Should kharmāʾ be rendered as ‘pierced-nosed’ or left transliterated?