The Book of Marriage

Ishaq ibn Mansur reported to us; he said: Abd al-Rahman narrated to us; he said: Sufyan narrated to us, from Firas, from al-Sha'bi, from Masruq, from Abd Allah, concerning a man who married a woman, then died without consummating the marriage or specifying a dower. He said: ‘She is entitled to the dower, must observe the waiting period, and is entitled to inheritance.’ Ma'qil ibn Sinan said, ‘I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) rule this way in the case of Barwa' bint Washiq.’

Ishaq ibn Mansur reported to us; he said: Abd al-Rahman narrated to us, from Sufyan, from Mansur, from Ibrahim, from Alqamah, from Abd Allah—a report similar to the preceding one.

Ali ibn Hujr reported to us; he said: Ali ibn Mushir narrated to us, from Dawud ibn Abi Hind, from al-Sha'bi, from Alqamah, from Abd Allah: Some people came to him and said, ‘A man among us married a woman without specifying a dower or consummating the marriage with her, then died.’ Abd Allah said, ‘Since I parted from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), I have not been asked anything harder than this. Ask someone else.’ They disputed the matter before him for a month. At the end they said, ‘Whom should we ask if not you? You are among the most distinguished Companions of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in this town, and we know no one else.’ He said, ‘I will give my best considered opinion. If it is correct, it is from Allah alone, who has no partner; if it is wrong, it is from me and Satan, and Allah and His Messenger are free of it. I think she should receive a dower equal to that of women like her, neither less nor excessive; she is entitled to inheritance, and she must observe a waiting period of four months and ten days.’ People from Ashja' heard this. They stood and said, ‘We testify that you have ruled as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ruled concerning a woman among us named Barwa' bint Washiq.’ He said: Abd Allah was never seen happier on a day than that day, except for the day he embraced Islam.

Harun ibn Abd Allah reported to us; he said: Ma'n narrated to us; he said: Malik narrated to us, from Abu Hazim, from Sahl ibn Sa'd: A woman came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I have offered myself to you.’ She stood for a long time. A man stood and said, ‘Marry her to me if you have no need of her.’ The Messenger of Allah asked, ‘Do you have anything?’ He said, ‘I can find nothing.’ He said, ‘Look for something, even an iron ring.’ The man searched but found nothing. The Messenger of Allah then asked, ‘Do you know any of the Qur’an?’ He said, ‘Yes, such-and-such surah and such-and-such surah,’ naming several surahs. The Messenger of Allah said: ‘I have given her to you in marriage in consideration of what you know of the Qur’an.’

Muhammad ibn Bashshar reported to us; he said: Muhammad narrated to us; he said: Shu'bah narrated to us, from Abu Bishr, from Khalid ibn Urfutah, from Habib ibn Salim, from al-Nu'man ibn Bashir, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), concerning a man who has intercourse with his wife’s enslaved woman. He said: ‘If she had made her lawful to him, I would have him flogged one hundred times; but if she had not made her lawful to him, I would have him stoned.’

Muhammad ibn Ma'mar reported to us; he said: Habban narrated to us; he said: Aban narrated to us, from Qatadah, from Khalid ibn Urfutah, from Habib ibn Salim, from al-Nu'man ibn Bashir: A man named Abd al-Rahman ibn Hunayn, nicknamed Qurqur, had intercourse with his wife’s enslaved woman and was brought before al-Nu'man ibn Bashir. He said, ‘I will judge this case according to the ruling of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): if she had made her lawful to you, I will flog you; if she had not made her lawful to you, I will stone you.’ She had made her lawful to him, so he was flogged one hundred times. Qatadah said: ‘I wrote to Habib ibn Salim, and he wrote this back to me.’

Abu Dawud reported to us; he said: Arim narrated to us; he said: Hammad ibn Salamah narrated to us, from Sa'id ibn Abi Arubah, from Qatadah, from Habib ibn Salim, from al-Nu'man ibn Bashir: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said regarding a man who had intercourse with his wife’s enslaved woman: ‘If she had made her lawful to him, flog him one hundred times; but if she had not made her lawful to him, stone him.’

Muhammad ibn Rafi' reported to us; he said: Abd al-Razzaq narrated to us; he said: Ma'mar narrated to us, from Qatadah, from al-Hasan, from Qabisah ibn Hurayth, from Salamah ibn al-Muhabbaq, who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ruled concerning a man who had intercourse with his wife’s enslaved woman: ‘If he forced her, she is free, and he owes her mistress another woman like her. If she willingly consented, she becomes his, and he owes her mistress another woman like her.’

Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Bazi' reported to us; he said: Yazid narrated to us; he said: Sa'id narrated to us, from Qatadah, from al-Hasan, from Salamah ibn al-Muhabbaq: A man had intercourse with his wife’s enslaved woman, and the case was brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He said: ‘If he forced her, she is free from his property, and he owes her mistress an equivalent in compensation. If she willingly consented, she remains her mistress’s property, and he owes an equivalent from his own property.’

Amr ibn Ali reported to us; he said: Yahya narrated to us, from Ubayd Allah ibn Umar, who said: al-Zuhri narrated to me, from al-Hasan and Abd Allah, the two sons of Muhammad, from their father: Ali heard that a man saw no harm in temporary marriage. He said, ‘You are astray. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prohibited it, as well as the meat of domestic donkeys, on the day of Khaybar.’

Muhammad ibn Salamah and al-Harith ibn Miskin reported to us—by recitation to al-Harith while I listened; the wording is his. He said: Ibn al-Qasim informed us, from Malik, from Ibn Shihab, from Abd Allah and al-Hasan, the two sons of Muhammad ibn Ali, from their father, from Ali ibn Abi Talib: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prohibited temporary marriage with women on the day of Khaybar, and the meat of domesticated donkeys.

Amr ibn Ali, Muhammad ibn Bashshar, and Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna reported to us; they said: Abd al-Wahhab informed us; he said: I heard Yahya ibn Sa'id say: Malik ibn Anas informed me that Ibn Shihab told him that Abd Allah and al-Hasan, the two sons of Muhammad ibn Ali, informed him that their father, Muhammad ibn Ali, told them that Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prohibited temporary marriage with women on the day of Khaybar. Ibn al-Muthanna said: ‘On the day of Hunayn.’ He also said: ‘Abd al-Wahhab narrated this to us from his written copy.’

Qutaybah reported to us; he said: al-Layth narrated to us, from al-Rabi' ibn Sabrah al-Juhani, from his father, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) permitted temporary marriage. A man and I went to a woman from Banu Amir and offered ourselves to her. She asked, ‘What will you give me?’ I said, ‘My cloak.’ My companion also said, ‘My cloak.’ His cloak was better than mine, and I was younger than he was. When she looked at my companion’s cloak, she liked it; when she looked at me, she liked me. Then she said, ‘You and your cloak are enough for me.’ I stayed with her for three days. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘Whoever has any of these women in a temporary marriage should let her go.’

Mujahid ibn Musa reported to us; he said: Hushaym narrated to us, from Abu Balj, from Muhammad ibn Hatib, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘The distinction between the lawful and the unlawful is the tambourine and voices at a marriage.’

Muhammad ibn Abd al-A'la reported to us; he said: Khalid narrated to us, from Shu'bah, from Abu Balj, who said: I heard Muhammad ibn Hatib say: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘The distinction between the lawful and the unlawful is sound.’

Amr ibn Ali and Muhammad ibn Abd al-A'la reported to us; they said: Khalid narrated to us, from Ash'ath, from al-Hasan, who said: Aqil ibn Abi Talib married a woman from Banu Jusham. People said to him, ‘May you prosper and have sons.’ He said, ‘Say what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “May Allah bless you and bless you abundantly.”’

Qutaybah reported to us; he said: Hammad ibn Zayd narrated to us, from Thabit, from Anas: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw traces of saffron on Abd al-Rahman and asked, ‘What is this?’ He said, ‘I married a woman for the weight of a date stone in gold.’ He said, ‘May Allah bless you. Hold a wedding feast, even if only with a sheep.’

Abu Bakr ibn Nafi' reported to us; he said: Bahz ibn Asad narrated to us; he said: Hammad narrated to us; he said: Thabit narrated to us, from Anas: Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf came with traces of saffron on him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘What is this?’ He said, ‘I have married a woman.’ He asked, ‘What did you give her as a dower?’ He said, ‘The weight of a date stone in gold.’ He said, ‘Hold a wedding feast, even if only with a sheep.’

Ahmad ibn Yahya ibn al-Wazir ibn Sulayman informed me; he said: Sa'id ibn Kathir ibn Ufayr narrated to us; he said: Sulayman ibn Bilal informed us, from Yahya ibn Sa'id, from Humayd al-Tawil, from Anas, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw traces of yellow on me—as though he meant Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf—and said, ‘What is this?’ He said, ‘I married a woman from the Ansar.’ The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Hold a wedding feast, even if only with a sheep.’

Amr ibn Mansur reported to us; he said: Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik narrated to us; he said: Hammad narrated to us, from Ayyub, from Ikrimah, from Ibn Abbas: Ali said, ‘I married Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) and said, “O Messenger of Allah, send her to my home.”’ He said, ‘Give her something.’ I said, ‘I have nothing.’ He said, ‘Where is your Hutami armor?’ I said, ‘I have it.’ He said, ‘Give it to her.’