The Book of Marriage

Muhammad ibn Abd Allah al-Khalanji reported to us; he said: Abu Said, the freedman of Banu Hashim, narrated to us; he said: Husayn ibn Nafi al-Mazini narrated to us; he said: al-Hasan narrated to me, from Sad ibn Hisham, that he entered upon the Mother of the Believers, Aishah. He said: I told her, ‘I want to ask you about renouncing marriage. What do you think of it?’ She said: ‘Do not do that. Have you not heard Allah, Mighty and Majestic, say: “We sent messengers before you and made for them wives and offspring”? So do not renounce marriage.’

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim reported to us; he said: Affan informed us; he said: Hammad ibn Salamah narrated to us, from Thabit, from Anas, that a group of the Prophet’s Companions said: One of them said, ‘I will not marry women.’ Another said, ‘I will not eat meat.’ Another said, ‘I will not sleep on a bed.’ Another said, ‘I will fast and never break my fast.’ This reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), so he praised Allah and extolled Him, then said: ‘What is the matter with people who say such-and-such? But I pray and sleep, I fast and break my fast, and I marry women. Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not of me.’

Qutaybah reported to us; he said: al-Layth narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn Ajlan, from Said, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Three have a right to Allah’s support, Mighty and Majestic: a mukatab who intends to pay his emancipation contract, a person who marries seeking chastity, and one striving in the cause of Allah.

Qutaybah reported to us; he said: Hammad narrated to us, from Amr, from Jabir, who said: I got married and came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He asked: ‘Have you married, Jabir?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He asked: ‘A virgin or a previously married woman?’ I said, ‘A previously married woman.’ He said: ‘Why not a virgin, so that you could play with her and she with you?’

Al-Hasan ibn Qazaah reported to us; he said: Sufyan—namely, Ibn Habib—narrated to us, from Ibn Jurayj, from Ata, from Jabir, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) met me and said: ‘Jabir, have you married a woman since I last saw you?’ I said, ‘Yes, Messenger of Allah.’ He asked: ‘A virgin or a previously married woman?’ I said, ‘A previously married woman.’ He said: ‘Why not a virgin, so that she could play with you?’

Al-Husayn ibn Hurayth reported to us; he said: al-Fadl ibn Musa narrated to us, from al-Husayn ibn Waqid, from Abd Allah ibn Buraydah, from his father, who said: Abu Bakr and Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, proposed to Fatimah. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘She is young.’ Then Ali proposed to her, and he married her to him.

Kathir ibn Ubayd reported to us; he said: Muhammad ibn Harb narrated to us, from al-Zubaydi, from al-Zuhri, from Ubayd Allah ibn Abd Allah ibn Utbah, that Abd Allah ibn Amr ibn Uthman, while still a young man during Marwan’s rule, irrevocably divorced the daughter of Said ibn Zayd, whose mother was a daughter of Qays. Her maternal aunt, Fatimah bint Qays, sent word to her, telling her to move out of Abd Allah ibn Amr’s house. Marwan heard about this and sent for Said’s daughter. He ordered her to return to her residence and asked what had prompted her to move before observing her waiting period in her residence until it was over. She sent him word that her maternal aunt had instructed her to do so.

Fatimah bint Qays related that she had been married to Abu Amr ibn Hafs. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) appointed Ali ibn Abi Talib over Yemen, Abu Amr went with him and sent her a divorce—the remainder of her divorce. The Messenger of Allah appointed al-Harith ibn Hisham and Ayyash ibn Abi Rabiah to provide her maintenance. Fatimah reportedly sent to al-Harith and Ayyash asking them for what her husband had been instructed to provide. They said: ‘By Allah, she has no maintenance from us unless she is pregnant, and she may not stay in our residence without our permission.’ She reported that she went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and told him this, and he confirmed what they had said.

Fatimah said: ‘Where should I move, Messenger of Allah?’ He said: ‘Move to the home of Ibn Umm Maktum, the blind man whom Allah, Mighty and Majestic, named in His Book.’ Fatimah said: ‘I observed my waiting period with him. He was a man who had lost his sight, and I used to put my clothes down in his home, until the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) married me to Usamah ibn Zayd.’ Marwan objected to her report and said: ‘I have not heard this hadith from anyone before you, and I will follow the ruling we have found people applying.’ This is an abridged report.

Imran ibn Bakr ibn Rashid reported to us; he said: Abu al-Yaman narrated to us; he said: Shuayb informed us, from al-Zuhri, who said: Urwah ibn al-Zubayr informed me, from Aishah, that Abu Hudhayfah ibn Utbah ibn Rabi'ah ibn Abd Shams—one of those who had fought at Badr with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)—adopted Salim and married him to his niece, Hind bint al-Walid ibn Utbah ibn Rabi'ah ibn Abd Shams. Salim was a freedman of an Ansari woman. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had likewise adopted Zayd. In pre-Islamic times, when someone adopted a man, people called him their son, and he inherited from them. This continued until Allah, Mighty and Majestic, revealed concerning this: ‘Call them by their fathers; that is more just in the sight of Allah. If you do not know their fathers, then they are your brothers in religion and your allies.’ Anyone whose father was unknown was then a freedman and a brother in religion. This is an abridged report.

Muhammad ibn Nasr reported to us; he said: Ayyub ibn Sulayman ibn Bilal narrated to us; he said: Abu Bakr ibn Abi Uways narrated to me, from Sulayman ibn Bilal, who said: Yahya—meaning Ibn Said—said: Ibn Shihab informed me; he said: Urwah ibn al-Zubayr and Ibn Abd Allah ibn Rabi'ah narrated to me, from Aishah, the wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and Umm Salamah, the wife of the Prophet, that Abu Hudhayfah ibn Utbah ibn Rabi'ah ibn Abd Shams—one of those who had fought at Badr with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)—adopted Salim as a son. Salim was a freedman of an Ansari woman, just as the Messenger of Allah had adopted Zayd ibn Harithah. Abu Hudhayfah ibn Utbah married Salim to his niece, Hind bint al-Walid ibn Utbah ibn Rabi'ah. Hind bint al-Walid ibn Utbah was among the earliest women to emigrate, and at that time she was among the noblest unmarried women of Quraysh. When Allah, Mighty and Majestic, revealed concerning Zayd ibn Harithah, ‘Call them by their fathers; that is more just in the sight of Allah,’ each of those people was again attributed to his father. If a person’s father was not known, he was affiliated with his patrons.

Yaqub ibn Ibrahim reported to us; he said: Abu Tumaylah narrated to us, from Husayn ibn Waqid, from Ibn Buraydah, from his father, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘The basis on which the people of this world measure their status is wealth.’

Ismail ibn Masud reported to us; he said: Khalid narrated to us, from Abd al-Malik, from Ata, from Jabir, that he married a woman during the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The Prophet met him and asked: ‘Have you married, Jabir?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ He asked: ‘A virgin or a previously married woman?’ Jabir replied: ‘A previously married woman.’ He said: ‘Why not a virgin, so that she could play with you?’ Jabir said: ‘Messenger of Allah, I have sisters, and I feared she might come between me and them.’ He said: ‘Then that is the reason. A woman is married for her religion, her wealth, and her beauty, so seek the one who is religious. May your hands be rubbed with dust!’

Abd al-Rahman ibn Khalid reported to us; he said: Yazid ibn Harun narrated to us; he said: al-Mustalim ibn Said informed us, from Mansur ibn Zadhan, from Muawiyah ibn Qurrah, from Maqil ibn Yasar, who said: A man came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: ‘I have found a woman of good lineage and high standing, except that she cannot bear children. Should I marry her?’ He forbade him. The man came to him a second time, and he forbade him; then he came to him a third time, and he forbade him. He then said: ‘Marry women who are fertile and loving, for I will take pride in your large numbers.’

Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Taymi reported to us; he said: Yahya—meaning Ibn Said—narrated to us, from Ubayd Allah ibn al-Akhnas, from Amr ibn Shuaib, from his father, from his grandfather, that Marthad ibn Abi Marthad al-Ghanawi—a strong man—used to carry prisoners from Mecca to Medina. He said: I arranged to carry a man, and in Mecca there was a prostitute called Anaq, who had been my companion. She came out and saw my shadow in the shade of a wall. She said: ‘Who is that? Marthad? Welcome! Come tonight and spend the night with us at the encampment.’ I said: ‘Anaq, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has forbidden fornication.’ She called out: ‘People of the tents! This is Duldul, the one who carries your prisoners from Mecca to Medina!’

Marthad said: ‘I took the path through al-Khandamah, and eight men pursued me. They came until they stood over my head and urinated; their urine splashed on me, but Allah blinded them to me. I went to my companion and carried him. When I reached al-Arak with him, I loosened his fetter. Then I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: “Messenger of Allah, may I marry Anaq?” He remained silent. Then this was revealed: “The fornicatress is not married except by a fornicator or an idolater.” He called me, recited it to me, and said: “Do not marry her.”’

Muhammad ibn Ismail ibn Ibrahim reported to us; he said: Yazid narrated to us; he said: Hammad ibn Salamah and others narrated to us, from Harun ibn Ri'ab, from Abd Allah ibn Ubayd ibn Umayr; and from Abd al-Karim, from Abd Allah ibn Ubayd ibn Umayr, from Ibn Abbas. (Abd al-Karim traces the report back to Ibn Abbas, whereas Harun does not.) They both said: A man came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: ‘I have a woman who is among the people dearest to me, but she does not refuse the touch of a man.’ He said: ‘Divorce her.’ The man said: ‘I cannot bear to be apart from her.’ He said: ‘Then enjoy her.’ Abu Abd al-Rahman said: This hadith is not established. Abd al-Karim is not strong, while Harun ibn Ri'ab is more reliable; he transmitted the hadith as mursal. Harun is trustworthy, and his version is more likely to be correct than Abd al-Karim’s.

Ubayd Allah ibn Said reported to us; he said: Yahya narrated to us, from Ubayd Allah, from Said ibn Abi Said, from his father, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said: ‘Women are married for four things: their wealth, their lineage and standing, their beauty, and their religion. So seek the one who is religious. May your hands be rubbed with dust!’

Qutaybah reported to us; he said: al-Layth narrated to us, from Ibn Ajlan, from Said al-Maqburi, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked: ‘Which women are best?’ He said: ‘The one who pleases him when he looks at her, obeys him when he gives an instruction, and does not oppose him regarding herself or her wealth in anything he dislikes.’

Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Yazid reported to us; he said: My father narrated to us; he said: Haywah narrated to us—and he mentioned another transmitter—Shurahbil ibn Sharik informed us that he heard Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Hubuli narrating from Abd Allah ibn Amr ibn al-As, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘This world is all enjoyment, and the best enjoyment of this world is a righteous woman.’

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim informed us; he said: al-Nadr informed us; he said: Hammad ibn Salamah narrated to us, from Ishaq ibn Abd Allah, from Anas, who said: They asked: ‘Messenger of Allah, why do you not marry women from the Ansar?’ He said: ‘They have very strong protective jealousy.’

Abd al-Rahman ibn Ibrahim reported to us; he said: Marwan narrated to us; he said: Yazid—namely, Ibn Kaysan—narrated to us, from Abu Hazim, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: A man proposed to a woman from the Ansar. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked him: ‘Have you looked at her?’ He said, ‘No.’ So he instructed him to look at her.

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Abi Rizmah reported to us; he said: Hafs ibn Ghiyath narrated to us; he said: Asim narrated to us, from Bakr ibn Abd Allah al-Muzani, from al-Mughirah ibn Shubah, who said: I proposed to a woman during the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The Prophet asked: ‘Have you looked at her?’ I said, ‘No.’ He said: ‘Then look at her, for that is more likely to bring lasting affection between you.’