The Book of Marriage

Harun ibn Abd Allah reported to us; Ma'n informed us; he said: Malik narrated to us, from Ibn Shihab, from Urwah, from A'ishah, who said: ‘Aflah, Abu al-Qays’s brother, used to ask permission to enter upon me; he was my uncle through nursing. I refused to admit him until the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came. I told him, and he said: “Let him in, for he is your uncle.”’ A'ishah said: ‘That was after the veil had been prescribed.’

Abd al-Jabbar ibn al-Ala' reported to us, from Sufyan, from al-Zuhri and Hisham ibn Urwah, from Urwah, from A'ishah, who said: ‘My uncle Aflah asked permission to enter upon me after the veil had been prescribed, but I did not let him in. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came to me, and I asked him about it. He said: “Let him in, may your hands be dusted; he is your uncle.”’ I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, only the woman nursed me; the man did not nurse me.’ He said: ‘Let him in, may your hands be dusted; he is your uncle.’

Al-Rabi' ibn Sulayman ibn Dawud reported to us; he said: Abu al-Aswad and Ishaq ibn Bakr narrated to us; they said: Bakr ibn Mudar narrated to us, from Ja'far ibn Rabi'ah, from Irak ibn Malik, from Urwah, from A'ishah, who said: Aflah, the brother of Abu al-Qays, came asking permission to enter. I said, ‘I will not let him in until I ask the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).’ When the Prophet of Allah came, I said to him, ‘Aflah, the brother of Abu al-Qays, came asking permission, but I refused to let him in.’ He said: ‘Let him in, for he is your uncle.’ I said, ‘Only Abu al-Qays’s wife nursed me; the man did not nurse me.’ He said: ‘Let him in, for he is your uncle.’

Yunus ibn Abd al-A'la reported to us; he said: Ibn Wahb narrated to us; he said: Makhramah ibn Bukayr informed me, from his father, who said: I heard Humayd ibn Nafi say: I heard Zaynab bint Abi Salamah say: I heard A'ishah, the Prophet’s wife, say: Sahlah bint Suhayl came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I see distress on Abu Hudhayfah’s face because Salim comes in to see me.’ The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Nurse him.’ I said, ‘He is a grown man with a beard.’ He said: ‘Nurse him, and that will remove what is on Abu Hudhayfah’s face.’ She said: ‘By Allah, after that I never saw anything on Abu Hudhayfah’s face.’

Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman reported to us; he said: Sufyan narrated to us; he said: We heard it from Abd al-Rahman—namely, Ibn al-Qasim—from his father, from A'ishah, who said: Sahlah bint Suhayl came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, ‘I see distress on Abu Hudhayfah’s face because Salim comes in to see me.’ He said: ‘Nurse him.’ She said, ‘How can I nurse him when he is a grown man?’ He said, ‘Do I not know that he is a grown man?’ She later came and said, ‘By the One who sent you as a Prophet in truth, I have not seen anything displeasing on Abu Hudhayfah’s face since.’

Ahmad ibn Yahya ibn al-Wazir reported to us; he said: I heard Ibn Wahb say: Sulayman informed me, from Yahya and Rabi'ah, from al-Qasim, from A'ishah, who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) instructed Abu Hudhayfah’s wife to nurse Salim, the freedman of Abu Hudhayfah, so that Abu Hudhayfah’s jealousy would subside. She nursed him while he was a man. Rabi'ah said: ‘It was a concession for Salim.’

Humayd ibn Mas'adah reported to us, from Sufyan—namely, Ibn Habib—from Ibn Jurayj, from Ibn Abi Mulaykah, from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad, from A'ishah, who said: Sahlah came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, Salim comes in to see us, and he has reached maturity and knows what men know.’ He said: ‘Nurse him; by doing so, you will become unlawful to him.’ I refrained from speaking about it for a year. Then I met al-Qasim, and he said, ‘Speak about it, and do not be apprehensive.’

Amr ibn Ali reported to us, from Abd al-Wahhab, who said: Ayyub informed us, from Ibn Abi Mulaykah, from al-Qasim, from A'ishah: Salim, the freedman of Abu Hudhayfah, lived with Abu Hudhayfah and his family in their home. Suhayl’s daughter came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, ‘Salim has reached the age men reach and has the understanding they have. He comes in to see us, and I think Abu Hudhayfah feels some discomfort about it.’ The Prophet said: ‘Nurse him; you will become unlawful to him.’ I nursed him, and what Abu Hudhayfah felt went away. I returned to him and said, ‘I have nursed him,’ and what Abu Hudhayfah felt had gone away.

Yunus ibn Abd al-A'la reported to us; he said: Ibn Wahb informed us; he said: Yunus and Malik informed me, from Ibn Shihab, from Urwah, who said: The rest of the Prophet’s wives refused to allow anyone to enter upon them on the basis of that nursing—meaning the nursing of an adult. They said to A'ishah, ‘By Allah, we think the Messenger of Allah’s instruction to Sahlah bint Suhayl was only a concession from the Messenger of Allah for Salim alone. By Allah, no one will enter upon us through this nursing, nor see us.’

Abd al-Malik ibn Shu'ayb ibn al-Layth reported to us; he said: My father informed me, from my grandfather, who said: Uqayl narrated to me, from Ibn Shihab, who said: Abu Ubaydah ibn Abd Allah ibn Zam'ah informed me that his mother, Zaynab bint Abi Salamah, told him that her mother, Umm Salamah, the Prophet’s wife, used to say: The rest of the Prophet’s wives refused to allow anyone to enter upon them through that nursing. They said to A'ishah, ‘By Allah, we regard this only as a concession that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) granted specifically to Salim. So no one will enter upon us through this nursing, nor see us.’

Ubayd Allah and Ishaq ibn Mansur reported to us, from Abd al-Rahman, from Malik, from Abu al-Aswad, from Urwah, from A'ishah: Judhamah bint Wahb related to her that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘I had considered prohibiting al-ghilah, until I remembered that the Persians and Romans practice it.’ Ishaq added: ‘They practice it, and it does not harm their children.’

Isma'il ibn Mas'ud and Humayd ibn Mas'adah reported to us; they said: Yazid ibn Zuray' narrated to us; he said: Ibn Awn narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn Sirin, from Abd al-Rahman ibn Bishr ibn Mas'ud—who traced the report back through its chain to Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, who said: This matter was mentioned before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He asked, ‘What is that?’ We said, ‘A man has a wife and has intercourse with her, but does not want her to become pregnant; or he has an enslaved woman and has intercourse with her, but does not want her to become pregnant by him.’ He said: ‘There is no blame on you if you refrain from doing that, for it is only a matter of divine decree.’

Muhammad ibn Bashshar reported to us, from Muhammad, who said: Shu'bah narrated to us, from Abu al-Fayd, who said: I heard Abd Allah ibn Murrah al-Zuraqi, from Abu Sa'id al-Zuraqi: A man asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about withdrawal, saying, ‘My wife is nursing, and I dislike for her to become pregnant.’ The Prophet said: ‘What has been decreed in the womb will come to pass.’

Ya'qub ibn Ibrahim reported to us; he said: Yahya narrated to us, from Hisham. He also said: My father narrated to me, from Hajjaj ibn Hajjaj, from his father, who said: I asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, what would discharge my obligation of nursing?’ He said: ‘A male or female enslaved person.’

Ali ibn Hujr reported to us; he said: Isma'il informed us, from Ayyub, from Ibn Abi Mulaykah, who said: Ubayd ibn Abi Maryam related to me from Uqbah ibn al-Harith. I have also heard it from Uqbah, but I remember Ubayd’s report better. He said: ‘I married a woman, and a Black woman came to us and said, “I nursed you both.” I went to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), told him, and said, “I married so-and-so, daughter of so-and-so, and a Black woman came to me saying she had nursed us both.” He turned away from me. I came to him from the front and said, “She is lying.” He said, “How can you say that, when she has claimed that she nursed you both? Leave her.”’

Ahmad ibn Uthman ibn Hakim reported to us; he said: Abu Nu'aym narrated to us; he said: al-Hasan ibn Salih narrated to us, from al-Suddi, from Adi ibn Thabit, from al-Bara', who said: I met my maternal uncle carrying the banner. I asked, ‘Where are you going?’ He said, ‘The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent me to a man who married his father’s wife after his father’s death, to strike his neck—or kill him.’

Amr ibn Mansur reported to us; he said: Abd Allah ibn Ja'far narrated to us; he said: Ubayd Allah ibn Amr narrated to us, from Zayd, from Adi ibn Thabit, from Yazid ibn al-Bara', from his father, who said: I came upon my uncle carrying a banner. I asked, ‘Where are you going?’ He said, ‘The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent me to a man who married his father’s wife, and ordered me to strike his neck and take his property.’

Muhammad ibn Abd al-A'la reported to us; he said: Yazid ibn Zuray' narrated to us; he said: Sa'id narrated to us, from Qatadah, from Abu al-Khalil, from Abu Alqamah al-Hashimi, from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri: The Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent an army to Awtas. They encountered the enemy, fought them, and prevailed over them. They took captive women who had husbands among the polytheists, and the Muslims felt scruple about having sexual relations with them. Then Allah, Mighty and Exalted, revealed: ‘And [also forbidden to you are] married women, except those whom your right hands possess’ (Qur’an 4:24)—that is, this is lawful for you once their waiting period has ended.

Ubayd Allah ibn Sa'id reported to us; he said: Yahya narrated to us, from Ubayd Allah, who said: Nafi informed me, from Ibn Umar, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prohibited shighar marriage.

Humayd ibn Mas'adah reported to us; he said: Bishr narrated to us; he said: Humayd narrated to us, from al-Hasan, from Imran ibn Husayn, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘There is no jalab, janab, or shighar in Islam; and whoever commits an act of plunder is not one of us.’