The Book of Divorce

Qutaybah informed us; Jarir narrated to us, from Mansur, from Ibrahim, from al-Aswad, from A'ishah, who said: I bought Barirah, and her owners stipulated that her loyalty would belong to them. I mentioned this to the Prophet, and he said, ‘Set her free, for loyalty belongs only to the one who pays the silver.’ She said: I set her free, and the Messenger of Allah called her and gave her the choice regarding her husband. She said, ‘Even if he gave me this and that, I would not stay with him.’ So she chose herself, while her husband was a free man.

Amr bin Ali informed us; Abd al-Rahman narrated to us; Shu'bah narrated to us, from al-Hakam, from Ibrahim, from al-Aswad, from A'ishah, who wanted to buy Barirah, but they stipulated that her loyalty would belong to them. She mentioned this to the Prophet, and he said, ‘Buy her and set her free, for loyalty belongs to the one who grants emancipation.’ Meat was brought, and it was said, ‘This is some of what was given in charity to Barirah.’ He said, ‘It is charity for her and a gift for us.’ The Messenger of Allah gave her the choice, while her husband was a free man.

Ishaq bin Ibrahim informed us; Jarir reported to us, from Hisham bin Urwah, from his father, from A'ishah, who said: Barirah made a manumission contract for herself for nine awaq, paying one uqiyyah each year. She came to A'ishah seeking her help. A'ishah said, ‘No, unless they agree that I pay the whole amount at once and that loyalty belongs to me.’ Barirah went and spoke with her owners about this, but they refused unless loyalty belonged to them. She came back to A'ishah, and the Messenger of Allah came at that time. A'ishah told her what her owners had said. She said, ‘No, by Allah, unless loyalty belongs to me.’ The Messenger of Allah asked, ‘What is this?’ She said, ‘Messenger of Allah, Barirah came to me seeking help with her contract, and I said no unless they agree that I pay the whole amount at once and that loyalty belongs to me. She spoke with her owners about this, but they refused unless loyalty belonged to them.’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Buy her, and stipulate loyalty for them, for loyalty belongs to the one who grants emancipation.’ Then he stood and addressed the people. He praised and glorified Allah, then said, ‘What is the matter with people who stipulate conditions that are not in the Book of Allah? They say, “Set so-and-so free, and loyalty belongs to me.” The Book of Allah has the greater right, and Allah's condition is more binding. Any condition that is not in the Book of Allah is invalid, even if there are a hundred conditions.’ The Messenger of Allah then gave her the choice regarding her husband. He was an enslaved man, and she chose herself. Urwah said: Had he been a free man, the Messenger of Allah would not have given her the choice.’

Ishaq bin Ibrahim informed us; al-Mughirah bin Salamah reported to us; Wuhaib narrated to us, from Ubaydullah bin Umar, from Yazid bin Ruman, from Urwah, from A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: ‘Barirah's husband was an enslaved man.’

Al-Qasim bin Zakariyya bin Dinar informed us; Husayn narrated to us, from Za'idah, from Simak, from Abd al-Rahman bin al-Qasim, from his father, from A'ishah, who bought Barirah from some people of the Ansar, and they stipulated that loyalty would belong to them. The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Loyalty belongs to the one who bestows the favor.’ The Messenger of Allah gave her the choice, while her husband was an enslaved man. She gave A'ishah some meat as a gift. The Messenger of Allah said, ‘If only you had set some of this meat aside for us.’ A'ishah said, ‘It was given in charity to Barirah.’ He said, ‘It is charity for her and a gift for us.’

Muhammad bin Isma'il bin Ibrahim informed us; Yahya bin Abi Bukayr al-Karmani narrated to us; Shu'bah narrated to us, from Abd al-Rahman bin al-Qasim, from his father, from A'ishah. The narrator said: He was his father's executor, and he was wary of saying, ‘I heard it from your father.’ A'ishah said: I asked the Messenger of Allah about Barirah, and I wanted to buy her, while loyalty was to be stipulated for her owners. He said, ‘Buy her, for loyalty belongs to the one who grants emancipation.’ She was given the choice, and her husband was an enslaved man. Then he later said, ‘I do not know.’ The Messenger of Allah was brought some meat, and they said, ‘This is some of what was given in charity to Barirah.’ He said, ‘It is charity for her and a gift for us.’

Ahmad bin Abdullah bin al-Hakam al-Basri informed us; Marwan bin Mu'awiyah narrated to us; Abu Ya'fur narrated to us, from Abu al-Duha, who said: We were discussing the month in his presence. Some of us said, ‘Thirty days,’ and others said, ‘Twenty-nine.’ Abu al-Duha said: Ibn Abbas narrated to us: One morning, the Prophet's wives were weeping, with their families beside each of them. I entered the mosque and found it full of people. He said: Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came, went up to the Prophet, who was in an upper room of his, and greeted him. No one answered him. He greeted him again, and no one answered him. He greeted him a third time, and no one answered him. He returned and called for Bilal. He entered upon the Prophet and asked, ‘Have you divorced your wives?’ He said, ‘No, but I have abstained from them for a month.’ He stayed away for twenty-nine days, then came down and went in to his wives.

Muhammad bin al-Muthanna informed us; Khalid narrated to us; Humayd narrated to us, from Anas, who said: The Prophet abstained from his wives for a month in an upper room of his. He stayed there twenty-nine nights, then came down. It was said, ‘Messenger of Allah, did you not vow to stay away for a month?’ He said, ‘The month is twenty-nine days.’

Al-Husayn bin Hurayth informed us; al-Fadl bin Musa narrated to us, from Ma'mar, from al-Hakam bin Aban, from Ikrimah, from Ibn Abbas: A man came to the Prophet after having pronounced zihar against his wife, and he had intercourse with her. He said, ‘Messenger of Allah, I pronounced zihar against my wife, then had intercourse with her before making expiation.’ He said, ‘What prompted you to do that? May Allah have mercy on you.’ The man said, ‘I saw her anklet in the moonlight.’ He said, ‘Do not approach her until you do what Allah, Mighty and Sublime, has commanded.’

Muhammad bin Rafi informed us; Abd al-Razzaq narrated to us; Ma'mar narrated to us, from al-Hakam bin Aban, from Ikrimah, who said: A man pronounced zihar against his wife and had intercourse with her before making expiation. He mentioned this to the Prophet, who said to him, ‘What prompted you to do that?’ The man said, ‘May Allah have mercy on you, Messenger of Allah. I saw her anklet—or her legs—in the moonlight.’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Stay away from her until you do what Allah, Mighty and Sublime, has commanded you.’

Ishaq bin Ibrahim informed us, from al-Mu'tamir; and Muhammad bin Abd al-A'la informed us; al-Mu'tamir narrated to us. He said: I heard al-Hakam bin Aban say: I heard Ikrimah say: A man came to the Prophet of Allah and said, ‘Prophet of Allah, I pronounced zihar against my wife, then had intercourse with her before doing what I was required to do.’ He said, ‘What prompted you to do that?’ The man said, ‘Prophet of Allah, I saw the whiteness of her legs in the moonlight.’ The Prophet of Allah said, ‘Stay away until you fulfill what you owe.’ Ishaq's version says, ‘Stay away from her until you fulfill what you owe.’ The wording is Muhammad's. Abu Abd al-Rahman said: ‘The mursal version is more correct than the musnad version, and Allah, Glorified and Exalted, knows best.’

Ishaq bin Ibrahim informed us; Jarir reported to us, from al-A'mash, from Tamim bin Salamah, from Urwah, from A'ishah, who said: ‘Praise be to Allah, whose hearing encompasses all voices. Khawlah came to the Messenger of Allah complaining about her husband. Her words were scarcely audible to me, so Allah, Mighty and Sublime, revealed: “Allah has indeed heard the words of the woman who pleads with you concerning her husband and complains to Allah, and Allah hears your dialogue”—and the rest of the verse.’

Ishaq bin Ibrahim informed us; al-Makhzumi—he was al-Mughirah bin Salamah—reported to us; Wuhaib narrated to us, from Ayyub, from al-Hasan, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet, who said: ‘The women who wrest away [their husbands] and the women who seek khul are hypocrites.’ Al-Hasan said: ‘I did not hear it from anyone other than Abu Hurayrah.’ Abu Abd al-Rahman said: ‘Al-Hasan did not hear anything from Abu Hurayrah.’

Muhammad bin Salamah informed us; Ibn al-Qasim reported to us, from Malik, from Yahya bin Sa'id, from Amrah bint Abd al-Rahman, who informed him from Habibah bint Sahl, who was married to Thabit bin Qays bin Shammass. The Messenger of Allah went out for the dawn prayer and found Habibah bint Sahl at his door in the dim light before dawn. The Messenger of Allah asked, ‘Who is this?’ She said, ‘I am Habibah bint Sahl, Messenger of Allah.’ He asked, ‘What is the matter with you?’ She said, ‘I cannot remain with Thabit bin Qays.’ When Thabit bin Qays came, the Messenger of Allah said to him, ‘This is Habibah bint Sahl; she has mentioned what Allah willed her to mention.’ Habibah said, ‘Messenger of Allah, everything he gave me is with me.’ The Messenger of Allah said to Thabit, ‘Take it from her.’ He took it from her, and she stayed with her family.

Azhar bin Jamil informed us; Abd al-Wahhab narrated to us; Khalid narrated to us, from Ikrimah, from Ibn Abbas: The wife of Thabit bin Qays came to the Prophet and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, I do not find fault with Thabit bin Qays in his character or religion, but I dislike falling into ingratitude while in Islam.’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Will you return his garden to him?’ She said, ‘Yes.’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Accept the garden and divorce her once.’

Al-Husayn bin Hurayth informed us; al-Fadl bin Musa narrated to us; al-Husayn bin Waqid narrated to us, from Umarah bin Abi Hafsah, from Ikrimah, from Ibn Abbas, who said: A man came to the Prophet and said, ‘My wife does not prevent the hand of a toucher.’ He said, ‘Send her away, if you wish.’ The man said, ‘I fear that my soul will continue to desire her.’ He said, ‘Then enjoy her.’

Ishaq bin Ibrahim informed us; al-Nadr bin Shumayl narrated to us; Hammad bin Salamah narrated to us; Harun bin Ri'ab reported to us, from Abdullah bin Ubayd bin Umayr, from Ibn Abbas: A man said, ‘Messenger of Allah, I have a wife who does not refuse the hand of a toucher.’ He said, ‘Divorce her.’ The man said, ‘I cannot bear to be without her.’ He said, ‘Then keep her.’ Abu Abd al-Rahman said: ‘This is mistaken; the correct version is mursal.’

Muhammad bin Ma'mar informed us; Abu Dawud narrated to us; Abd al-Aziz bin Abi Salamah and Ibrahim bin Sa'd narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from Sahl bin Sa'd, from Asim bin Adi, who said: Uwaymir, a man from Banu al-Ajlan, came to me and said, ‘Asim, what do you think: if a man sees another man with his wife, should he kill him and then you kill him [in retaliation], or what should he do? Asim, ask the Messenger of Allah for me.’ Asim asked the Prophet about that, but the Messenger of Allah disapproved of questions and disliked them. Uwaymir came to him and asked, ‘What did you do, Asim?’ He replied, ‘I did not bring you good news: the Messenger of Allah disliked questions and disapproved of them.’ Uwaymir said, ‘By Allah, I will ask the Messenger of Allah about it myself.’ He went to the Messenger of Allah and asked him. The Messenger of Allah said to him, ‘Allah, Mighty and Sublime, has revealed concerning you and your wife, so bring her here.’ Sahl said: I was with the people at the Messenger of Allah's side. Uwaymir brought her, and they performed li'an. He said, ‘Messenger of Allah, by Allah, if I keep her, then I have lied about her.’ So he separated from her before the Messenger of Allah ordered him to do so. This became the practice for spouses who perform li'an.’

Ahmad bin Ali informed us; Muhammad bin Abi Bakr narrated to us; Umar bin Ali narrated to us; Ibrahim bin Uqbah narrated to us, from Abu al-Zinad, from al-Qasim bin Muhammad, from Ibn Abbas, who said: The Messenger of Allah performed li'an between al-Ajlani and his wife, who was pregnant.

Ishaq bin Ibrahim informed us; Abd al-A'la reported to us: Hisham was asked about a man who accuses his wife. Hisham narrated to us, from Muhammad, who said: I asked Anas bin Malik about that, thinking he knew something about it. He said: Hilal bin Umayyah accused his wife of adultery with Sharik bin al-Sahma. Sharik was the maternal brother of al-Bara bin Malik, and Hilal was the first man to perform li'an. The Messenger of Allah performed li'an between them, then said, ‘Observe the child: if she gives birth to a fair-skinned child with flowing straight hair and weak, watery eyes, he is Hilal bin Umayyah's; and if she gives birth to a child with naturally dark eyelids, curly hair, and slender lower legs, he is Sharik bin al-Sahma's.’ I was later informed that she gave birth to a child with naturally dark eyelids, curly hair, and slender lower legs.