The Book of Divorce

Ali ibn Hujr informed us; he said: Ali ibn Mushir narrated to us, from al-Ajlaha, from al-Sha'bi, who said: Abd Allah ibn Abi al-Khalil al-Hadrami informed me, from Zayd ibn Arqam, who said: While we were with the Messenger of Allah, a man from Yemen came to him and began telling him what had happened, while Ali was there. He said, ‘Messenger of Allah, three men came to Ali disputing over a child; they had all had intercourse with a woman during one period of purity.’ He then related the rest of the report.

Amr ibn Ali informed us; he said: Yahya narrated to us, from al-Ajlaha, from al-Sha'bi, from Abd Allah ibn Abi al-Khalil, from Zayd ibn Arqam, who said: I was with the Prophet while Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, was in Yemen. A man came to him and said, ‘I witnessed Ali being brought three men who claimed the child of a woman. Ali said to one of them, “Will you leave him to this man?” He refused. He said to the next, “Will you leave him to this man?” He refused. He said to the third, “Will you leave him to this man?” He refused.’ Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said, ‘You are contentious partners. I will cast lots among you; whichever of you wins the lot, the child is his, and he must pay two-thirds of the blood money.’ The Messenger of Allah laughed until his back teeth showed.

Ishaq ibn Shahin informed us; he said: Khalid narrated to us, from al-Shaybani, from al-Sha'bi, from a man from Hadramawt, from Zayd ibn Arqam, who said: The Messenger of Allah appointed Ali over Yemen, and a boy over whom three men were disputing was brought to him. The compiler then related the rest of the report. Salamah ibn Kuhayl differed from them.

Muhammad ibn Bashshar informed us; he said: Muhammad narrated to us; he said: Shu'bah narrated to us, from Salamah ibn Kuhayl, who said: I heard al-Sha'bi relate from Abu al-Khalil—or Ibn Abi al-Khalil—that three men had intercourse with the same woman during one period of purity. He related something similar, but did not mention Zayd ibn Arqam or trace the report back to the Prophet. Abu Abd al-Rahman said, ‘This is correct; Allah, Glorified and Exalted, knows best.’

Qutaybah informed us; he said: al-Layth narrated to us, from Ibn Shihab, from Urwah, from Aishah, who said: The Messenger of Allah came to me looking happy, the lines of his face shining, and said, ‘Did you see how Mujazziz looked at Zayd ibn Harithah and Usamah and said, “These feet are surely from one another”?’

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim informed us; he said: Sufyan informed us, from al-Zuhri, from Urwah, from Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said: One day the Messenger of Allah came to me looking happy. He said, ‘Aishah, did you see how Mujazziz al-Mudliji came to me while Usamah ibn Zayd was with me? He saw Usamah ibn Zayd and Zayd beneath a velvet cloak. Their heads were covered, but their feet were visible. He said, “These feet are from one another.”’

Mahmud ibn Ghaylan informed us; he said: Abd al-Razzaq narrated to us; he said: Sufyan narrated to us, from Uthman al-Batti, from Abd al-Hamid ibn Salamah al-Ansari, from his father, from his grandfather, who had become Muslim while his wife refused to become Muslim. A young son of theirs who had not yet reached puberty came. The Prophet seated the father here and the mother there, then gave the boy a choice. He said, ‘O Allah, guide him.’ The boy went to his father.

Muhammad ibn Abd al-A'la informed us; he said: Khalid narrated to us; he said: Ibn Jurayj narrated to us; he said: Ziyad informed me, from Hilal ibn Usamah, from Abu Maymunah, who said: While I was with Abu Hurayrah, he said: A woman came to the Messenger of Allah and said, ‘May my father and mother be your ransom! My husband wants to take my son away, although he has been a help to me and brings me water from the well of Abu Inabah.’ Her husband came and said, ‘Who would dispute with me over my son?’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Boy, this is your father and this is your mother; take the hand of whichever one you choose.’ The boy took his mother’s hand, and she left with him.

Abu Ali Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Marwazi reported to us; he said: Shadhan ibn Uthman, the brother of Abdan, informed me; he said: My father narrated to us; he said: Ali ibn al-Mubarak narrated to us, from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, who said: Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman informed me that al-Rubayyi bint Mu'awwidh ibn Afra told him that Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas struck his wife and broke her hand. She was Jamilah bint Abd Allah ibn Ubayy. Her brother came to complain about him to the Messenger of Allah, who sent for Thabit and said, ‘Take what she owes you and release her.’ He said, ‘Yes.’ The Messenger of Allah ordered her to wait for one menstrual period and then return to her family.

Ubayd Allah ibn Sa'd ibn Ibrahim ibn Sa'd informed us; he said: My uncle narrated to us; he said: My father narrated to us; he said: Ibn Ishaq narrated to us; he said: Ubadah ibn al-Walid ibn Ubadah ibn al-Samit related to me, from al-Rubayyi bint Mu'awwidh, who said: I said to her, ‘Tell me your account.’ She said: ‘I obtained a khul' divorce from my husband, then went to Uthman and asked him what waiting period I had to observe. He said, “You have no waiting period unless your separation from him is recent; then you must wait until you have one menstrual period.”’ He said, ‘In this, I follow the judgment of the Messenger of Allah regarding Maryam al-Maghaliyya, who was married to Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas and obtained a khul' divorce from him.’

Zakariyya ibn Yahya informed us; he said: Ishaq ibn Ibrahim narrated to us; he said: Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Waqid informed us; he said: My father narrated to me; he said: Yazid al-Nahwi informed us, from Ikrimah, from Ibn Abbas, concerning His words: ‘Whatever verse We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring one better than it or similar to it.’ He also said: ‘When We replace one verse with another—and Allah knows best what He sends down’—[the rest of the verse]; and He said: ‘Allah effaces what He wills and confirms, and with Him is the Mother of the Book.’ The first thing abrogated from the Qur’an was the qiblah. He also said: ‘Divorced women shall wait by themselves for three quruʾ,’ and: ‘Those of your women who have despaired of menstruation—if you are in doubt—their waiting period is three months.’ Some of that was then abrogated by the words of the Exalted: ‘If you divorce them before touching them, you have no waiting period to count for them.’

Hannad ibn al-Sarri informed us, from Waki, from Shu'bah, who said: Humayd ibn Nafi narrated to me, from Zaynab bint Umm Salamah, who said: Umm Habibah said, ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah say: “It is not lawful for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn any deceased person for more than three days, except her husband; she mourns him for four months and ten days.”’

Muhammad ibn Abd al-A'la informed us; he said: Khalid narrated to us; he said: Shu'bah narrated to us, from Humayd ibn Nafi, from Zaynab bint Umm Salamah. I asked, ‘From her mother?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’ Umm Salamah said that the Prophet was asked about a woman whose husband had died and whose family feared for her eyes: ‘May she apply kohl?’ He said, ‘One of you used to remain in her house for a year in her worst bedding, then go out. Now it is four months and ten days.’

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim informed me; he said: Jarir informed us, from Yahya ibn Sa'id ibn Qays ibn Qahd al-Ansari—whose grandfather had met the Prophet—from Humayd ibn Nafi, from Zaynab bint Umm Salamah, from Umm Salamah and Umm Habibah, who both said: A woman came to the Prophet and said, ‘My daughter’s husband has died, and I fear for her eyes. May she apply kohl?’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘One of you used to remain in her house for a year; it is now only four months and ten days. When that year was over, she would go out and throw a piece of dung behind her.’

Muhammad ibn Bashshar informed us; he said: Abd al-Wahhab narrated to us; he said: I heard Nafi say, from Safiyyah bint Abi Ubayd, that she heard Hafsah bint Umar, the wife of the Prophet, narrate from the Prophet, who said: ‘It is not lawful for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn anyone who dies for more than three days, except her husband; she mourns him for four months and ten days.’

Abd Allah ibn al-Sabbah informed us; he said: Muhammad ibn Sawa narrated to us; he said: Sa'id informed us, from Ayyub, from Nafi, from Safiyyah bint Abi Ubayd, from one of the wives of the Prophet, and from Umm Salamah, that the Prophet said: ‘It is not lawful for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn anyone who dies for more than three days, except her husband; she mourns him for four months and ten days.’

Muhammad ibn Isma'il ibn Ibrahim informed me; he said: al-Sahmi—meaning Abd Allah ibn Bakr—narrated to us; he said: Sa'id narrated to us, from Ayyub, from Nafi, from Safiyyah bint Abi Ubayd, from one of the wives of the Prophet—namely Umm Salamah—from the Prophet, a report similar to the preceding one.

Muhammad ibn Salamah and al-Harith ibn Miskin reported to us by reading to him while I listened; the wording is Muhammad’s. They both said: Ibn al-Qasim informed us, from Malik, from Hisham ibn Urwah, from his father, from al-Miswar ibn Makhramah, that Subay'ah al-Aslamiyyah gave birth several nights after her husband died. She came to the Messenger of Allah and asked permission to marry. He gave her permission, and she married.

Nasr ibn Ali ibn Nasr informed us, from Abd Allah ibn Dawud, from Hisham ibn Urwah, from his father, from al-Miswar ibn Makhramah, that the Prophet instructed Subay'ah to marry once her postpartum bleeding had ended.

Muhammad ibn Qudamah informed me; he said: Jarir informed me, from Mansur, from Ibrahim, from al-Aswad, from Abu al-Sanabil, who said: Subay'ah gave birth to her child twenty-three or twenty-five nights after her husband died. When her postpartum bleeding ended, she became interested in marrying and was criticized for it. This was mentioned to the Messenger of Allah, and he said, ‘What prevents her? Her waiting term has ended.’