The Book of Divorce

Al-Rabi bin Sulayman informed us; Asad bin Musa narrated to us; Hammad bin Salamah narrated to us, from Abu Ja'far al-Khatmi, from Umarah bin Khuzaymah, from Kathir bin al-Sa'ib, who said: The sons of Qurayzah told me that they were presented before the Messenger of Allah on the day of Qurayzah. Whoever had reached puberty or whose pubic hair had grown was killed, and whoever had not reached puberty or whose pubic hair had not grown was spared.

Muhammad bin Mansur informed us; Sufyan narrated to us, from Abd al-Malik bin Umayr, from Atiyyah al-Qurazi, who said: On the day of Sa'd's judgment concerning Banu Qurayzah, I was a boy. They were uncertain about me and found that I had not grown pubic hair, so I was spared. Here I am among you.

Ubaydullah bin Sa'id informed us; Yahya narrated to us, from Ubaydullah, who said: Nafi informed me, from Ibn Umar, that the Messenger of Allah presented him for assessment at Uhud when he was fourteen years old and did not approve him; he presented him at the Battle of the Trench when he was fifteen years old and approved him.

Ya'qub bin Ibrahim informed us; Abd al-Rahman bin Mahdi narrated to us; Hammad bin Salamah narrated to us, from Hammad, from Ibrahim, from al-Aswad, from A'ishah, from the Prophet, who said: ‘The pen has been lifted from three: from the sleeper until he wakes, from the child until he grows up, and from the insane person until he comes to reason or recovers.’

Ibrahim bin al-Hasan and Abd al-Rahman bin Muhammad bin Sallam informed us; they said: Hajjaj bin Muhammad narrated to us, from Ibn Jurayj, from Ata, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Prophet said—while Abd al-Rahman said, ‘from the Messenger of Allah’—‘Allah, Exalted is He, has pardoned my community for whatever their selves whisper to them, so long as they do not speak of it or act upon it.’

Ubaydullah bin Sa'id informed us; Ibn Idris narrated to us, from Mis'ar, from Qatadah, from Zurarah bin Awfa, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Allah, Mighty and Sublime, has pardoned my community for what they whisper and what their selves speak to them, so long as they do not act upon it or speak of it.’

Musa bin Abd al-Rahman informed me; Husayn al-Ju'fi narrated to us, from Za'idah, from Shayban, from Qatadah, from Zurarah bin Awfa, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet, who said: ‘Allah, Exalted is He, has pardoned my community for what their selves speak to them, so long as they do not speak of it or act upon it.’

Abu Bakr bin Nafi informed us; Bahz narrated to us; Hammad bin Salamah narrated to us; Thabit narrated to us, from Anas, who said: The Messenger of Allah had a Persian neighbor whose broth was delicious. One day he came to the Messenger of Allah while A'ishah was with him. He beckoned to him with his hand to come, and the Messenger of Allah gestured toward A'ishah, meaning, ‘And her too?’ The other man gestured with his hand like this: no—twice or three times.

Amr bin Mansur informed us; Abdullah bin Maslamah narrated to us, from Malik. Al-Harith bin Miskin also narrated it to us, read to him while I listened, from Ibn al-Qasim, who said: Malik informed me, from Yahya bin Sa'id, from Muhammad bin Ibrahim, from Alqamah bin Waqqas, from Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him)—and in al-Harith's narration, he heard Umar say—that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘Actions are only by intentions, and each person will have only what he intended. Whoever's emigration was for Allah and His Messenger, then his emigration was for Allah and His Messenger; and whoever's emigration was for worldly gain or a woman to marry, then his emigration was for that for which he emigrated.’

Imran bin Bakkar informed us; Ali bin Ayyash narrated to us; Shu'ayb narrated to me; Abu al-Zinad narrated to me from what Abd al-Rahman al-A'raj had related to him, from what he mentioned hearing Abu Hurayrah narrate from the Messenger of Allah, who said: ‘See how Allah turns away from me the insults and curses of Quraysh. They insult Mudhammam and curse Mudhammam, while I am Muhammad.’

Yunus bin Abd al-A'la informed us; Ibn Wahb narrated to us; Yunus bin Yazid and Musa bin Ulay narrated to us, from Ibn Shihab, who said: Abu Salamah bin Abd al-Rahman informed me that A'ishah, the wife of the Prophet, said: When the Messenger of Allah was commanded to give his wives a choice, he began with me and said, ‘I am going to tell you something, so do not be hasty before consulting your parents.’ She said: He knew that my parents would never tell me to leave him. She said: Then he recited this verse: ‘O Prophet, say to your wives: If you desire the life of this world … graciously’—up to His words, ‘graciously.’ I said, ‘Should I consult my parents about this? I desire Allah, Mighty and Sublime, His Messenger, and the Abode of the Hereafter.’ A'ishah said: The Prophet's wives then did as I had done. When the Messenger of Allah offered them the choice and they chose him, their choosing him was not treated as a divorce.

Muhammad bin Abd al-A'la informed us; Muhammad bin Thawr narrated to us, from Ma'mar, from al-Zuhri, from Urwah, from A'ishah, who said: When the words ‘If you desire Allah and His Messenger’ were revealed, the Prophet came in to me, beginning with me, and said, ‘A'ishah, I am going to tell you something, so do not be hasty before consulting your parents.’ She said: By Allah, he knew that my parents would never tell me to leave him. He recited to me: ‘O Prophet, say to your wives: If you desire the life of this world and its adornment.’ I said, ‘Should I consult my parents about this? I desire Allah and His Messenger.’ Abu Abd al-Rahman said: ‘This is mistaken; the first version is closer to what is correct, and Allah, Glorified and Exalted, knows best.’

Amr bin Ali informed us; Yahya narrated to us—he was Ibn Sa'id—from Isma'il, from Amir, from Masruq, from A'ishah, who said: ‘The Messenger of Allah gave us the choice, and we chose him. Was that a divorce?’

Muhammad bin Abd al-A'la informed us; Khalid narrated to us; Shu'bah narrated to us, from Asim, who said: Al-Sha'bi said, from Masruq, from A'ishah, who said: ‘The Messenger of Allah gave his wives the choice, and it was not a divorce.’

Muhammad bin Ibrahim bin Sudran informed us, from Khalid bin al-Harith, who said: Ash'ath—he was Ibn Abd al-Malik—narrated to us, from Asim, from al-Sha'bi, from Masruq, from A'ishah, who said: ‘The Prophet gave his wives the choice, and it was not a divorce.’

Muhammad bin Abd al-A'la informed us; Khalid narrated to us; Shu'bah narrated to us, from Sulayman, from Abu al-Duha, from Masruq, from A'ishah, who said: ‘The Messenger of Allah gave his wives the choice. Was that a divorce?’

Abdullah bin Muhammad al-Da'if informed me; Abu Mu'awiyah narrated to us; al-A'mash narrated to us, from Muslim, from Masruq, from A'ishah, who said: ‘The Messenger of Allah gave us the choice, and we chose him; he did not count it against us as anything.’

Ishaq bin Ibrahim informed us; Hammad bin Mas'adah narrated to us; Ibn Mawhab narrated to us, from al-Qasim bin Muhammad, who said: A'ishah had a male and a female enslaved person. She said: I wanted to set them both free, so I mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah. He said, ‘Begin with the male before the female.’

Muhammad bin Salamah informed us; Ibn al-Qasim reported to us, from Malik, from Rabi'ah, from al-Qasim bin Muhammad, from A'ishah, the wife of the Prophet, who said: There were three rulings concerning Barirah. One was that when she was freed, she was given the choice regarding her husband. The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Loyalty belongs to the one who grants emancipation.’ The Messenger of Allah came in while a pot was bubbling with meat. Bread and a household condiment were brought to him. The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Did I not see a pot with meat in it?’ They said, ‘Yes, Messenger of Allah. That was meat given in charity to Barirah, and you do not eat charity.’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘It is charity for her, and a gift for us.’

Muhammad bin Adam informed me; Abu Mu'awiyah narrated to us, from Hisham, from Abd al-Rahman bin al-Qasim, from his father, from A'ishah, who said: There were three rulings concerning Barirah. Her owners wanted to sell her while stipulating that loyalty would belong to them. I mentioned this to the Prophet, and he said, ‘Buy her and set her free, for loyalty belongs only to the one who grants emancipation.’ She was freed, and the Messenger of Allah gave her the choice, so she chose herself. Charity used to be given to her, and she would give some of it to us as a gift. I mentioned this to the Prophet, and he said, ‘Eat it, for it is charity for her and a gift for us.’