Mishkat al-Masabih

‘A’isha told of hearing God’s Messenger say, “There is no divorce or emancipation in case of ighlaq." It is said that the meaning of ighlaq is “constraint”. Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah transmitted it.

Abu Huraira reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Every divorce is allowable except that by an idiot or one whose mind is deranged.” Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition, and ‘Ata’ b. ‘Ajlan, the transmitter, is a weak authority whose traditions are rejected.

a sleeper till he awakes, a boy till he reaches puberty, and an idiot till he is restored to reason.” Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud transmitted it. Darimi transmitted it on the authority of 'A’isha, and Ibn Majah on the authority of both (i.e. ‘Ali and ‘A’isha’)

‘A’isha reported God’s Messenger as saying, “The divorce of a slave-woman consists in saying it twice, and her 'idda period is two courses.” Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah and Darimi transmitted it.

Abu Huraira reported the Prophet as saying, “Women who withdraw themselves from their husbands and women who persuade their husbands to divorce them for a compensation are hypocrites.”* *This type of separation should be by mutual consent. Nasa’i transmitted it.

Nafi’ quoted a client to Safiya daughter of Abu ‘Ubaid to the effect that she got a divorce from her husband in return for everything she possessed and that ‘Abdallah b. ‘Umar made no objection to that. Malik transmitted it.

Mahmud b. Labid told that when God’s Messenger was informed about a man who had divorced his wife declaring it three times without any interval between them, he arose in anger and said, “Is sport being made of the Book of God who is great and glorious while I am among you?" As a result a man got up and said, “Messenger of God, shall I kill him?" Nasa’i transmitted it.

Malik told of hearing that a man said to ‘Abdallah b. ‘Abbas, “I have divorced my wife, uttering the divorce a hundred times, so what do you think I have made myself liable for?” Ibn ‘Abbas replied, “She was divorced from you by three utterances, and by ninety-seven you have made a mockery of God’s verses.” He transmitted it in al- Muwatta’.

Mu'adh b. Jabal told that God’s Messenger said to him, “Mu'adh, God has created nothing on the face of the earth dearer to Him than emancipation, and God has created nothing on the face of the earth more hateful to Him than divorce.” Daraqutni transmitted it.

‘A’isha told that the wife of Rifa'a al-Qurazi came to God's Messenger and said, “I was married to Rifa’a but he divorced me, making my divorce irrevocable. Afterwards I married ‘Abd ar-Rahman b. az- Zubair, but all he possesses is like the fringe of a garment.” He asked her whether she wanted to return to Rifa'a, but when she replied that she did, he said, “You may not until ‘Abd ar-Rahman and you have experienced the sweetness of intercourse with one another.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

‘Abdallah b. Mas'ud said that God’s Messenger cursed the man who made a woman lawful for her first husband and the one for whom she was made lawful.* * This refers to an arrangement to marry a divorced woman and to divorce her after having intercourse so that the one who had divorced her might remarry her. Darimi transmitted it, and Ibn Majah transmitted it on the authority of 'Ali Ibn ‘Abbas and ‘Uqba b. ‘Amir.

Sulaiman b. Yasar said he met over ten of the companions of God’s Messenger all of whom said that the one who swears to stay away from his wife must be made to return to her or divorce her at the end of the period. It is transmitted in Sharh as-sunna.

Abu Salama told that Sulaiman b. Sakhr, also called Salama b. Sakhr al-Bayadi, made his wife like his mother’s back* to him till the end of Ramadan, but when only half the month had gone he had inter-course with her during the night and went to God’s Messenger and mentioned that to him. He told him to set free a slave, but he replied that he could not get one; so he told him to fast two consecutive months, but he replied that he was unable to do that; he then told him to feed sixty poor people, but he replied that he did not possess the means, God’s Messenger then said to Farwa b. ‘Amr, “Give him that ‘araq (i.e., a date-basket holding fifteen or sixteen sa’s) (Cf. page 426) in order that he may feed sixty poor people.” Tirmidhi transmitted it. *I have retained the Arabic idiom in the translation. The phrase is said to have been used as a kind of divorce in pre-Islamic times, meaning that intercourse with the woman is being considered as intercourse with one’s mother.

Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah and Darimi transmitted something similar on the authority of Sulaiman b. Yasar quoting Salama b. Sakhr who said, “I was a man who was more given than others to sexual intercourse.” Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah and Darimi transmitted. The version of Abu Dawud and Darimi has, “Feed sixty poor people with a camel-load of dates.

Sulaiman b. Yasar on the authority of Salama b. Sakhr, reported the Prophet as saying about one who vows to make his wife like his mother’s back and has intercourse with her before making atonement, “There is one atonement.”* * Atonement for breaking the vow should be made before doing so, but if the vow is broken then the same atonement is enough. Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it.

‘Ikrima told on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas that a man who had vowed to make his wife like his mother’s back had intercourse with her before making atonement, so he went to the Prophet and mentioned that to him. He asked him what had induced him to do that and he replied, “Messenger of God, I saw the whiteness of her silver anklets in the moonlight and could not restrain myself from having intercourse with her.” God's Messenger laughed and ordered him not to go near her till he had made atonement. Ibn Majah transmitted it, and Tirmidhi transmitted something similar, saying this is a hasan sahih gharib tradition. Abu Dawud and Nasa’i transmitted something similar both with a full isnad and in mursal form, Nasa’i saying that the mursal version is nearer the truth than the one with a full isnad.

Mu'awiya b. al-Hakam told that he went to God’s Messenger and said, “Messenger of God, I have a slave girl who was herding sheep of mine. I went to her, having missed a sheep from the flock, and asked her about it, and she told me it had been eaten by a wolf. I was annoyed with her, and being human, I struck her on the face. As it is my duty to set free a slave, should I set her free?” God’s Messenger asked her where God was and she replied that he was in heaven. He asked her who he was and she replied that he was God's Messenger. He then told him to set her free. Malik transmitted it. In Muslim’s version he said, “I had a slave girl who was herding sheep of mine in the direction of Uhud and al-Jawwaniya. One day I looked and saw that a wolf had gone off with one of our sheep. Now I am a man who becomes annoyed just as others do, but I gave her a blow and then went to God’s Messenger. He treated my offence as serious, and so I asked him whether I should set her free. He told me to bring her and when I did so he asked her where God was and she replied that He was in heaven. He asked her who he was and she replied that he was God’s Messenger. He then told me to set her free, for she was a believer.”* *This chapter has only one section.

“Tell me about a man who finds a man along with his wife. Should he kill him and then be killed by you1, or how should he act?’’ He replied, “A revelation has been sent down about you and your wife2, so go away and bring her.” Sahl said that they cursed one another in the mosque and that he was along with the people who were with God’s Messenger. Then when they finished ‘Uwaimir said, “I shall have lied against her, Messenger of God, if I keep her,” and pronounced her divorce three times. God’s Messenger then said to the people, “Look, and if she bears a child which is black, and has very black eyes, large buttocks and fat legs, I cannot but imagine that ‘Uwaimir has spoken the truth about her; but if she bears a reddish child like the lizard with red spots (wahara), I cannot but imagine that ‘Uwaimir has lied against her.” She gave birth to a child like that described by God’s Messenger in declaring that ‘Uwaimir had spoken the truth, and afterwards its lineage was traced to its mother. (Bukhari and Muslim.) 1. Some texts read as translated above; others use the third person, with reference to the family of the man and their revenge for killing him. 2. Al-Qur'an 24:6.

Ibn ‘Umar said that the Prophet made a man and his wife invoke curses when the man disowned her child, and separated them and attributed the child to the woman. In his tradition transmitted by both of them it says that God's Messenger exhorted and admonished the man and informed him that punishment in this world is easier than that in the next. He then summoned the woman and exhorted and admonished her and told her that punishment in this world is easier than that in the next. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

He reported the Prophet as saying to two who were invoking curses regarding one another, “Your reckoning is in God’s hands, for one of you is lying.” He then told the man that he could not remarry her, whereupon he said, “Messenger of God, what about my property?”* He replied, “There is no property for you. If you have spoken the truth, it is the price of your having had the right to intercourse with her; and if you have lied against her, it is more remote still from you than she is.” * Referring to the dower be had paid. (Bukhari and Muslim.).

Hilal b. Umayya accused his wife in the Prophet’s presence of having committed adultery with Sharik b. Sahma'. When the Prophet told him that he must produce evidence or receive punishment on his back, he said, “Messenger of God, when one of us sees a man having intercourse with his wife, must he go and seek evidence?” But the Prophet merely replied that he must produce evidence or receive punishment on his back. Hilal then said, “By Him who sent you with the truth, I am speaking truly. May God send down something which will free my back from punishment!” Then Gabriel descended and brought down to him, “And those who make charges against their spouses,” reciting till he reached, “if he is one of those who speak the truth” (Al-Qur’an 24:6-9).Then Hilal came and gave testimony and the Prophet was saying, “God knows that one of you is lying. Will one of you repent?” Then the woman got up and testified, but when she was about to do it a fifth time they stopped her and told her that it would be the deciding one. Ibn ‘Abbas told that she then hesitated and drew back, so that they thought she would renounce what she had said; but thereafter she said, “I shall not disgrace my people forever,” and went on with her declaration. The Prophet told them to look and see whether she gave birth to a child with eyes looking as if they had antimony in them, wide buttocks and fat legs, for if she did, Sharik b. Sahma' would be its father. Then when she gave birth to a child of that description the Prophet said, “If it were not for what has already been stated in God’s Book, I would have dealt severely with her.” Bukhari transmitted it.

Abu Huraira told that Sa'd b. ‘Ubada asked, “If I were to find a man with my wife, should I not touch him before bringing four witnesses?” Then when God’s Messenger replied that that was so, he said, “By no means. I swear by Him who has sent you with the truth that I would take my sword to him before that.” God’s Messenger said, “Listen to what your chief says. He is jealous of his honour, but I am more jealous than he is and God is more jealous than I am.” Muslim transmitted it.

Al-Mughira told that Sa'd b 'Ubada said, “If I saw a man with my wife I would strike him with the sword, and not with the flat of it.” When God’s Messenger heard of that he said, “Are you surprised at Sa'd’s jealousy? I swear by God that I am more jealous than he is and that God is more jealous than I am. Because of God’s jealousy He has prohibited abominations both open and secret. No one is fonder of receiving an excuse than God, on which account He has sent warners and announcers of good news; and no one is fonder of praise than God, on which account God has promised paradise.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira reported God’s Messenger as saying, “God most high is jealous of His honour, and the believer is jealous. God’s jealousy is to the effect that a believer should not commit what God has prohibited.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

He told of a desert Arab who came to God’s Messenger and said, “My wife has given birth to a black son and I have disowned him.” God’s Messenger asked him whether he had any camels, and when he replied that he had, he asked what their colour was and was told that they were red. He asked if there was a dusky one among them, and was told that there were some. He asked how he thought that had come about, and was told that it was a strain to which they had reverted. Then saying that this was perhaps a strain to which the child had reverted, he did not permit him to disown him. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

‘A’isha said that ‘Utba b. Abu Waqqas enjoined his brother Sa'd b. Abu Waqqas that the son of Zam'a's slave girl was his, and told him to look after him. In the year of the Conquest Sa'd took him, saying he was his brother’s son, but ‘Abd b. Zam'a claimed him as his brother. They made a simultaneous plea to God’s Messenger, Sa‘d saying, “Messenger of God, my brother has enjoined me regarding him,” and ‘Abd b. Zam'a saying, "He is my brother and the son of my father's slave girl, being born on his bed.” God’s Messenger then said, "He belongs to you, ‘Abd b. Zam'a, for the child is attributed to the one on whose bed it is born, and the fornicator is deprived of any right.”1 He then told Sauda daughter of Zam'a to veil herself from him because of the resemblance to ‘Utba which he saw in him, and he did not see her till he went into God’s presence.2 In a version he said, “He is your brother, ‘Abd b. Zam'a because he was born on his father’s bed.”3 1. Al-hajar. This might alternatively mean that the fornicator is to be stoned. 2. i.e., until he died. 3. This explanatory addition does not occur in Masabih as-sunna. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

One day God's Messenger visited me looking pleased and asked if I was not surprised to hear that Mujazziz al-Mudlijl1 had entered, and seeing Usama and Zaid2 with a rug over them covering their heads and letting their feet appear, said, “These feet are related.” (Bukhari and Muslim.) 1. Members of the tribe of Mudlij were said to have a reputation for being able to trace relationship from physical features. 2. Usama was Zaid's son.

Sa‘d b. Abu Waqqas and Abu Bakra reported God’s Messenger as saying, "If anyone knowingly claims as father one who is not his father, paradise is forbidden to him.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

‘Abu Huraira reported God’s Messenger as saying, "Do not turn against your fathers, for he who turns against his father has become an infidel.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

"Any woman who brings into a family one who does not belong to it can expect no mercy from God (or is no observer of God’s religion) and God will not bring her into His paradise; and God will veil Himself from any man who disowns his child when he looks at him, and shame him in the presence of all creatures, first and last.” Abu Dawud, Nasa'i and Darimi transmitted it. 1. Al-Qur’an 24:6

Ibn ‘Abbas told of a man coming to the Prophet and saying, “I have a wife who rejects no one who wishes intercourse with her,” but when he told him to divorce her he replied that he loved her, so he told him that in that case he should keep her. Abu Dawud and Nasa’i transmitted it, Nasa’i saying that one of the transmitters traced it to Ibn ‘Abbas and that one did not, adding that this tradition is not well established.

The Prophet decided regarding one who is treated as a member of a family after the death of his father to whom he is attributed when the heirs say he is one of them, that if he is the child of a slave woman whom the father owned when he had intercourse with her he is included among those who seek his inclusion, but gets none of the inheritance which was previously divided;* he however gets his portion of the inheritance which has not already been divided, but if the father to whom he is attributed had disowned him he is not joined to the heirs. If he is the child of a slave woman whom the father did not possess or of a freewoman with whom he had illicit intercourse, he is not joined to the heirs and does not inherit even if the one to whom he is attributed is the one who claims paternity, for he is a child of fornication whether his mother was free or a slave. Abu Dawud transmitted it. *Mirqat 3:506 explains this as a reference to what had happened in the pre-Islamic period.

Jabir b. ‘Atik reported God’s prophet as saying, ‘‘There is jealousy which God loves and jealousy which God hates. That which He loves is jealousy regarding a matter of doubt, and that which He hates is jealousy regarding something which is not doubtful. There is pride which God hates and pride which God loves. That which He loves is a man’s pride when fighting and when giving sadaqa, and that which God hates is pride shown by boasting.” A version has “by oppression.” Ahmad, Abu Dawud and Nasa’i transmitted it.

‘Amr b. Shu'aib, on his father’s authority, said that his grandfather told of a man who got up and said, “Messenger of God, so and so is my son; I had illicit intercourse with his mother in the pre-Islamic period.” God’s Messenger replied, “There is no unlawful claiming of paternity in Islam. What was done in pre-Islamic times has been annulled. The child is attributed to the one on whose bed it is born, and the fornicator is deprived of any right.” Abu Dawud transmitted it.

* a Christian woman married to a Muslim, a Jewess married to a Muslim, a freewoman married to a slave, and a slave woman married to a freeman.” *That is the mutual invoking of curses with which this chapter deals. Ibn Majah transmitted it.

Ibn ‘Abbas said that when the Prophet ordered a man and wife to invoke curses regarding one another, he ordered a man to put his hand on his mouth when he came to the fifth utterance, saying that it would be the deciding one. Nasa’i transmitted it.

‘A'isha said that once when God’s Messenger went out from her during the night she was jealous regarding him. Then when he came and saw what she was doing he said, “What is the matter with you, ‘A'isha? Are you jealous?” She replied, “Why should one like me not be jealous regarding one like you?” He said, “Your devil has come to you.” She asked, “Messenger of God, have I a devil?” He told her that she had, and when she asked him whether he had one he replied, “Yes, but God has helped me against him so that I may be safe.” Muslim transmitted it.

Abu Salama was told by Fatima daughter of Qais that Abu ‘Amr b. Hafs divorced her absolutely when he was away from home, and his agent sent her some barley. She was displeased with it, and when he said, “I swear by God that you have no claim on us,” she went to God’s Messenger and mentioned that to him. Saying that she was due no maintenance, he ordered her to spend the period before she could remarry in the house of Umm Sharik, but said afterwards, “That is a woman whom my companions visit; spend the period in the house of Ibn Umm Maktum, for he is blind and you can undress. Then when you are in a position to be remarried, tell me." She said that when she was in a position to remarry she mentioned to him that Mu'awiya b. Abu Sufyan and Abu Jahm had asked her in marriage, and he replied, “As for Abu Jahm, he does not put down his stick from his shoulder, and as for Mu'awiya, he is a poor man who has no property; marry Usama b. Zaid." She objected to him, but he said, “Marry Usama," so she married him, God prospered him, and she was envied. A version on her authority has, “As for Abu Jahm, he is a man who is given to beating women." In a version it says that her husband divorced her three times and that when she went to the Prophet he said, “You are due no maintenance unless you are pregnant." Muslim transmitted it.

'A'isha said that Fatima was in a lonely place and fear was entertained regarding the district where she was, so the Prophet gave her permission, i.e., to remove. In a version she asked what was the matter with Fatima and whether she did not fear God, i.e., with reference to her saying that she had no place to live and no maintenance. Bukhari transmitted it.

Sa'id b. al-Musayyib said that Fatima was removed simply because she had so much to say against her husband’s relatives. It is transmitted in Sharh as-sunna.

My maternal aunt was divorced by three utterances of the divorce and wanted to cut down fruit from her palm-trees, but a man forbade her to go out, so she went to the Prophet and he said, “Certainly, cut down fruit from your palm-trees, for perhaps you may give sadaqa or do an act of kindness.” Muslim transmitted it.

Al-Miswar b. Makhrama said that some nights after her husband’s death Subai’a al-Aslamiya gave birth to a child. Then she went to the Prophet and asked permission to marry. He gave her permission and she married. Bukhari transmitted it.

"Messenger of God, my daughter’s husband has died and her eye is troubling her, so may we apply collyrium to it?” He said “No” twice or thrice, saying only “No” all the time. Then he said, “It is only four months and ten days, whereas in the pre-Islamic period none of you threw away the piece of dung till a year had passed.”* * The reference is to a pre-Islamic custom by which a widow threw a piece of dung when her idda period came to an end. Cf. Lane, Lexicon and Taj al-'arus; Mirqat, 3:513 f. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Umm Habiba and Zainab daughter of Jahsh reported God’s Messenger as saying, “It is not lawful for a woman who believes in God and the last day to observe mourning for one who has died more than three nights, except for the four months and ten days in the case of a husband.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Umm 'Atiya reported God’? Messenger as saying, “A woman must not observe mourning for one who has died more than three nights, except for the four months and ten days in the case of a husband, and she must not wear a dyed garment except one of the type made of dyed yarn,1 or apply collyrium, or touch perfume except for a little costus or azfar2 when she has been purified after her courses.” 1. ‘Asb. This word is applied to a type of Yemen garment which was made of cloth which was dyed before being woven. 2. A certain odoriferous substance resembling finger-nails, used in incense. (Bukhari and Muslim.) Abu Dawud added, “or apply henna.”

Zainab daughter of Ka‘b said that al-Furai‘a daughter of Malik b. Sinan and sister of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri informed her that she went to God’s Messenger and asked to be allowed to return to her people among the B. Khudra, for her husband had gone out in search of some slaves of his who had run away and they had killed him. She said she asked God's Messenger to be allowed to return to her people, for her husband had not left her in a house which belonged to him, nor had he left any maintenance and that when he agreed she went away, but when she was in the courtyard (or in the mosque) he called her and said, “Stay in your house till the prescribed period is ended.” She said that she observed the period in it for four months and ten days. Malik, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Nasa’i,. Ibn Majah and Darimi transmitted it.

God’s Messenger came to visit me when Abu Salama died, and I had put the juice of aloes on myself. He asked me what it was, and I told him it was only the juice of aloes and contained no perfume, so he said, “It gives the face a glow, so apply it only at night and remove it in the daytime, and do not comb yourself with scent or henna, for it is a dye.” I asked God’s Messenger what I should use when combing myself, and he told me to use lote-tree leaves and smear my head copiously with them. Abu Dawud and Nasa’i transmitted it.

She reported the Prophet as saying, “One whose husband has died must not wear garments dyed with saffron or red clay, or jewels, and she must not apply henna or collyrium. Abu Dawud and Nasa'i transmitted it.

Sulaiman b. Yasar told that al-Ahwas died in Syria when his wife whom he had divorced was at the beginning of her third menstrual period, as Mu'awiya b. Abu Sufyan wrote to Zaid b. Thabit asking him about that. Zaid wrote in reply that when she began her third period she was free from him and he was free from her; he could not inherit from her or she from him. Malik transmitted it.

Sa'id b. al-Musayyib reported ‘Umar b. al-Khattab as saying, “If any woman is divorced and has one or two menstrual periods then stops menstruating she must wait nine months, and if it is apparent that she is pregnant the rules concerning that are applied; otherwise she must observe a period of three months after the nine months are ended, after which she may lawfully remarry. Malik transmitted it.