Sunan Ibn Majah
The Chapters on Marriage
كتاب النكاح
Chapter 9
النَّظَرِ إِلَى الْمَرْأَةِ إِذَا أَرَادَ أَنْ يَتَزَوَّجَهَا
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Anas ibn Malik reported that al-Mughirah ibn Shu‘bah wanted to marry a woman. The Prophet (ﷺ) told him, ‘Go and look at her, for that is more likely to bring harmony between you.’ He did so and married her, then spoke of how well they suited one another.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Al-Mughirah ibn Shu‘bah said: I came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and mentioned a woman whom I intended to propose to. He said, ‘Go and look at her, for that is more likely to bring harmony between you.’ I went to a woman of the Ansar and proposed to her through her parents, telling them what the Prophet had said. They seemed to dislike that. The woman heard this while she was in her curtained chamber and said, ‘If the Messenger of Allah ordered you to look, then look. Otherwise, I adjure you …’ The narrator added, ‘She seemed to regard that as a serious matter.’ I looked at her and married her, and he mentioned how well they suited one another.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The woman’s phrase ‘wa-illā fa-innī anshuduka’ is incomplete or unclear in this wording; its implied object is not stated.
وَإِلاَّ فَإِنِّي أَنْشُدُكَ كَأَنَّهَا أَعْظَمَتْ ذَلِكَ .
The phrase wa-illā fa-innī anshuduka lacks an explicit object in the source wording.
What is the intended completion of the woman’s adjuration?
Chapter 10
لاَ يَخْطُبِ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى خِطْبَةِ أَخِيهِ
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: ‘A man should not propose over his brother’s proposal.’
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: ‘A man should not propose over his brother’s proposal.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Fatimah bint Qays said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) told me, ‘When your waiting period is over, let me know.’ I informed him, and Mu‘awiyah, Abu al-Jahm ibn Sakhr, and Usamah ibn Zayd proposed to me. The Messenger of Allah said, ‘As for Mu‘awiyah, he is a poor man with no wealth. As for Abu al-Jahm, he is a man who frequently strikes women. But [choose] Usamah.’ She gestured with her hand, saying, ‘Usamah! Usamah!’ The Messenger of Allah told her, ‘Obedience to Allah and His Messenger is better for you.’ She said, ‘I married him and was delighted with him.’
Chapter 11
اسْتِئْمَارِ الْبِكْرِ وَالثَّيِّبِ
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: ‘A previously married woman has more authority over herself than her guardian, and a virgin must be consulted about herself.’ They said, ‘Messenger of Allah, a virgin is shy to speak.’ He replied, ‘Her consent is her silence.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: ‘A previously married woman must not be married until she is consulted, and a virgin must not be married until her permission is sought. Her silence is her permission.’
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: ‘A previously married woman states her own decision, while a virgin’s approval is her silence.’
Chapter 12
مَنْ زَوَّجَ ابْنَتَهُ وَهِيَ كَارِهَةٌ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Al-Qasim ibn Muhammad reported that Abd al-Rahman ibn Yazid and Mujammi‘ ibn Yazid, both from the Ansar, told him that a man among them named Khidam married off his daughter, but she disliked the marriage arranged by her father. She went to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and told him. He annulled her father’s marriage arrangement, and she then married Abu Lubabah ibn Abd al-Mundhir. Yahya mentioned that she had been previously married.
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?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ibn Abbas reported that a previously unmarried young woman came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and told him that her father had married her off against her will. The Prophet gave her the choice.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source includes a second chain reporting the same account.
Chapter 13
نِكَاحِ الصِّغَارِ يُزَوِّجُهُنَّ الآبَاءُ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Aishah said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) married me when I was six years old. We arrived in Medina and stayed among the Banu al-Harith ibn al-Khazraj. I became ill, and my hair fell out; then it grew back enough to form a small braid. My mother, Umm Ruman, came to me while I was on a swing with some of my girl companions. She called to me, and I went to her, not knowing what she wanted. She took my hand and stood me at the doorway of the house. I was panting until my breathing partly settled. Then she took some water and wiped my face and head with it, brought me into the house, and there were women of the Ansar inside. They said, ‘May it be for goodness and blessing, and may you have good fortune.’ She handed me over to them, and they prepared me. Then, unexpectedly, the Messenger of Allah came to me in the forenoon. She handed me over to him, and I was nine years old at that time.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The phrase describing the regrowth of Aishah’s hair is rendered as long enough to form a small braid.
قَالَتْ تَزَوَّجَنِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ وَأَنَا بِنْتُ سِتِّ سِنِينَ فَقَدِمْنَا الْمَدِينَةَ فَنَزَلْنَا فِي بَنِي الْحَارِثِ بْنِ الْخَزْرَجِ فَوُعِكْتُ فَتَمَرَّقَ شَعَرِي حَتَّى وَفَى لَهُ جُمَيْمَةٌ فَأَتَتْنِي أُمِّي أُمُّ رُومَانَ وَإِنِّي لَفِي أُرْجُوحَةٍ وَمَعِي صَوَاحِبَاتٌ لِي فَصَرَخَتْ بِي فَأَتَيْتُهَا وَمَا أَدْرِي مَا تُرِيدُ فَأَخَذَتْ بِيَدِي فَأَوْقَفَتْنِي عَلَى بَابِ الدَّارِ وَإِنِّي لأَنْهَجُ حَتَّى سَكَنَ بَعْضُ نَفَسِي ثُمَّ أَخَذَتْ شَيْئًا مِنْ مَاءٍ فَمَسَحَتْ بِهِ عَلَى وَجْهِي وَرَأْسِي ثُمَّ أَدْخَلَتْنِي الدَّارَ فَإِذَا نِسْوَةٌ مِنَ الأَنْصَارِ فِي بَيْتٍ فَقُلْنَ عَلَى الْخَيْرِ وَالْبَرَكَةِ وَعَلَى خَيْرِ طَائِرٍ .
The phrase wa-fā lahu jumaymah describes the hair’s regrowth and small hairstyle, but its precise length is not explicit.
Should jumaymah be rendered as a small braid, a short plait, or another hairstyle?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abdullah said: The Prophet (ﷺ) married Aishah when she was seven, consummated the marriage when she was nine, and died leaving her a widow when she was eighteen.
Chapter 14
نِكَاحِ الصِّغَارِ يُزَوِّجُهُنَّ غَيْرُ الآبَاءِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ibn Umar said: When Uthman ibn Maz‘un died, he left a daughter. My maternal uncle Qudamah, who was also her paternal uncle, married her to me without consulting her, after her father had died. She disliked marrying me, and the young woman wished to marry al-Mughirah ibn Shu‘bah, so Qudamah married her to him.
Chapter 15
لاَ نِكَاحَ إِلاَّ بِوَلِيٍّ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Aishah reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘Any woman whose guardian does not arrange her marriage—the marriage is invalid, the marriage is invalid, the marriage is invalid. If he has consummated the marriage with her, she is entitled to her bridal dower for the intimacy he had with her. If they dispute, the ruler is the guardian of the one who has no guardian.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Aishah and Ibn Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘There is no marriage without a guardian.’ In Aishah’s version: ‘The ruler is the guardian of the one who has no guardian.’
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: ‘There is no marriage without a guardian.’
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: ‘A woman must not give another woman in marriage, nor may a woman give herself in marriage. The adulteress is the one who gives herself in marriage.’
Chapter 16
النَّهْىِ عَنِ الشِّغَارِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ibn Umar said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade shighar. Shighar is when a man says to another, ‘Marry your daughter or sister to me on the condition that I marry my daughter or sister to you,’ with no bridal dower between them.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Shighar is retained as a transliterated term and explained by the report itself.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Hurairah said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade shighar.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Shighar is a form of exchange marriage described in related reports.