In Islam, sexuality is considered part of our identity as human beings. In His creation of humankind, God distinguished us from other animals by giving us reason and will such that we can control behavior that, in other species, is governed solely by instinct. So, although sexual relations ultimately can result in the reproduction and survival of the human race, an instinctual concept, our capacity for self-control allows us to regulate this behavior. Also, the mere fact that human beings are the only creatures who engage in sexual relations once they are beyond the physical capacity for reproduction, sets us apart from all other species which engage in sex for the sole purpose of reproduction.
Marriage
For Muslims, based on an understanding of Qur'an and hadith, sexual relations are confined to marriage between a wife and husband. Within this context, the role of a healthy sexual relationship is extremely important. Having and raising children are encouraged among Muslims. Once a child is born, the parents are expected to care for, nurture and prepare the child for adulthood, with a goal of imparting Islam so that the indivdual is equipped with knowledge and willingness to accept and practice Islam and thus become a productive member of society.
Beyond childbearing, sexual relations assume a prominent role in the overall well-being of the marriage. In reading hadith, one is impressed with the Prophet's ability to discuss all issues including those dealing with human sexuality. The topics range from questions about menstruation to orgasm. He apparently was not embarassed by such inquiries, but strove to adequately guide and inform the Muslims who asked. Both Qur'an and hadith allude to the nature of sexual relations as a means of attaining mutual satisfaction, closeness and compassion between a wife and husband. "Permitted to you on the night of the Fasts is the approach to your wives. They are your garments and you are their garments."(2:187) Also, Muslims are advised to avoid sexual intercourse during menses so as not to cause discomfort to the woman (2:222).
The goal of marriage is to create tenderness between two individuals and satisfy the very basic human need for companionship. "And among His signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquility with them, and He has put love and mercy between you; in this are signs for those who think."(30:21) The hadith which address this issue are numerous. The Prophet himself, while not divulging all aspects of his own sexual life, was known for his nature as a loving husband who was sensitive and physically demonstrative. In several hadith, he speaks about the importance of foreplay and speaking in loving terms during sexual relations. Again, the concept of mutual satisfaction is elucidated in a hadith which advises husbands to engage in acts that enable a woman to achieve orgasm first. (see Ihya ulum-id-din (Revival of Religious Learning) by Imam Ghazzali, chapter on Marriage). Sexual dissatisfaction is considered legitimate grounds for divorce on the part of either wife or husband.
Sex Outside of Marriage
Naturally, attraction between individuals is necessary to initiate a relationship that leads to marriage. But sexual relations can obviously take place between any couple, consenting or not. Because of the far-reaching ramifications of sexual relations outside of marriage, Muslims are prohibited by God from such behavior. And because the process that leads to physical attraction and ultimately intimacy is part of human nature, Muslims are advised to behave in a way and avoid circumstances that could potentially result in extra- or pre-marital sex. Modesty in dress and behavior between women and men figures prominently as a means of exhibiting self-control. Similarly, unmarried couples are admonished against spending time alone in isolated places where they would be more likely to act on their feelings and thus be less inhibited.
Some of the negative results of sex outside of marriage include the potential for unwanted pregnancies, transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, disruption of the family and marriage (in cases of adultery), and emotional and psychological difficulties resulting from the lack of commitment associated with most relationships outside of marriage. As in other religions, extra- and pre-marital sex are considered major sins. Muslims believe that God does not simply forbid or allow behavior whimsically, but does so with our best interest at heart, guiding us away from potentially destructive behavior and towards behavior that allows us to achieve our most fulfilling potentials as human beings. For a similar reason, Muslims give up the consumption of alcohol because of faith in God's wisdom that the negative effects outweigh the positive for individuals and society at large. "Whoever submits his whole self to God, and is a doer of good, has grasped indeed the most trustworthy handhold..."{(31:22)
Contraception
Although Muslims are encouraged to have children, contraception is not prohibited. The method used during the time of the Prophet was coitus interruptus (known as 'azl) about which several hadith exist. His basic response when asked if such a practice was lawful was that individuals can do as they will, but if God intends for a child to be born, she/he will be born. Some interpreted this to mean that preventing pregnancy is not recommended because child-bearing is preferred; yet the act is not specifically prohibited. Also, other hadith stipulate that 'azl could not be practiced without the wife's consent as it might interfere with her sexual satisfaction or desire to bear children.
By analogy, the methods that exist today as contraceptives are lawful for Muslims to use at their discretion. Basically, it is our position that any method that does not involve pregnancy termination is permissible. Imam al-Ghazzali (see previous reference) lists a number of legitimate reasons for practicing contraception, including financial difficulty, emotional or psychological hardship of having many children, and even the preservation of beauty and health.
It should be clear from this discussion, that since sexual relations should be confined to marriage, contraception is so limited. It is not considered a means of easing the difficulties associated with sexual relations outside of marriage.
Abortion
Abortion is viewed in the same context as having relevance only regarding pregnancies occurring in marriage, again, not as a response to conception as a result of extra- or pre-marital relationships. Early Muslim jurists considered abortion lawful for a variety of reasons until 40 -120 days after conception (first trimester). This was based on interpretation of Qur'an (22:4 and 23:12-14) and hadith that implied that ensoulment or 'life' did not exist until after that time (see Sex and Society in Islam, B.F. Musallam, Cambridge University Press, 1983). Contemporary thinkers, considering available technology that allows visualization of the embryonic heartbeat at four weeks of gestation, are of the position that life begins much earlier than previously thought, and therefore to terminate would be to take a life illegally.
The majority of Muslims today believe that abortion is allowed only if the mother's life is significantly endangered by the pregnancy. Some also feel that the presence of certain congenital anomalies (particularly those that are lethal) make abortion lawful. Also, some scholars consider abortion appropriate in pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.
Homosexuality
Human beings are capable of many forms of sexual expression, orientation and identification. The existence of such a variety again is not found in any other species and thus further demonstrates our uniqueness among God's creations. The potential for behavior, such as homosexuality, does not mean that its practice is lawful in the eyes of God. Therefore, individuals are expected to control themselves and not act on their desires if such action is contrary to the guidelines of Islam. Homosexuality, like other forms of sexual relations outside of heterosexual marriage, is thus prohibited. In any discussion of prohibited acts follows the question of what happens if they nevertheless occur. The Qur'an and hadith are explicit regarding severe punishment by the State if a person is convicted of such a crime. However, in order for conviction to take place, the individuals must confess or be accused by at least four eyewitnesses of the act of actual intercourse. Obviously, the likelihood of these criteria being met is small which means that most couples who engage in unlawful acts will not be punished by the State. They will then deal with the consequences of their behavior in this life and will be accountable to God on the Day of Judgement. How He ultimately judges is known only by Him.
Sex Education
Clearly, from the above discussion, Islam is explicit about many aspects of human sexuality. Also, based on the numerous hadith showing the Prophet's willingness to discuss these matters openly, it should be obvious that education about matters related to sex is acceptable. Muslims may disagree about the age at which sex education begins; some don't discuss the subject at all. Explaining anatomy and the changes one's body experiences during puberty are essential for enabling young people to grow up with a healthy self-image. Also, in an age where sexual activity in many countries begins at an early age, Muslim adolescents must be informed to better enable them to deal with peer pressure. Sex education can be taught in a way that informs young people about sexuality in scientific and moral terms. In countries with very diverse populations, such as the United States, the main limitation in developing sex education curricula, particularly in public schools, is the inability to select a universally acceptable moral position. Therefore, young people are given facts and information, and advised that if they choose to engage in sexual relationships, they should take measures to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. The moral and religious aspects of sexuality can be incorporated either in schools of a particular religious denomination or in adjunctive coursework offered by religious institutions. Regardless of the challenges of each society, young people must be adequately informed. Also, in some Muslim communities, individuals are encouraged to marry at young ages. They need to be educated regarding sexuality prior to the marriage such that they know what to expect and can consider their options for birth control prior to consummating the marriage.
Female Genital Mutilation
The practice of clitoridectomy preceded the introduction of Islam in Arabia and in different parts of Africa. This results in severe sexual debilitation of women, who cannot possibly achieve sexual fulfillment -- which is their right as Muslims. Therefore, this practice is totally unIslamic because it is in direct violation of both Qur'an and hadith, which clearly stress the importance of sexual satisfaction for both the husband and wife.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The Choice of the Partner
Grand Ayatollah H.E. Sayyed M. H. Fadlullah
Q Is the Muslim woman given the freedom of choosing her future husband away from the authority of the father?
A: In Islam, the father doesn't have the authority to interfere in his adult children's-males or females - decisions, especially in the case of marriage. Although many reservations concerning the issue of the virgin are being raised on the behalf of some Islamic jurisprudents, we believe that both adult males and females possess the legal right to make their own personal decisions. However, it is up to the person himself / herself to consult the father if she/he wishes to. Nevertheless, all Islamic jurisprudents agree on the point that the widowed or the divorced has the absolute freedom to choose her own future partner.
The matter of obedience to parents, which Islam calls for, shouldn't contradict with the benefits of the children. If the son or daughter recognizes that this obedience to the parents doesn't fit his/her ambitions, then he/she has the total right to seek what benefits him/her. Thus, any person-male or female has the legal right to get married to whom he/she sees his/her life with. As a matter of fact, since obedience to parents is not an Islamic law, it is just a case of taking care, protecting, and respecting our parents; the above-mentioned behavior is not considered an act of disloyalty or disobedience. The persons are supposed to be kind, helpful, and patient to their parents nothing more.
Q: According to this, is the contract of the virgin's marriage that has taken place without the father's agreement, legal?
A: If we adopt the view that necessities the presence of the father , then we have to say that the virgin woman is prohibited from getting married without her father's agreement, and in this case the marriage, if it happens, would be illegal. However, some other Islamic jurisprudents, like Assayid Al- Khouee, resort to what is called obligatory precaution to the case of such marriage. They demand that the father should agree, or that the man should divorce since the contact is not absolutely valid.
In the same sense, the view that advocates the marriage of the virgin woman without the presence of either her father or her grandfather is also a legal view and is advocated by a number of scholars, and thus the marriage in their view is legal.
If the permission of marriage is not subjected to the idea of loyalty, them why is the woman supposed to ask her father's permission not her mother's knowing that the emotional relation between the mother and her daughter is stronger than that with the father?
It is probable that the father might be more understanding to the personality of the proposed person that the mother. However, we have already stated that the permission of marriage is not a necessity neither from the father nor from the mother. Therefore, both the father, and the mother meet in this point. It is, in fact to the daughter's devotion to seek the permission if she wishes to.
-What are the qualities needed in a daughter or in a son to make her/him a decision maker?
Both the son or the daughter Should be mature enough to make their own decisions. They should be rational and aware of what benefits them.
The Preferable qualities in a partner.
What are the preferable qualities, which Islam motivates the man or the woman to find in the partner?
Islam necessities the presence of both the religious and the moral traits upon choosing the future partner. For instance, the Prophet(p.) once said: "If the religious and the moral qualities exist in the proposed partner, accept the proposal, otherwise it would turn out to be a greatest corruption on earth." For more clarification, a man once consulted the Prophet(p.) about the kind of the person he should get married to. The Prophet(p.) advised: "The religious one."
Going deep into the word "religious", we could understand that the mind, the heart, and the body are inclusive. A religious or a pious person is known for his commitment to his religious duties within himself and with others as well. A pious person who is faithful and obedient to Allah knows and respects his limits and the limits of others. Thus, the presence of the religious element guarantees the success and the healthiness of a marriage life.
In addition, Islam focuses on the presence of the moral side in the process of choice to a partner. The moral side is so essential in that it enriches the spiritual one. The presence of both the moral and the spiritual empowers the relation and strengthens it against any shaking trouble. These two elements help in the compatibility of the partners yet they become more faithful, more honest, and more merciful to each other. Islam concentrates on and highlights the importance of the presence of the moral side for the moral side for the success of any human relation not only the marriage-relation.
The Prophet(p.) said: "I have been commissioned to perfect the best of morals." Allah also says:
"And marry such of you as are solitary and the pious of your slaves and maid-servants. And marry such of you as are solitary and the pious of your slaves and maid-servants. If they be poor, Allah will enrich them of His bounty. Allah is of ample means, Aware. Allah is of ample means, Aware. “24:32 ا
However, Islam doesn't give any credence to the partner's economical side simply because money doesn't make a man' it doesn't form one's human values; it is man who makes money that is why the presence of money is not stable; it easily goes. Allah says: "
If they be poor, Allah will enrich them of His bounty. Allah is of ample means, Aware.
" in fact, a person might be poor but rich in his values, love, and care.
What do you advise a woman who is asked to choose between either staying single or choosing a person who doesn't posses the Islamic qualities?
If the proposed person in an ordinary person who doesn't affect negatively her beliefs and doesn't bring troubles to her life, then I prefer the state of marriage to the state of staying single.
Woman and her invasion to the fields of arts and media
The Observance to the moral limits:
-If woman's work outside her house has been legally issued, is her work in the fields of art and media which is mixed with men, permitted?
In principle, such kinds of jobs are not prohibited. Woman's entrance to the world of cinema and theatre is Islamically legalized provided that the woman herself would observe her restrictions and keep her moral values as well. Needless to say that the observance of restrictions and moral values are also, required on the behalf of men. Both men and woman have the same rights and are thus subjected to the same laws and restrictions.
If there is any objection towards the woman's job in the cinema, it might be due to the lack of the Islamic cinemas and theaters nothing more. In the same manner, if the Islamic benefit requires the development of such fields so that we could limit the impact of the western culture and tradition on our Muslim people and so that the theatre and the cinema could guide and instruct to the right path of Islam, than woman's work becomes a must.
Q Is the Muslim woman given the freedom of choosing her future husband away from the authority of the father?
A: In Islam, the father doesn't have the authority to interfere in his adult children's-males or females - decisions, especially in the case of marriage. Although many reservations concerning the issue of the virgin are being raised on the behalf of some Islamic jurisprudents, we believe that both adult males and females possess the legal right to make their own personal decisions. However, it is up to the person himself / herself to consult the father if she/he wishes to. Nevertheless, all Islamic jurisprudents agree on the point that the widowed or the divorced has the absolute freedom to choose her own future partner.
The matter of obedience to parents, which Islam calls for, shouldn't contradict with the benefits of the children. If the son or daughter recognizes that this obedience to the parents doesn't fit his/her ambitions, then he/she has the total right to seek what benefits him/her. Thus, any person-male or female has the legal right to get married to whom he/she sees his/her life with. As a matter of fact, since obedience to parents is not an Islamic law, it is just a case of taking care, protecting, and respecting our parents; the above-mentioned behavior is not considered an act of disloyalty or disobedience. The persons are supposed to be kind, helpful, and patient to their parents nothing more.
Q: According to this, is the contract of the virgin's marriage that has taken place without the father's agreement, legal?
A: If we adopt the view that necessities the presence of the father , then we have to say that the virgin woman is prohibited from getting married without her father's agreement, and in this case the marriage, if it happens, would be illegal. However, some other Islamic jurisprudents, like Assayid Al- Khouee, resort to what is called obligatory precaution to the case of such marriage. They demand that the father should agree, or that the man should divorce since the contact is not absolutely valid.
In the same sense, the view that advocates the marriage of the virgin woman without the presence of either her father or her grandfather is also a legal view and is advocated by a number of scholars, and thus the marriage in their view is legal.
If the permission of marriage is not subjected to the idea of loyalty, them why is the woman supposed to ask her father's permission not her mother's knowing that the emotional relation between the mother and her daughter is stronger than that with the father?
It is probable that the father might be more understanding to the personality of the proposed person that the mother. However, we have already stated that the permission of marriage is not a necessity neither from the father nor from the mother. Therefore, both the father, and the mother meet in this point. It is, in fact to the daughter's devotion to seek the permission if she wishes to.
-What are the qualities needed in a daughter or in a son to make her/him a decision maker?
Both the son or the daughter Should be mature enough to make their own decisions. They should be rational and aware of what benefits them.
The Preferable qualities in a partner.
What are the preferable qualities, which Islam motivates the man or the woman to find in the partner?
Islam necessities the presence of both the religious and the moral traits upon choosing the future partner. For instance, the Prophet(p.) once said: "If the religious and the moral qualities exist in the proposed partner, accept the proposal, otherwise it would turn out to be a greatest corruption on earth." For more clarification, a man once consulted the Prophet(p.) about the kind of the person he should get married to. The Prophet(p.) advised: "The religious one."
Going deep into the word "religious", we could understand that the mind, the heart, and the body are inclusive. A religious or a pious person is known for his commitment to his religious duties within himself and with others as well. A pious person who is faithful and obedient to Allah knows and respects his limits and the limits of others. Thus, the presence of the religious element guarantees the success and the healthiness of a marriage life.
In addition, Islam focuses on the presence of the moral side in the process of choice to a partner. The moral side is so essential in that it enriches the spiritual one. The presence of both the moral and the spiritual empowers the relation and strengthens it against any shaking trouble. These two elements help in the compatibility of the partners yet they become more faithful, more honest, and more merciful to each other. Islam concentrates on and highlights the importance of the presence of the moral side for the moral side for the success of any human relation not only the marriage-relation.
The Prophet(p.) said: "I have been commissioned to perfect the best of morals." Allah also says:
"And marry such of you as are solitary and the pious of your slaves and maid-servants. And marry such of you as are solitary and the pious of your slaves and maid-servants. If they be poor, Allah will enrich them of His bounty. Allah is of ample means, Aware. Allah is of ample means, Aware. “24:32 ا
However, Islam doesn't give any credence to the partner's economical side simply because money doesn't make a man' it doesn't form one's human values; it is man who makes money that is why the presence of money is not stable; it easily goes. Allah says: "
If they be poor, Allah will enrich them of His bounty. Allah is of ample means, Aware.
" in fact, a person might be poor but rich in his values, love, and care.
What do you advise a woman who is asked to choose between either staying single or choosing a person who doesn't posses the Islamic qualities?
If the proposed person in an ordinary person who doesn't affect negatively her beliefs and doesn't bring troubles to her life, then I prefer the state of marriage to the state of staying single.
Woman and her invasion to the fields of arts and media
The Observance to the moral limits:
-If woman's work outside her house has been legally issued, is her work in the fields of art and media which is mixed with men, permitted?
In principle, such kinds of jobs are not prohibited. Woman's entrance to the world of cinema and theatre is Islamically legalized provided that the woman herself would observe her restrictions and keep her moral values as well. Needless to say that the observance of restrictions and moral values are also, required on the behalf of men. Both men and woman have the same rights and are thus subjected to the same laws and restrictions.
If there is any objection towards the woman's job in the cinema, it might be due to the lack of the Islamic cinemas and theaters nothing more. In the same manner, if the Islamic benefit requires the development of such fields so that we could limit the impact of the western culture and tradition on our Muslim people and so that the theatre and the cinema could guide and instruct to the right path of Islam, than woman's work becomes a must.
The role of a woman I
◦ Woman’s work and role
1-The general role of a woman
-What influence does equality between men and women have on defining their expected roles in life? And are we allowed to say that men and women have identical roles in life, since they are one and of the same soul?
God created men and women to build life together and to complete one another all lifelong. Hence, Islam opened the door to women to wade through all the fields of struggle in life side by side with men, supporting each other, helping, and completing one another. Moreover, Islam did not separate them in roles, the thing that is clearly shown in His saying {The Believers, men and women, are protectors one of another: they enjoin what is just and forbid what is evil.} (9:71). Once we understand that justice embraces everything positive in life, and that evil comprises everything negative in it, we will then realize that men and women are partners in building up life. And just like men are responsible of the society, women also are equally responsible of the society they live in. So, outside the framework of the specifically motherhood and fatherhood characteristics where they perform absolutely different functions, men and women have vast areas to conquer, building life shoulder to shoulder as human beings, equal in humanity. Accordingly, we can say that Islam had opened the door to women to enjoy life as a whole, in contrast to what some people may assume that it had tied them down in their characteristics as females.
-Where and how does the role of women as females prevail? And where could they perform their role as human beings?
The sphere in which a woman can express her femininity is narrow to a certain extent, because it is restricted to her marital life where her role as a female is mainly revealed, and to her family and feminine milieu where she can show her feminine traits through wearing ornaments or whatever… not to mention motherhood that is the most important feminine role that a woman fulfills. But motherhood itself is not purely a feminine role; all the more so it is a human role in a woman’s life. Thus, the role of a woman as a human being remains her most essential role in life. She must confirm, in her actions, that she is a person of reason, a person of will, a person of affection, and a person who has a mission to carry out and she should prove that she has the ability to take part in life. So, women’s humanity is the most important aspect in their personality because it is the aspect that symbolizes the aim God (S.W.T) created them to achieve in this world. He created women to contribute to the existence with the faculties they have, just as He created men to contribute to the existence with the abilities they possess. Therefore, we believe that, while the feminine aspect of the woman’s personality is revealed in a delimited sphere, her human aspect is manifested in her whole existence as a woman. Even more, the human aspect of her personality will indeed be integrated with the feminine aspect of her conduct as a female, whether with her husband or within her own specific sensations of femininity. Verily, the aspect of humanity in her will enrich that conduct turning it into a nobler one, and will expand her giving to the partner that she joins in marriage. In other words, it is an aspect that refines the instinct and humanizes it in deeds as well as in feelings, so that the marital relationship will no longer be a relationship in which the female provides the male with her biological drives. It will rather be a human relationship where each partner, male or female, makes use of his distinguishing characteristics in order to give the other what pleases him and what satisfies both his emotional and his physical needs.
2-Women as housewives
-When Islam confirms the specifically female characteristic of a woman in its rulings and legislations; doesn’t that lead us to the conclusion that the intrinsic role of a woman, according to Islam, is the role of a housewife?
The saying that Islam ties the woman down to a homemaker role is a frequently heard reflection on the way things are, and this is why it is worth discussing. But before going into the depth of the subject, we should point out the presence of two kinds of rulings in Islam: The first kind is the binding rules that necessitate the person to do something or not to do it, and they are called the obligation and prohibition rules. And the second is the rules that urge the person to do something but do not compel him to doing it; or exactly the opposite, wishing him not to do something but at the same time do not prevent him from doing it, and they are called the preferable and the detested or the rules that allow the person the possibility of choosing whether to do or not to do and they are called the allowed.
Well, does Islam oblige the woman to be a housewife before and after marriage? According to Islam, not a single person whether a father, a mother, a brother or any relative, is authorized to legitimately oblige the woman to manage domestic work in her parental house before marriage. So, housework is not imposed on women just like neither the father nor the mother has the legitimate right to oblige the boy to handle housework.
Yes. She can take on this charge if she willingly volunteered to, out of the sense of responsibility towards the house that is taking care of her. And when the girl becomes a wife, the fact that she manages the domestic work in her house or does not, will also remain a voluntarily matter that is up to her to decide. The contract of marriage does not bind women, from a legal aspect, to do housework, not even to rear her children and take care of them, unless the two married people worked on including the performance of these works in the marriage contract under special terms.
But Islam does not consider that women’s housework as one of the marriage contract articles, and it also does not require the women to carry out any kind of jobs outside home to support her family or to contribute in supporting it. On the basis of the marriage contract, man can demand nothing from his wife but the rights to the private marital relationship and all what is related to it. Anything other than that, such as arranging the household affairs and bringing the children up, would not be imposed on her.
From this perspective, we can approach the issue of women’s work in the house as women’s finest contribution that completes men’s finest contribution.
-But doesn’t saying that a woman is not obligated to manage her household chores as well as she is not required to lead a job outside the house, carry an implicit acknowledgement that she has a marginal role in life, or at least encourage her to stick to the margin?
Saying that a woman is not obliged to work inside the house or even outside it does not mean that she must do nothing in life. Indeed, the core issue is that Islam wanted women to handle their housework motivated by reasons of giving and not out of obligation, as a social service.
When Islam didn’t force women to manage the household affairs, it offered them the opportunity to participate in building the society they live in. From an Islamic point of view, women are as responsible as men to help people finding their way to God (S.W.T), and to guide society in the right path with all the power they have. And as we have previously mentioned, women are also charged to enjoin what is just and forbid what is evil, the thing that represents the social practical surveillance against deviation in all the domains of life; a role that might get to the level of revolt against unjustness and deviation.
And the saying that a woman is not bound to carry out any career outside home to make a living - in the light of the saying that she should share the man the responsibility of enjoining what is just and forbidding what is evil - does not mean in any way that her role in life is canceled. On the contrary, it indicates that the opportunities are, indeed, wide enough for her to perform that role in a way that her job as a mother and as a homemaker, her participation in supporting her family and even the responsibility of supporting herself do not drain her power to contribute to the public fields.
By making the hardships of home and family life, and even married life less burdensome for women; Islam had, in fact, acknowledged the role of women in building life, and offered her the chance to participate, practically, in that building process.
3- Women in the midst of marriage and motherhood duties
-Notwithstanding your emphasis that the role of a woman as a human being is her prior role in life, this priority is practically negated once we recognize the considerable value Islam attaches to the role of a woman as a wife and as a mother, the thing that necessitates her to remain home in order to take care of the children and to satisfy the husband’s needs. So, according to Islam, are women alone responsible of bringing children up? And do they have to stay constantly with their children?
Firstly: Although Islam stresses on the importance of a woman’s role as a mother and as a wife, we can benefit from the majority of its rulings that had commissioned the father with the responsibility of the family and the children in particular, and gave him the right to their custody in case of separation… The father and the mother are real partners in the task of raising a child; and although Islam regards motherhood as sacred, it had not made women responsible of rearing their children. In addition to the affection purpose of motherhood and fatherhood, they also have a parenting job that they help each other to fulfill. In this job, the distinctive nature of each parent - the mother as a woman and the father as a man - along with the kind of connection that relates the child to each one of them, have an intrinsic role in developing and enriching the child’s personality on all levels. While the mother provides her child with the inner sense of security when satisfying his physical and emotional needs as a result of her direct adhesion to his body; the father, through looking after the child’s external affairs, takes on the responsibility of supplying him with a deep sense of protection and strength through which he can face the entire outside world. This is an illustration of the mutual work that both the husband and the wife cooperate in doing.
Secondly: It is of a great importance to the child that his mother would be the one who fosters him; nevertheless, nothing binds the woman to constantly stick to the child, or even to the husband, unless he needed her in an extraordinary way.
From this standpoint, the emphasis placed on the importance of woman’s special role as a wife as well as a mother does not deny her general role as a human being because this role carries some human purposes in itself.
-In case the mother preferred to carry out a job rather than staying all the time with her infant, where can she put him?
If the mother is fully occupied, whether with her work or with anything else, and she cannot take care of her newborn, she can then rely on anyone she finds trustworthy to watch over her baby, in an attempt to fill up the emptiness caused by her absence. However, the mother should make her best trying to spend with him as much time as she can afford in order to provide him with the love and tenderness that can help him in alleviating the feeling of fear created by her not being present.
-Is it acceptable to send babies to daycare centers?
Putting children in daycare centers in such cases might seem the most practical solution and the most educationally suitable for the child because, usually, there are specialists of education supervising these centers. Nonetheless, the mother should double her efforts to compensate her baby for all the fondness that he misses in her absence, and for all the anxiety and fragility that he feels only by being present in the middle of an unfamiliar crowd of children.
1-The general role of a woman
-What influence does equality between men and women have on defining their expected roles in life? And are we allowed to say that men and women have identical roles in life, since they are one and of the same soul?
God created men and women to build life together and to complete one another all lifelong. Hence, Islam opened the door to women to wade through all the fields of struggle in life side by side with men, supporting each other, helping, and completing one another. Moreover, Islam did not separate them in roles, the thing that is clearly shown in His saying {The Believers, men and women, are protectors one of another: they enjoin what is just and forbid what is evil.} (9:71). Once we understand that justice embraces everything positive in life, and that evil comprises everything negative in it, we will then realize that men and women are partners in building up life. And just like men are responsible of the society, women also are equally responsible of the society they live in. So, outside the framework of the specifically motherhood and fatherhood characteristics where they perform absolutely different functions, men and women have vast areas to conquer, building life shoulder to shoulder as human beings, equal in humanity. Accordingly, we can say that Islam had opened the door to women to enjoy life as a whole, in contrast to what some people may assume that it had tied them down in their characteristics as females.
-Where and how does the role of women as females prevail? And where could they perform their role as human beings?
The sphere in which a woman can express her femininity is narrow to a certain extent, because it is restricted to her marital life where her role as a female is mainly revealed, and to her family and feminine milieu where she can show her feminine traits through wearing ornaments or whatever… not to mention motherhood that is the most important feminine role that a woman fulfills. But motherhood itself is not purely a feminine role; all the more so it is a human role in a woman’s life. Thus, the role of a woman as a human being remains her most essential role in life. She must confirm, in her actions, that she is a person of reason, a person of will, a person of affection, and a person who has a mission to carry out and she should prove that she has the ability to take part in life. So, women’s humanity is the most important aspect in their personality because it is the aspect that symbolizes the aim God (S.W.T) created them to achieve in this world. He created women to contribute to the existence with the faculties they have, just as He created men to contribute to the existence with the abilities they possess. Therefore, we believe that, while the feminine aspect of the woman’s personality is revealed in a delimited sphere, her human aspect is manifested in her whole existence as a woman. Even more, the human aspect of her personality will indeed be integrated with the feminine aspect of her conduct as a female, whether with her husband or within her own specific sensations of femininity. Verily, the aspect of humanity in her will enrich that conduct turning it into a nobler one, and will expand her giving to the partner that she joins in marriage. In other words, it is an aspect that refines the instinct and humanizes it in deeds as well as in feelings, so that the marital relationship will no longer be a relationship in which the female provides the male with her biological drives. It will rather be a human relationship where each partner, male or female, makes use of his distinguishing characteristics in order to give the other what pleases him and what satisfies both his emotional and his physical needs.
2-Women as housewives
-When Islam confirms the specifically female characteristic of a woman in its rulings and legislations; doesn’t that lead us to the conclusion that the intrinsic role of a woman, according to Islam, is the role of a housewife?
The saying that Islam ties the woman down to a homemaker role is a frequently heard reflection on the way things are, and this is why it is worth discussing. But before going into the depth of the subject, we should point out the presence of two kinds of rulings in Islam: The first kind is the binding rules that necessitate the person to do something or not to do it, and they are called the obligation and prohibition rules. And the second is the rules that urge the person to do something but do not compel him to doing it; or exactly the opposite, wishing him not to do something but at the same time do not prevent him from doing it, and they are called the preferable and the detested or the rules that allow the person the possibility of choosing whether to do or not to do and they are called the allowed.
Well, does Islam oblige the woman to be a housewife before and after marriage? According to Islam, not a single person whether a father, a mother, a brother or any relative, is authorized to legitimately oblige the woman to manage domestic work in her parental house before marriage. So, housework is not imposed on women just like neither the father nor the mother has the legitimate right to oblige the boy to handle housework.
Yes. She can take on this charge if she willingly volunteered to, out of the sense of responsibility towards the house that is taking care of her. And when the girl becomes a wife, the fact that she manages the domestic work in her house or does not, will also remain a voluntarily matter that is up to her to decide. The contract of marriage does not bind women, from a legal aspect, to do housework, not even to rear her children and take care of them, unless the two married people worked on including the performance of these works in the marriage contract under special terms.
But Islam does not consider that women’s housework as one of the marriage contract articles, and it also does not require the women to carry out any kind of jobs outside home to support her family or to contribute in supporting it. On the basis of the marriage contract, man can demand nothing from his wife but the rights to the private marital relationship and all what is related to it. Anything other than that, such as arranging the household affairs and bringing the children up, would not be imposed on her.
From this perspective, we can approach the issue of women’s work in the house as women’s finest contribution that completes men’s finest contribution.
-But doesn’t saying that a woman is not obligated to manage her household chores as well as she is not required to lead a job outside the house, carry an implicit acknowledgement that she has a marginal role in life, or at least encourage her to stick to the margin?
Saying that a woman is not obliged to work inside the house or even outside it does not mean that she must do nothing in life. Indeed, the core issue is that Islam wanted women to handle their housework motivated by reasons of giving and not out of obligation, as a social service.
When Islam didn’t force women to manage the household affairs, it offered them the opportunity to participate in building the society they live in. From an Islamic point of view, women are as responsible as men to help people finding their way to God (S.W.T), and to guide society in the right path with all the power they have. And as we have previously mentioned, women are also charged to enjoin what is just and forbid what is evil, the thing that represents the social practical surveillance against deviation in all the domains of life; a role that might get to the level of revolt against unjustness and deviation.
And the saying that a woman is not bound to carry out any career outside home to make a living - in the light of the saying that she should share the man the responsibility of enjoining what is just and forbidding what is evil - does not mean in any way that her role in life is canceled. On the contrary, it indicates that the opportunities are, indeed, wide enough for her to perform that role in a way that her job as a mother and as a homemaker, her participation in supporting her family and even the responsibility of supporting herself do not drain her power to contribute to the public fields.
By making the hardships of home and family life, and even married life less burdensome for women; Islam had, in fact, acknowledged the role of women in building life, and offered her the chance to participate, practically, in that building process.
3- Women in the midst of marriage and motherhood duties
-Notwithstanding your emphasis that the role of a woman as a human being is her prior role in life, this priority is practically negated once we recognize the considerable value Islam attaches to the role of a woman as a wife and as a mother, the thing that necessitates her to remain home in order to take care of the children and to satisfy the husband’s needs. So, according to Islam, are women alone responsible of bringing children up? And do they have to stay constantly with their children?
Firstly: Although Islam stresses on the importance of a woman’s role as a mother and as a wife, we can benefit from the majority of its rulings that had commissioned the father with the responsibility of the family and the children in particular, and gave him the right to their custody in case of separation… The father and the mother are real partners in the task of raising a child; and although Islam regards motherhood as sacred, it had not made women responsible of rearing their children. In addition to the affection purpose of motherhood and fatherhood, they also have a parenting job that they help each other to fulfill. In this job, the distinctive nature of each parent - the mother as a woman and the father as a man - along with the kind of connection that relates the child to each one of them, have an intrinsic role in developing and enriching the child’s personality on all levels. While the mother provides her child with the inner sense of security when satisfying his physical and emotional needs as a result of her direct adhesion to his body; the father, through looking after the child’s external affairs, takes on the responsibility of supplying him with a deep sense of protection and strength through which he can face the entire outside world. This is an illustration of the mutual work that both the husband and the wife cooperate in doing.
Secondly: It is of a great importance to the child that his mother would be the one who fosters him; nevertheless, nothing binds the woman to constantly stick to the child, or even to the husband, unless he needed her in an extraordinary way.
From this standpoint, the emphasis placed on the importance of woman’s special role as a wife as well as a mother does not deny her general role as a human being because this role carries some human purposes in itself.
-In case the mother preferred to carry out a job rather than staying all the time with her infant, where can she put him?
If the mother is fully occupied, whether with her work or with anything else, and she cannot take care of her newborn, she can then rely on anyone she finds trustworthy to watch over her baby, in an attempt to fill up the emptiness caused by her absence. However, the mother should make her best trying to spend with him as much time as she can afford in order to provide him with the love and tenderness that can help him in alleviating the feeling of fear created by her not being present.
-Is it acceptable to send babies to daycare centers?
Putting children in daycare centers in such cases might seem the most practical solution and the most educationally suitable for the child because, usually, there are specialists of education supervising these centers. Nonetheless, the mother should double her efforts to compensate her baby for all the fondness that he misses in her absence, and for all the anxiety and fragility that he feels only by being present in the middle of an unfamiliar crowd of children.
THE ISLAMIC VIEW OF LOVE ,SEX AND MARRIAGE
THE ISLAMIC VIEW OF LOVE ,SEX AND MARRIAGE
How may we teach sex education to our youth?
I do not limit the issue to any particular range; we may need books to explain a particular idea, as we must also tell the people of the injunctions of the Shariah on the issues of sex so that they may know their responsibilities in the area according to the Shariah.
I began an attempt to answer question directed to me, and I spoke candidly on some sex issues which affect the community. Sex education is like any other subject; we have to teach it but with a functional approach, regardless of whether it is through books or school programs, conversations at home, or general debate.
Sex is something that affects the body of a person and how he deals with his impulses. It is normal that one should know all this. What we view as socially forbidden may be a result of traditional baggage. Therefore, confronting custom means that we must substitute it by wisdom to avoid creating more negative aspects than those we are trying to rid ourselves of.
ISLAM ADOPTS SEX EDUCATION
What are the parameters of this education? Is there a specific age at which we can begin instruction?
Islam has opened the door to sex education for all Muslims with respect to the sexual relations which the Quran discusses somewhat candidly. Indeed, on the subject of marriage, the Quranic terminology employs linguistic forms which suggest more sexual than contractual connotations, as in its use of the term "nikah".
Indeed, if we want to study the noble Sunna, we find that there are hadiths on sexual issues which pertain to relations, legal rulings, and ancillary topics. In more than one hadith, sexual organs are so candidly and naturally covered that one can only infer that the milieu of the (prophetic) message saw nothing immoral in the topic.
We may find some hadiths which deal with the conversation between the Prophet(p.) and someone who came to confess to having committed adultery (zina). We see that the last question directed to the perpetrator concerning the sex act used a term which people today may shy away from expressing.
In this manner, we find related hadith issues pertaining to women in menstruation, pre-menstruation, the post-partum period, as well as matters pertaining to the state of man after sexual relationship (janabah)etc.
When we study the books of the jurists and the chapters that relate to sex, we see that there are clear, candid discussions on the specifics of sex, regardless of whether they pertain to sexual organs, the sex act, or some related issue.
We also find that the earlier scholars discussed sex in their books through rare stories, witticisms, and jokes transmitted in a manner that may be considered immoral by the present society. We find that some old books written by pious, ascetic, pure scholars consist of chapters that describe methods which are not conventional and familiar in the sex act. Their justification was that they felt books such as theses might make the spouses learn sexual conduct, whereby they would comply their own natural desires as well as those of their spouses, and would therefore need not satisfy those desires outside of the marital life.
This confirms that Islam adopts sex education by virtue of its relationship to the Shariah rulings _ the commendable, the obligatory, or the forbidden -which relate to this aspect of the life of the human being. When we study this issue, however, we focus on it in the light of the principle that this discussion is not within the sphere of the forbidden but that of the lawful.
The evolution of cultural and social mores may have helped cultivate negative attitudes towards sex education or some specific aspect of it. This is especially true if the circumstances surrounding these mores, in the reflection of the youth or children, lead to negative results: it will cause subconscious reactions in the child or youth, leading him to stray from Islamic guidelines.
From this perspective, the subject has to be studied in much detail and caution before its thematic associations could be known relating to the personality of the human being seeking such instruction or the factors that influence this life. What I would like to stress is that sex education did not begin with contemporary developments. Islam did so earlier on every issue so far discussed
THE MANDATORY STEPS IN SEX EDUCATION
On the issues of instructing the coming generation in this regard, steps must be drawn up for this in terms of the methods, issues, and milieus, so that the emphasis remains on the education technique, with no element from the old concepts. This means give emphasis to the child or youth that his sex organ is not something odd, but that it is quite natural; it does not imply strangeness, deficiency or any such thing. Rather, there are Shariah laws which call for the covering of this organ, and for using it within a specific scope of activity, as directed by God- who has spoken about other organs in relation to forbidden matters, such as not eating or that, not looking… etc.
Nevertheless, the issue calls first for an appropriate setting, and it is imperative that we structure this setting, because many social mores rate sex education as a work or subject that is immoral. If we can undertake this, we will be able to instruct the coming generation in sex education through a functional, objective approach, going all the way to subjects like childbirth, where the fetus comes from…etc. We must be straightforward, but with an approach structured on gradually divulged details in this area.
The nature of these things may incite some children to experiment, just as we observe that some of them who watch films of television are quick to put them into practice, and may be hurt as a result. There are also those who read books on sex, or watch erotic films, who may attempt to carry out what they see, living the experience in a twisted form, at a moment when the person's inner impulses combined with the outer surroundings are so influenced that they push him to experiment with whatever he learns. At the same time, however, I stress that the present mode of instruction affecting every house, through television, newspapers, disseminate sexual information in a way that allows youths and children to know much more about sex than their parents.
Sex education may be all the more urgently needed nowadays because it is given to teenagers by way of films and cheap books, with no controls or limits. It may, therefore, be necessary for the specialists to rescue the present generation from all the distorted information on sex.
TH RESPONDIBLITIES OF HOME AND SCHOOL
Which is better, teaching sex education in the family or at school?
We are not able to delineate the issue so clearly that we can classify it to within a particular scope, for children may need one type of teaching within the home, when they ask about childbirth, become conscious of their private parts, find siblings who are anatomically different. In this case, father and mothers may certainly teach the children in a well-balanced manner, giving the child correct but comprehensible answers.
We also need the school, for the systematic education of schools is necessary, especially since some school subjects relate to health, the study of animals and their reproduction, etc. The children are taught subjects they need to know, and through these they receive detailed explanations on subjects relating to the body.
THE SEXUAL ATMOSPHERE
A problem which we face is that, as a result of western culture, the general social environment has become quite sex conscious. The issue of sex has become one of absolute right. If Eastern cultures did not possess some discipline or restraint, this perverse cultural conditioning could transform the Eastern outlook from an Islamic reality into something more akin to what people are in the West.
When, therefore, you initiate sex education without strict prudence in this atmosphere, you could easily pervert sex education. What I say is not dependent on the type of prudence known in present-day society, but rather that of ensuring a strong foundation when providing sex education, so that it may not lead to corruption in practice.
THE CONCEPT OF DEFICIENCY
The concept of deficiency is the same as its lexical meaning: a flaw in the character, body, or conduct, which may cause a moral or ethical deviation. Fornication by a youth is considered by the family to be a deficiency; the public exposure of one's private parts is considered a deficiency- in view of the Sharaiah prohibition of both actions. This prohibition makes them deficient with respect of religion and flawed with respect of social norms.
Islam, however, does not see that a person should suffer the faults of others, and I do not participate in the deficiency of one of my deviant relatives, even if he is closely related. This is because Islam avers that: "No bearer of burden shall bear the burden of another"(al-Anam/6:164).
Consequently, targeting the entire family for the sexual transgression of a woman is indeed a jahili concept, not an Islamic one, Islam charges the woman or the man who has fornicated, and determines that their moral depravity is something specific to them, not to the members of their two families or any person who may be socially connected to them.
There are those who say that sexual deviation or perversity does not stem from any error in sex education or lack thereof, but rather results from the sexual repression prevalent in our society.
I do not say that sax education is the cause of deviancy whenever it is connected to such practice. I say that it may open the avenues to deviation, by people who have no previous experience in this area.
SEX ISSUES AS EDUCATIONAL ISSUES
What is the method for explaining these issues to our sons and daughters? To what length should we go when discussing these issue with them?
There issues are exactly like the other educational issues which need to be explained to children. There may not be need nor a conductive atmosphere to offer a detailed analysis to a child; we may explain childbirth exactly as we do planting or the incubation of an egg.
With respect to the foregoing questions, I have indicated that society strongly rejects these methods, even though they may be evident. It is absolutely necessary that we educate society in this respect, and introduce the matter as a general societal perspective, providing fathers and mothers with the proper methods of sex education which they may give their inquisitive children.
What about a special program for sex education in schools?
I support that, but it is normal that every subject should be examined for its positive and negative influences on the students to whom it is taught, and what these can lead to in society at large.
SEX FILMS:
What is the ruling on watching sex films and other pornographic media ?
The Shariah and the ethical principle prohibit looking a the private parts of another person. This fundamentally applies equally to looking at private parts in pictures or films. The reason is that the negative aspects of the latter are almosts this as the main criterion in the legal rulings (Fatawa); instead specific circumstances dictate the ruling.
For there is a condition which afflicts some people to the point where looking at such films may save the marriage. As in the case of frigidity, impotence, or similar dysfunction in either spouse, and looking a such films may offer a cure. Viewing these films and pictures beyond these circumstances, however, may lead to spiritual dissolution, to the point where the viewer becomes obsessed with the ideas of the film and acting them out necessitating a prohibition-despite the situation which warrant a certain amount of license, as in the first scenario.
How may we teach sex education to our youth?
I do not limit the issue to any particular range; we may need books to explain a particular idea, as we must also tell the people of the injunctions of the Shariah on the issues of sex so that they may know their responsibilities in the area according to the Shariah.
I began an attempt to answer question directed to me, and I spoke candidly on some sex issues which affect the community. Sex education is like any other subject; we have to teach it but with a functional approach, regardless of whether it is through books or school programs, conversations at home, or general debate.
Sex is something that affects the body of a person and how he deals with his impulses. It is normal that one should know all this. What we view as socially forbidden may be a result of traditional baggage. Therefore, confronting custom means that we must substitute it by wisdom to avoid creating more negative aspects than those we are trying to rid ourselves of.
ISLAM ADOPTS SEX EDUCATION
What are the parameters of this education? Is there a specific age at which we can begin instruction?
Islam has opened the door to sex education for all Muslims with respect to the sexual relations which the Quran discusses somewhat candidly. Indeed, on the subject of marriage, the Quranic terminology employs linguistic forms which suggest more sexual than contractual connotations, as in its use of the term "nikah".
Indeed, if we want to study the noble Sunna, we find that there are hadiths on sexual issues which pertain to relations, legal rulings, and ancillary topics. In more than one hadith, sexual organs are so candidly and naturally covered that one can only infer that the milieu of the (prophetic) message saw nothing immoral in the topic.
We may find some hadiths which deal with the conversation between the Prophet(p.) and someone who came to confess to having committed adultery (zina). We see that the last question directed to the perpetrator concerning the sex act used a term which people today may shy away from expressing.
In this manner, we find related hadith issues pertaining to women in menstruation, pre-menstruation, the post-partum period, as well as matters pertaining to the state of man after sexual relationship (janabah)etc.
When we study the books of the jurists and the chapters that relate to sex, we see that there are clear, candid discussions on the specifics of sex, regardless of whether they pertain to sexual organs, the sex act, or some related issue.
We also find that the earlier scholars discussed sex in their books through rare stories, witticisms, and jokes transmitted in a manner that may be considered immoral by the present society. We find that some old books written by pious, ascetic, pure scholars consist of chapters that describe methods which are not conventional and familiar in the sex act. Their justification was that they felt books such as theses might make the spouses learn sexual conduct, whereby they would comply their own natural desires as well as those of their spouses, and would therefore need not satisfy those desires outside of the marital life.
This confirms that Islam adopts sex education by virtue of its relationship to the Shariah rulings _ the commendable, the obligatory, or the forbidden -which relate to this aspect of the life of the human being. When we study this issue, however, we focus on it in the light of the principle that this discussion is not within the sphere of the forbidden but that of the lawful.
The evolution of cultural and social mores may have helped cultivate negative attitudes towards sex education or some specific aspect of it. This is especially true if the circumstances surrounding these mores, in the reflection of the youth or children, lead to negative results: it will cause subconscious reactions in the child or youth, leading him to stray from Islamic guidelines.
From this perspective, the subject has to be studied in much detail and caution before its thematic associations could be known relating to the personality of the human being seeking such instruction or the factors that influence this life. What I would like to stress is that sex education did not begin with contemporary developments. Islam did so earlier on every issue so far discussed
THE MANDATORY STEPS IN SEX EDUCATION
On the issues of instructing the coming generation in this regard, steps must be drawn up for this in terms of the methods, issues, and milieus, so that the emphasis remains on the education technique, with no element from the old concepts. This means give emphasis to the child or youth that his sex organ is not something odd, but that it is quite natural; it does not imply strangeness, deficiency or any such thing. Rather, there are Shariah laws which call for the covering of this organ, and for using it within a specific scope of activity, as directed by God- who has spoken about other organs in relation to forbidden matters, such as not eating or that, not looking… etc.
Nevertheless, the issue calls first for an appropriate setting, and it is imperative that we structure this setting, because many social mores rate sex education as a work or subject that is immoral. If we can undertake this, we will be able to instruct the coming generation in sex education through a functional, objective approach, going all the way to subjects like childbirth, where the fetus comes from…etc. We must be straightforward, but with an approach structured on gradually divulged details in this area.
The nature of these things may incite some children to experiment, just as we observe that some of them who watch films of television are quick to put them into practice, and may be hurt as a result. There are also those who read books on sex, or watch erotic films, who may attempt to carry out what they see, living the experience in a twisted form, at a moment when the person's inner impulses combined with the outer surroundings are so influenced that they push him to experiment with whatever he learns. At the same time, however, I stress that the present mode of instruction affecting every house, through television, newspapers, disseminate sexual information in a way that allows youths and children to know much more about sex than their parents.
Sex education may be all the more urgently needed nowadays because it is given to teenagers by way of films and cheap books, with no controls or limits. It may, therefore, be necessary for the specialists to rescue the present generation from all the distorted information on sex.
TH RESPONDIBLITIES OF HOME AND SCHOOL
Which is better, teaching sex education in the family or at school?
We are not able to delineate the issue so clearly that we can classify it to within a particular scope, for children may need one type of teaching within the home, when they ask about childbirth, become conscious of their private parts, find siblings who are anatomically different. In this case, father and mothers may certainly teach the children in a well-balanced manner, giving the child correct but comprehensible answers.
We also need the school, for the systematic education of schools is necessary, especially since some school subjects relate to health, the study of animals and their reproduction, etc. The children are taught subjects they need to know, and through these they receive detailed explanations on subjects relating to the body.
THE SEXUAL ATMOSPHERE
A problem which we face is that, as a result of western culture, the general social environment has become quite sex conscious. The issue of sex has become one of absolute right. If Eastern cultures did not possess some discipline or restraint, this perverse cultural conditioning could transform the Eastern outlook from an Islamic reality into something more akin to what people are in the West.
When, therefore, you initiate sex education without strict prudence in this atmosphere, you could easily pervert sex education. What I say is not dependent on the type of prudence known in present-day society, but rather that of ensuring a strong foundation when providing sex education, so that it may not lead to corruption in practice.
THE CONCEPT OF DEFICIENCY
The concept of deficiency is the same as its lexical meaning: a flaw in the character, body, or conduct, which may cause a moral or ethical deviation. Fornication by a youth is considered by the family to be a deficiency; the public exposure of one's private parts is considered a deficiency- in view of the Sharaiah prohibition of both actions. This prohibition makes them deficient with respect of religion and flawed with respect of social norms.
Islam, however, does not see that a person should suffer the faults of others, and I do not participate in the deficiency of one of my deviant relatives, even if he is closely related. This is because Islam avers that: "No bearer of burden shall bear the burden of another"(al-Anam/6:164).
Consequently, targeting the entire family for the sexual transgression of a woman is indeed a jahili concept, not an Islamic one, Islam charges the woman or the man who has fornicated, and determines that their moral depravity is something specific to them, not to the members of their two families or any person who may be socially connected to them.
There are those who say that sexual deviation or perversity does not stem from any error in sex education or lack thereof, but rather results from the sexual repression prevalent in our society.
I do not say that sax education is the cause of deviancy whenever it is connected to such practice. I say that it may open the avenues to deviation, by people who have no previous experience in this area.
SEX ISSUES AS EDUCATIONAL ISSUES
What is the method for explaining these issues to our sons and daughters? To what length should we go when discussing these issue with them?
There issues are exactly like the other educational issues which need to be explained to children. There may not be need nor a conductive atmosphere to offer a detailed analysis to a child; we may explain childbirth exactly as we do planting or the incubation of an egg.
With respect to the foregoing questions, I have indicated that society strongly rejects these methods, even though they may be evident. It is absolutely necessary that we educate society in this respect, and introduce the matter as a general societal perspective, providing fathers and mothers with the proper methods of sex education which they may give their inquisitive children.
What about a special program for sex education in schools?
I support that, but it is normal that every subject should be examined for its positive and negative influences on the students to whom it is taught, and what these can lead to in society at large.
SEX FILMS:
What is the ruling on watching sex films and other pornographic media ?
The Shariah and the ethical principle prohibit looking a the private parts of another person. This fundamentally applies equally to looking at private parts in pictures or films. The reason is that the negative aspects of the latter are almosts this as the main criterion in the legal rulings (Fatawa); instead specific circumstances dictate the ruling.
For there is a condition which afflicts some people to the point where looking at such films may save the marriage. As in the case of frigidity, impotence, or similar dysfunction in either spouse, and looking a such films may offer a cure. Viewing these films and pictures beyond these circumstances, however, may lead to spiritual dissolution, to the point where the viewer becomes obsessed with the ideas of the film and acting them out necessitating a prohibition-despite the situation which warrant a certain amount of license, as in the first scenario.
Monday, October 13, 2008
40 Hadith Qudsi
40 Hadith Qudsi
Hadith Qudsi are the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) as revealed to him by the Almighty Allah. Hadith Qudsi (or Sacred Hadith) are so named because, unlike the majority of Hadith which are Prophetic Hadith, their authority (Sanad) is traced back not to the Prophet but to the Almighty.
Among the many definitions given by the early scholars to Sacred Hadith is that of as-Sayyid ash-Sharif al-Jurjani (died in 816 A.H.) in his lexicon At-Tarifat where he says: "A Sacred Hadith is, as to the meaning, from Allah the Almighty; as to the wording, it is from the messenger of Allah (PBUH). It is that which Allah the Almighty has communicated to His Prophet through revelation or in dream, and he, peace be upon him, has communicated it in his own words. Thus Qur'an is superior to it because, besides being revealed, it is His wording."
Hadith Qudsi 1:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
When Allah decreed the Creation He pledged Himself by writing in His book which is laid down with Him: My mercy prevails over my wrath.
It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah).
Hadith Qudsi 2:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah Almighty has said:
The son of Adam denied Me and he had no right to do so. And he reviled Me and he had no right to do so. As for his denying Me, it is his saying: He will not remake me as He made me at first (1) - and the initial creation [of him] is no easier for Me than remaking him. As for his reviling Me, it is his saying: Allah has taken to Himself a son, while I am the One, the Everlasting Refuge. I begot not nor was I begotten, and there is none comparable to Me.
(1) i.e., bring me back to life after death.
It was related by al-Bukhari (also by an-Nasa'i).
Hadith Qudsi 3:
On the authority of Zayd ibn Khalid al-Juhaniyy (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
The Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) led the morning prayer for us at al-Hudaybiyah following rainfall during the night. When the Prophet (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) finished, he faced the people and said to them: Do you know what your Lord has said? They said: Allah and his Messenger know best. He said: This morning one of my servants became a believer in Me and one a disbeliever. As for him who said: We have been given rain by virtue of Allah and His mercy, that one is a believer in Me, a disbeliever in the stars (2); and as for him who said: We have been given rain by such-and-such a star, that one is a disbeliever in Me, a believer in the stars.
(2) The pre-Islamic Arabs believed that rain was brought about by the movement of stars. This Hadith draws attention to the fact that whatever be the direct cause of such natural phenomena as rain, it is Allah the Almighty who is the Disposer of all things.
It is related by al-Bukhari (also by Malik and an-Nasa'i).
Hadith Qudsi 4:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah said:
Sons of Adam inveigh against [the vicissitudes of] Time, and I am Time, in My hand is the night and the day (1).
(1) As the Almighty is the Ordainer of all things, to inveigh aginst misfortunes that are part of Time is tantamount to inveighing against Him.
It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim).
Hadith Qudsi 5:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah (glorified and exalted be He) said:
I am so self-sufficient that I am in no need of having an associate. Thus he who does an action for someone else's sake as well as Mine will have that action renounced by Me to him whom he associated with Me.
It was related by Muslim (also by Ibn Majah).
Hadith Qudsi 6:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say:
The first of people against whom judgment will be pronounced on the Day of Resurrection will be a man who died a martyr. He will be brought and Allah will make known to him His favours and he will recognize them. [ The Almighty] will say: And what did you do about them? He will say: I fought for you until I died a martyr. He will say: You have lied - you did but fight that it might be said [of you]: He is courageous. And so it was said. Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hell-fire. [Another] will be a man who has studied [religious] knowledge and has taught it and who used to recite the Quran. He will be brought and Allah will make known to his His favours and he will recognize them. [The Almighty] will say: And what did you do about them? He will say: I studied [religious] knowledge and I taught it and I recited the Quran for Your sake. He will say: You have lied - you did but study [religious] knowledge that it might be said [of you]: He is learned. And you recited the Quran that it might be said [of you]: He is a reciter. And so it was said. Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hell-fire. [Another] will be a man whom Allah had made rich and to whom He had given all kinds of wealth. He will be brought and Allah will make known to his His favours and he will recognize them. [The Almighty] will say: And what did you do about them? He will say: I left no path [untrodden] in which You like money to be spent without spending in it for Your sake. He will say: You have lied - you did but do so that it might be said [of you]: He is open-handed. And so it was said. Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hell-fire.
It was related by Muslim (also by at-Tirmidhi and an-Nasa'i).
Hadith Qudsi 7:
On the authority of Uqbah ibn Amir (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the messenger of Allah (PBUH) say:
Your Lord delights at a shepherd who, on the peak of a mountain crag, gives the call to prayer and prays. Then Allah (glorified and exalted be He) say: Look at this servant of Mine, he gives the call to prayer and performs the prayers; he is in awe of Me. I have forgiven My servant [his sins] and have admitted him to Paradise.
It was related by an-Nasa'i with a good chain of authorities.
Hadith Qudsi 8:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (PBUH), who said:
A prayer performed by someone who has not recited the Essence of the Quran (1) during it is deficient (and he repeated the word three times), incomplete. Someone said to Abu Hurayrah: [Even though] we are behind the imam? (2) He said: Recite it to yourself, for I have heard the Prophet (may the blessings and peace of Allah be up on him) say: Allah (mighty and sublime be He), had said: I have divided prayer between Myself and My servant into two halves, and My servant shall have what he has asked for. When the servant says: Al-hamdu lillahi rabbi l-alamin (3), Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says: My servant has praised Me. And when he says: Ar-rahmani r-rahim (4), Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says: My servant has extolled Me, and when he says: Maliki yawmi d-din (5), Allah says: My servant has glorified Me - and on one occasion He said: My servant has submitted to My power. And when he says: Iyyaka na budu wa iyyaka nasta in (6), He says: This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for. And when he says: Ihdina s-sirata l- mustaqim, siratal ladhina an amta alayhim ghayril-maghdubi alayhim wa la d-dallin (7), He says: This is for My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for.
(1) Surat al-Fatihah, the first surah (chapter) of the Qur'an.
(2) i.e. standing behind the imam (leader) listening to him reciting al-Fatihah.
(3) "Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds."
(4) "The Merciful, the Compassionate".
(5) "Master of the Day of Judgement".
(6) "It is You we worship and it is You we ask for help".
(7) "Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favors, not of those against whom You are angry, nor of those who are astray".
It was related by Muslim (also by Malik, at-Tirmidhi, Abu-Dawud, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah).
Hadith Qudsi 9:
On the authority of Abu Harayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (PBUH), who said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says:
The fist of his actions for which a servant of Allah will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayers. If they are in order, then he will have prospered and succeeded: and if they are wanting, then he will have failed and lost. If there is something defective in his obligatory prayers, the Lord (glorified and exalted be He) will say: See if My servant has any supererogatory prayers with which may be completed that which was defective in his obligatory prayers. Then the rest of his actions will be judged in like fashion.
It was related by at-Tirmidhi (also by Abu Dawud, an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah and Ahmad).
Hadith Qudsi 10:
On the authority of Abu Harayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (PBUH), who said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says:
Fasting is Mine and it I who give reward for it. [A man] gives up his sexual passion, his food and his drink for my sake. Fasting is like a shield, and he who fasts has two joys: a joy whin he breaks his fast and a joy when he meets his Lord. The change in the breath of the mouth of him who fasts is better in Allah's estimation than the smell of musk.
It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim, Malik, at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah).
Hadith Qudsi 11:
On the authority of Abu Harayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (PBUH), who said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said:
Spend (on charity), O son of Adam, and I shall spend on you.
It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim).
Hadith Qudsi 12:
On the authority of Abu Mas'ud al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
A man from among those who were before you was called to account. Nothing in the way of good was found for him except that he used to have dealings with people and, being well-to-do, he would order his servants to let off the man in straitened circumstances [from repaying his debt]. He (the Prophet p.b.u.h) said that Allah said: We are worthier than you of that (of being so generous). Let him off.
It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari and an-Nasa'i).
Hadith Qudsi 13:
On the authority of Adiyy ibn Hatim (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
I was with the Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and there came to him two men: one of them was complaining of penury (being very poor), while the other was complaining of brigandry (robbery). The Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: As for brigandry, it will be but a short time before a caravan will [be able to] go out of Mecca without a guard. As for penury, the Hour (Day of Judgement) will not arrive before one of you takes his charity around without finding anyone to accept it from him. Then (1) one of you will surely stand before Allah, there being no screed between Him and him, nor an interpreter to translate for him. Then He will say to him: Did I not bring you wealth? And he will say: Yes. Then He will say: Did I not send to you a messenger? And he will say: Yes. And he will look to his right and will see nothing but Hell-fire, then he will look to his left and will see nothing but Hell-fire, so let each of you protect himself against Hell-fire, be it with even half a date - and if he finds it not, then with a kind word.
(1) i.e. at the time of the Hour. It was related by al-Bukhari.
Hadith Qudsi 14:
On the authority of Abu Harayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (PBUH), who said:
Allah (glorified and exalted be He) has supernumerary angels who rove about seeking out gatherings in which Allah's name is being invoked: they sit with them and fold their wings round each other, fillin that which is between them and between the lowest heaven. When [the people in the gathering] depart, [the angels] ascend and rise up to heaven. He (the Prophet p.b.u.h.) said: Then Allah (mighty and sublime be He) asks them - [though] He is most knowing about them: From where have you come? And they say: We have come from some servants of Yours on Earth: they were glorifying You (Subhana llah), exalting you (Allahu akbar), witnessing that there is no god but You (La ilaha illa llah), praising You (Al-Hamdu lillah), and asking [favours] of You. He says: And what do they ask of Me? They say: They ask of You Your Paradise. He says: And have they seen My Paradise? They say: No, O Lord. He says: And how would it be were they to have seen My Paradise! They say: And they ask protection of You. He says: From what do they ask protection of Me? They say: From Your Hell-fire, O Lord. He says: And have they seen My Hell-fire? They say: NO. He says: And how would it be were they to have seen My Hell-fire: They say: And they ask for Your forgiveness. He (the Prophet p.b.u.h) said: Then He says: I have forgiven them and I have bestowed upon them what they have asked for,and I have granted them sanctuary from that from which they asked protection. He (the Prophet p.b.u.h) said: They say: O Lord, among then is So-and-so, a much sinning servant, who was merely passing by and sat down with them. He (the Prophet p.b.u.h) said: And He says: And to him [too] I have given forgiveness: he who sits with such people shall not suffer.
It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, at-Tirmidhi, and an-Nasa'i).
Hadith Qudsi 15:
On the authority of Abu Harayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Prophet (PBUH) said: Allah the Almighty said:
I am as My servant thinks I am (1). I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assemble better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a fathom's length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.
(1) Another possible rendering of the Arabic is: "I am as My servant expects Me to be". The meaning is that forgiveness and acceptance of repentance by the Almighty is subject to His servant truly believing that He is forgiving and merciful. However, not to accompany such belief with right action would be to mock the Almighty.
It was related by al-Buhkari (also by Muslim, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn-Majah).
Hadith Qudsi 16:
On the authority of son of Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), from the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), among the sayings he related from his Lord (glorified and exalted be He) is that He said:
Allah has written down the good deeds and the bad ones. Then He explained it [by saying that] he who has intended a good deed and has not done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, but if he has intended it and has done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as from ten good deeds to seven hundred times, or many times over. But if he has intended a bad deed and has not done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, but if he has intended it and has done it, Allah writes it down as one bad deed.
It was related by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
Hadith Qudsi 17:
On the authority of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (PBUH) is that among the sayings he relates from his Lord (may He be glorified) is that He said:
O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another. O My servants, all of you are astray except for those I have guided, so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you, O My servants, all of you are hungry except for those I have fed, so seek food of Me and I shall feed you. O My servants, all of you are naked except for those I have clothed, so seek clothing of Me and I shall clothe you. O My servants, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness of Me and I shall forgive you. O My servants, you will not attain harming Me so as to harm Me, and will not attain benefitting Me so as to benefit Me. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as pious as the most pious heart of any one man of you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any one man of you, that would not decrease My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to rise up in one place and make a request of Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have, any more that a needle decreases the sea if put into it. O My servants, it is but your deeds that I reckon up for you and then recompense you for, so let him finds good praise Allah and let him who finds other that blame no one but himself.
It was related by Muslim (also by at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah).
Hadith Qudsi 18:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) will say on the Day of Resurrection:
O son of Adam, I fell ill and you visited Me not. He will say: O Lord, and how should I visit You when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant So-and-so had fallen ill and you visited him not? Did you not know that had you visited him you would have found Me with him? O son of Adam, I asked you for food and you fed Me not. He will say: O Lord, and how should I feed You when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant So-and-so asked you for food and you fed him not? Did you not know that had you fed him you would surely have found that (the reward for doing so) with Me? O son of Adam, I asked you to give Me to drink and you gave Me not to drink. He will say: O Lord, how should I give You to drink whin You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: My servant So-and-so asked you to give him to drink and you gave him not to drink. Had you given him to drink you would have surely found that with Me.
It was related by Muslim.
Hadith Qudsi 19:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said:
Pride is my cloak and greatness My robe, and he who competes with Me in respect of either of them I shall cast into Hell-fire.
It was related by Abu Dawud (also by Ibn Majah and Ahmad) with sound chains of authority. This Hadith also appears in Muslim in another version.
Hadith Qudsi 20:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
The gates of Paradise will be opened on Mondays and on Thursdays, and every servant [of Allah] who associates nothing with Allah will be forgiven, except for the man who has a grudge against his brother. [About them] it will be said: Delay these two until they are reconciled; delay these two until they are reconciled.
It was related by Muslim (also by Malik and Abu Dawud).
Hadith Qudsi 21:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said that Allah the Almighty said:
There are three (1) whose adversary I shall be on the Day of Resurrection: a man who has given his word by Me and has broken it; a man who has sold a free man (2) and has consumed the price; and a man who has hired a workman, has exacted his due in full from him and has not given him his wage.
(1) i.e. types of men.
(2) i.e. a man who has made a slave of another and has sold him.
It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Ibn Majah and Ahmad ibn Hanbal).
Hadith Qudsi 22:
On the authority of Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
Let not any one of you belittle himself. They said: O Messenger of Allah, how can any one of us belittle himself? He said: He finds a matter concerning Allah about which he should say something, and he does not say [it], so Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says to him on the Day of Resurrection: What prevented you from saying something about such-and-such and such-and-such? He say: [It was] out of fear of people. Then He says: Rather it is I whom you should more properly fear.
It was related by Ibn Majah with a sound chain of authorities.
Hadith Qudsi 23:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection:
Where are those who love one another through My glory? Today I shall give them shade in My shade, it being a day when there is no shade but My shade.
It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Malik).
Hadith Qudsi 24:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
If Allah has loved a servant [of His] He calls Gabriel (on whom be peace) and says: I love So-and-so, therefore love him. He (the Prophet pbuh) said: So Gabriel loves him. Then he (Gabriel) calls out in heaven, saying: Allah loves So-and-so, therefore love him. And the inhabitants of heaven love him. He (the Prophet pbuh) said: Then acceptance is established for him on earth. And if Allah has abhorred a servant [of His], He calls Gabriel and says: I abhor So-and-so, therefore abhor him. So Gabriel abhors him. Then Gabriel calls out to the inhabitants of heaven: Allah abhors So-and-so, therefore abhor him. He (the Prophet pbuh) said: So they abhor him, and abhorrence is established for him on earth.
It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, Malik, and at-Tirmidhi).
Hadith Qudsi 25:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said:
Whosoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be at war with him. My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him.
It was related by al-Bukhari.
Hadith Qudsi 26:
On the authority of Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said:
Truly of those devoted to Me the one I most favour is a believer who is of meagre means and much given to prayer, who has been particular in the worship of his Lord and has obeyed Him inwardly (1), who was obscure among people and not pointed our, and whose sustenance was just sufficient to provide for him yet he bore this patiently. Then the Prophet (pbuh) rapped his hand and said: Death will have come early to him, his mourners will have been few, his estate scant.
(1) i.e. he has not been ostentatious in his obedience.
It was related by at-Tirmidhi (also by Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Ibn Majah). Its chain of authorities is sound.
Hadith Qudsi 27:
On the authority of Masruq, who said:
We asked Abdullah (i.e. Ibn Masud) about this verse: And do not regard those who have been killed in the cause of Allah as dead, rather are they alive with their Lord, being provided for (Quran Chapter 3 Verse 169). He said: We asked about that and the Prophet (pbuh) said: Their souls are in the insides of green birds having lanterns suspended from the Throne, roaming freely in Paradise where they please, then taking shelter in those lanterns. So their Lord cast a glance at them (1) and said: Do you wish for anything? They said: What shall we wish for when we roam freely in Paradise where we please? And thus did He do to them three times. When they say that they would not be spared from being asked [again], they said: O Lord, we would like for You to put back our souls into our bodies so that we might fight for Your sake once again. And when He saw that they were not in need of anything they were let be.
(1) i.e. at those who had been killed in the cause of Allah.
It was related by Muslim (also by at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah).
Hadith Qudsi 28:
On the authority of Jundub ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
There was amongst those before you a man who had a wound. He was in [such] anguish that he took a knife and made with it a cut in his hand, and the blood did not cease to flow till he died. Allah the Almighty said: My servant has himself forestalled Me; I have forbidden him Paradise.
It was related by al-Bukhari.
Hadith Qudsi 29:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says:
My faithful servant's reward from Me, if I have taken to Me his best friend from amongst the inhabitants of the world and he has then borne it patiently for My sake, shall be nothing less than Paradise.
It was related by al-Bukhari.
Hadith Qudsi 30:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said:
If My servant likes to meet Me, I like to meet him; and if he dislikes to meet Me, I dislike to meet him. Prophetic explanation of this Sacred Hadith: He who likes to meet Allah, Allah likes to meet him; and he who dislikes to meet Allah, Allah dislikes to meet him. Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: O Prophet of Allah, is it because of the dislike of death, for all of us dislike death? The Prophet (pbuh) said: It is not so, but rather it is that when the believer is given news of Allah's mercy, His approval and His Paradise, he likes to meet Allah and Allah likes to meet him; but when the unbeliever is given news of Allah's punishment and His displeasure, he dislikes to meet Allah and Allah dislikes to meet him.
It was related by al-Bukhari and Malik. The Prophetic version is related by Muslim.
Hadith Qudsi 31:
On the authority of Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) related:
A man said: By Allah, Allah will not forgive So-and-so. At this Allah the Almighty said: Who is he who swears by Me that I will not forgive So-and-so? Verily I have forgiven So-and-so and have nullified your [own good] deeds (1) (or as he said [it]).
(1) A similar Hadith, which is given by Abu Dawud, indicates that the person referred to was a goldly man whose previous good deeds were brought to nought through presuming to declare that Allah would not forgive someone's bad deeds.
It was related by Muslim.
Hadith Qudsi 32:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
A man sinned greatly against himself, and when death came to him he charged his sons, saying: When I have died, burn me, then crush me and scatter [my ashes] into the sea, for, by Allah, if my Lord takes possession of me, He will punish me in a manner in which He has punished no one [else]. So they did that to him. Then He said to the earth: Produce what you have taken-and there he was! And He said to him: What induced you to do what you did? He said: Being afraid of You, O my Lord (or he said: Being frightened of You) and because of that He forgave him.
It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah).
Hadith Qudsi 33:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (PBUH), from among the things he reports from his Lord (mighty and sublime be He), is that he said:
A servant [of Allah's] committed a sin and said: O Allah, forgive me my sin. And He (glorified and exalted be He) said: My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for them. Then he sinned again and said: O Lord, forgive me my sin. And He (glorified and exalted be He) said: My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for them. Then he sinned again and said: O Lord, forgive me my sin. And He (glorified and exalted be He) said: My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for sins. Do what you wish, for I have forgiven you.
It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari).
Hadith Qudsi 34:
On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say: Allah the Almighty said:
O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great at it.
It was related by at-Tirmidhi (also by Ahmad ibn Hanbal). Its chain of authorities is sound.
Hadith Qudsi 35:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
Our Lord (glorified and exalted be He) descends each night to the earth's sky when there remains the final third of the night, and He says: Who is saying a prayer to Me that I may answer it? Who is asking something of Me that I may give it him? Who is asking forgiveness of Me that I may forgive him?
It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim, Malik, at-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud).
In a version by Muslim the Hadith ends with the words:
And thus He continues till [the light of] dawn shines.
Hadith Qudsi 36:
On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (PBUH), who said:
The believers will gather together on the Day of Resurrection and will say: Should we not ask [someone] to intercede for us with our Lord? So they will come to Adam and will say: You are the Father of mankind; Allah created you with His hand He made His angels bow down to you and He taught you the names of everything, so intercede for us with you Lord so that He may give us relief form this place where we are. And he will say: I am not in a position [to do that] - and he will mention his wrongdoing and will feel ashamed and will say: Go to Noah, for he is the first messenger that Allah sent to the inhabitants of the earth. So they will come to him and he will say: I am not in a position [to do that] - and he will mention his having requested something of his Lord about which he had no [proper] knowledge (Quran Chapter 11 Verses 45-46), and he will feel ashamed and will say: Go to the Friend of the Merciful (Abraham). So they will come to him and he will say: I am not in a position [to do that]. Go to Moses, a servant to whom Allah talked and to whom He gave the Torah. So they will come to him and he will say: I am not in a position [to do that] - and he will mention the talking of a life other that for a life (Quran Chapter 28 Verses 15-16), and he will fell ashamed in the sight of his Lord and will say: Go to Jesus, Allah's servant and messenger, Allah's word and spirit. So they will come to him and he will say: I am not in a position [to do that]. Go to Muhammad (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), a servant to whom Allah has forgiven all his wrongdoing, past and future. So they will come to me and I shall set forth to ask permission to come to my Lord, and permission will be given, and when I shall see my Lord I shall prostrate myself. He will leave me thus for such time as it pleases Him, and then it will be said [to me]: Raise your head. Ask and it will be granted. Speak and it will be heard. Intercede and your intercession will be accepted. So I shall raise my head and praise Him with a form of praise that He will teach me. Then I shall intercede and HE will set me a limit [as to the number of people], so I shall admit them into Paradise. Then I shall return to Him, and when I shall see my Lord [I shall bow down] as before. Then I shall intercede and He will set me a limit [as to the number of people]. So I shall admit them into Paradise. Then I shall return for a third time, then a fourth, and I shall say: There remains in Hell-fire only those whom the Quran has confined and who must be there for eternity. There shall come out of Hell-fire he who has said: There is no god but Allah and who has in his heart goodness weighing a barley-corn; then there shall come out of Hell-fire he who has said: There is no god but Allah and who has in his heart goodness weighing a grain of wheat; then there shall come out of Hell-fire he who has said: There is no god but Allah and who has in his heart goodness weighing an atom.
It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim, at-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah).
Hadith Qudsi 37:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah said:
I have prepared for My righteous servants what no eye has seen and no ear has heard, not has it occurred to human heart. Thus recite if you wish (1): And no soul knows what joy for them (the inhabitants of Paradise) has been kept hidden (Quran Chapter 32 Verse 17).
(1) The words "Thus recite if you wish" are those of Abu Harayrah.
It was related by al-Bukhari, Muslim, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.
Hadith Qudsi 38:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
When Allah created Paradise and Hell-fire, He sent Gabriel to Paradise, saying: Look at it and at what I have prepared therein for its inhabitants. The Prophet (pbuh) said: So he came to it and looked at it and at what Allah had prepared therein for its inhabitants. The Prophet (pbuh) said: So he returned to Him and said: By your glory, no one hears of it without entering it. So He ordered that it be encompassed by forms of hardship, and He said: Return to it and look at what I have prepared therein for its inhabitants. The Prophet (pbuh) said: So he returned to it and found that it was encompassed by forms of hardship (1). Then he returned to Him and said: By Your glory, I fear that no one will enter it. He said: Go to Hell-fire and look at it and what I have prepared therein for its inhabitants, and he fount that it was in layers, one above the other. Then he returned to Him and said: By Your glory, no one who hears of it will enter it. So He ordered that it be encompassed by lusts. Then He said: Return to it. And he returned to it and said: By Your glory, I am frightened that no one will escape from entering it.
(1) The Arabic word used here is "makarih", the literal meaning of which is "things that are disliked". In this context it refers to forms of religious discipline that man usually finds onerous.
It was related by Tirmidhi, who said that it was a good and sound Hadith (also by Abu Dawud and an-Nasa'i).
Hadith Qudsi 39:
On the authority of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
Paradise and Hell-fire disputed together, and Hell-fire said: In me are the mighty and the haughty. Paradise said: In me are the weak and the poor. So Allah judged between them, [saying]: You are Paradise, My mercy; through you I show mercy to those I wish. And you are Hell-fire, My punishment; through you I punish those I wish, and it is incumbent upon Me that each of you shall have its fill.
It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari and at-Tirmidhi).
Hadith Qudsi 40:
On the authority of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
Allah will say to the inhabitant of Paradise: O inhabitants of Paradise! They will say: O our Lord, we present ourselves and are at Your pleasure, and goodness rests in Your hands. Then He will say: Are you contented? And they will say: And how should we not be contented, O Lord, when You have given to us that which You have given to no one else of Your creation? Then He will say: Would not like Me to give you something better than that? And they will say: O Lord and what thing is better than that? And He will say: I shall cause My favour to descend upon you and thereafter shall never be displeased with you.
It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim and at-Tirmidhi).
Hadith Qudsi are the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) as revealed to him by the Almighty Allah. Hadith Qudsi (or Sacred Hadith) are so named because, unlike the majority of Hadith which are Prophetic Hadith, their authority (Sanad) is traced back not to the Prophet but to the Almighty.
Among the many definitions given by the early scholars to Sacred Hadith is that of as-Sayyid ash-Sharif al-Jurjani (died in 816 A.H.) in his lexicon At-Tarifat where he says: "A Sacred Hadith is, as to the meaning, from Allah the Almighty; as to the wording, it is from the messenger of Allah (PBUH). It is that which Allah the Almighty has communicated to His Prophet through revelation or in dream, and he, peace be upon him, has communicated it in his own words. Thus Qur'an is superior to it because, besides being revealed, it is His wording."
Hadith Qudsi 1:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
When Allah decreed the Creation He pledged Himself by writing in His book which is laid down with Him: My mercy prevails over my wrath.
It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah).
Hadith Qudsi 2:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah Almighty has said:
The son of Adam denied Me and he had no right to do so. And he reviled Me and he had no right to do so. As for his denying Me, it is his saying: He will not remake me as He made me at first (1) - and the initial creation [of him] is no easier for Me than remaking him. As for his reviling Me, it is his saying: Allah has taken to Himself a son, while I am the One, the Everlasting Refuge. I begot not nor was I begotten, and there is none comparable to Me.
(1) i.e., bring me back to life after death.
It was related by al-Bukhari (also by an-Nasa'i).
Hadith Qudsi 3:
On the authority of Zayd ibn Khalid al-Juhaniyy (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
The Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) led the morning prayer for us at al-Hudaybiyah following rainfall during the night. When the Prophet (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) finished, he faced the people and said to them: Do you know what your Lord has said? They said: Allah and his Messenger know best. He said: This morning one of my servants became a believer in Me and one a disbeliever. As for him who said: We have been given rain by virtue of Allah and His mercy, that one is a believer in Me, a disbeliever in the stars (2); and as for him who said: We have been given rain by such-and-such a star, that one is a disbeliever in Me, a believer in the stars.
(2) The pre-Islamic Arabs believed that rain was brought about by the movement of stars. This Hadith draws attention to the fact that whatever be the direct cause of such natural phenomena as rain, it is Allah the Almighty who is the Disposer of all things.
It is related by al-Bukhari (also by Malik and an-Nasa'i).
Hadith Qudsi 4:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah said:
Sons of Adam inveigh against [the vicissitudes of] Time, and I am Time, in My hand is the night and the day (1).
(1) As the Almighty is the Ordainer of all things, to inveigh aginst misfortunes that are part of Time is tantamount to inveighing against Him.
It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim).
Hadith Qudsi 5:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah (glorified and exalted be He) said:
I am so self-sufficient that I am in no need of having an associate. Thus he who does an action for someone else's sake as well as Mine will have that action renounced by Me to him whom he associated with Me.
It was related by Muslim (also by Ibn Majah).
Hadith Qudsi 6:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say:
The first of people against whom judgment will be pronounced on the Day of Resurrection will be a man who died a martyr. He will be brought and Allah will make known to him His favours and he will recognize them. [ The Almighty] will say: And what did you do about them? He will say: I fought for you until I died a martyr. He will say: You have lied - you did but fight that it might be said [of you]: He is courageous. And so it was said. Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hell-fire. [Another] will be a man who has studied [religious] knowledge and has taught it and who used to recite the Quran. He will be brought and Allah will make known to his His favours and he will recognize them. [The Almighty] will say: And what did you do about them? He will say: I studied [religious] knowledge and I taught it and I recited the Quran for Your sake. He will say: You have lied - you did but study [religious] knowledge that it might be said [of you]: He is learned. And you recited the Quran that it might be said [of you]: He is a reciter. And so it was said. Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hell-fire. [Another] will be a man whom Allah had made rich and to whom He had given all kinds of wealth. He will be brought and Allah will make known to his His favours and he will recognize them. [The Almighty] will say: And what did you do about them? He will say: I left no path [untrodden] in which You like money to be spent without spending in it for Your sake. He will say: You have lied - you did but do so that it might be said [of you]: He is open-handed. And so it was said. Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hell-fire.
It was related by Muslim (also by at-Tirmidhi and an-Nasa'i).
Hadith Qudsi 7:
On the authority of Uqbah ibn Amir (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the messenger of Allah (PBUH) say:
Your Lord delights at a shepherd who, on the peak of a mountain crag, gives the call to prayer and prays. Then Allah (glorified and exalted be He) say: Look at this servant of Mine, he gives the call to prayer and performs the prayers; he is in awe of Me. I have forgiven My servant [his sins] and have admitted him to Paradise.
It was related by an-Nasa'i with a good chain of authorities.
Hadith Qudsi 8:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (PBUH), who said:
A prayer performed by someone who has not recited the Essence of the Quran (1) during it is deficient (and he repeated the word three times), incomplete. Someone said to Abu Hurayrah: [Even though] we are behind the imam? (2) He said: Recite it to yourself, for I have heard the Prophet (may the blessings and peace of Allah be up on him) say: Allah (mighty and sublime be He), had said: I have divided prayer between Myself and My servant into two halves, and My servant shall have what he has asked for. When the servant says: Al-hamdu lillahi rabbi l-alamin (3), Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says: My servant has praised Me. And when he says: Ar-rahmani r-rahim (4), Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says: My servant has extolled Me, and when he says: Maliki yawmi d-din (5), Allah says: My servant has glorified Me - and on one occasion He said: My servant has submitted to My power. And when he says: Iyyaka na budu wa iyyaka nasta in (6), He says: This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for. And when he says: Ihdina s-sirata l- mustaqim, siratal ladhina an amta alayhim ghayril-maghdubi alayhim wa la d-dallin (7), He says: This is for My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for.
(1) Surat al-Fatihah, the first surah (chapter) of the Qur'an.
(2) i.e. standing behind the imam (leader) listening to him reciting al-Fatihah.
(3) "Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds."
(4) "The Merciful, the Compassionate".
(5) "Master of the Day of Judgement".
(6) "It is You we worship and it is You we ask for help".
(7) "Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favors, not of those against whom You are angry, nor of those who are astray".
It was related by Muslim (also by Malik, at-Tirmidhi, Abu-Dawud, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah).
Hadith Qudsi 9:
On the authority of Abu Harayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (PBUH), who said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says:
The fist of his actions for which a servant of Allah will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayers. If they are in order, then he will have prospered and succeeded: and if they are wanting, then he will have failed and lost. If there is something defective in his obligatory prayers, the Lord (glorified and exalted be He) will say: See if My servant has any supererogatory prayers with which may be completed that which was defective in his obligatory prayers. Then the rest of his actions will be judged in like fashion.
It was related by at-Tirmidhi (also by Abu Dawud, an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah and Ahmad).
Hadith Qudsi 10:
On the authority of Abu Harayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (PBUH), who said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says:
Fasting is Mine and it I who give reward for it. [A man] gives up his sexual passion, his food and his drink for my sake. Fasting is like a shield, and he who fasts has two joys: a joy whin he breaks his fast and a joy when he meets his Lord. The change in the breath of the mouth of him who fasts is better in Allah's estimation than the smell of musk.
It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim, Malik, at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah).
Hadith Qudsi 11:
On the authority of Abu Harayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (PBUH), who said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said:
Spend (on charity), O son of Adam, and I shall spend on you.
It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim).
Hadith Qudsi 12:
On the authority of Abu Mas'ud al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
A man from among those who were before you was called to account. Nothing in the way of good was found for him except that he used to have dealings with people and, being well-to-do, he would order his servants to let off the man in straitened circumstances [from repaying his debt]. He (the Prophet p.b.u.h) said that Allah said: We are worthier than you of that (of being so generous). Let him off.
It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari and an-Nasa'i).
Hadith Qudsi 13:
On the authority of Adiyy ibn Hatim (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
I was with the Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and there came to him two men: one of them was complaining of penury (being very poor), while the other was complaining of brigandry (robbery). The Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: As for brigandry, it will be but a short time before a caravan will [be able to] go out of Mecca without a guard. As for penury, the Hour (Day of Judgement) will not arrive before one of you takes his charity around without finding anyone to accept it from him. Then (1) one of you will surely stand before Allah, there being no screed between Him and him, nor an interpreter to translate for him. Then He will say to him: Did I not bring you wealth? And he will say: Yes. Then He will say: Did I not send to you a messenger? And he will say: Yes. And he will look to his right and will see nothing but Hell-fire, then he will look to his left and will see nothing but Hell-fire, so let each of you protect himself against Hell-fire, be it with even half a date - and if he finds it not, then with a kind word.
(1) i.e. at the time of the Hour. It was related by al-Bukhari.
Hadith Qudsi 14:
On the authority of Abu Harayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (PBUH), who said:
Allah (glorified and exalted be He) has supernumerary angels who rove about seeking out gatherings in which Allah's name is being invoked: they sit with them and fold their wings round each other, fillin that which is between them and between the lowest heaven. When [the people in the gathering] depart, [the angels] ascend and rise up to heaven. He (the Prophet p.b.u.h.) said: Then Allah (mighty and sublime be He) asks them - [though] He is most knowing about them: From where have you come? And they say: We have come from some servants of Yours on Earth: they were glorifying You (Subhana llah), exalting you (Allahu akbar), witnessing that there is no god but You (La ilaha illa llah), praising You (Al-Hamdu lillah), and asking [favours] of You. He says: And what do they ask of Me? They say: They ask of You Your Paradise. He says: And have they seen My Paradise? They say: No, O Lord. He says: And how would it be were they to have seen My Paradise! They say: And they ask protection of You. He says: From what do they ask protection of Me? They say: From Your Hell-fire, O Lord. He says: And have they seen My Hell-fire? They say: NO. He says: And how would it be were they to have seen My Hell-fire: They say: And they ask for Your forgiveness. He (the Prophet p.b.u.h) said: Then He says: I have forgiven them and I have bestowed upon them what they have asked for,and I have granted them sanctuary from that from which they asked protection. He (the Prophet p.b.u.h) said: They say: O Lord, among then is So-and-so, a much sinning servant, who was merely passing by and sat down with them. He (the Prophet p.b.u.h) said: And He says: And to him [too] I have given forgiveness: he who sits with such people shall not suffer.
It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, at-Tirmidhi, and an-Nasa'i).
Hadith Qudsi 15:
On the authority of Abu Harayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Prophet (PBUH) said: Allah the Almighty said:
I am as My servant thinks I am (1). I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assemble better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a fathom's length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.
(1) Another possible rendering of the Arabic is: "I am as My servant expects Me to be". The meaning is that forgiveness and acceptance of repentance by the Almighty is subject to His servant truly believing that He is forgiving and merciful. However, not to accompany such belief with right action would be to mock the Almighty.
It was related by al-Buhkari (also by Muslim, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn-Majah).
Hadith Qudsi 16:
On the authority of son of Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), from the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), among the sayings he related from his Lord (glorified and exalted be He) is that He said:
Allah has written down the good deeds and the bad ones. Then He explained it [by saying that] he who has intended a good deed and has not done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, but if he has intended it and has done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as from ten good deeds to seven hundred times, or many times over. But if he has intended a bad deed and has not done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, but if he has intended it and has done it, Allah writes it down as one bad deed.
It was related by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
Hadith Qudsi 17:
On the authority of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (PBUH) is that among the sayings he relates from his Lord (may He be glorified) is that He said:
O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another. O My servants, all of you are astray except for those I have guided, so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you, O My servants, all of you are hungry except for those I have fed, so seek food of Me and I shall feed you. O My servants, all of you are naked except for those I have clothed, so seek clothing of Me and I shall clothe you. O My servants, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness of Me and I shall forgive you. O My servants, you will not attain harming Me so as to harm Me, and will not attain benefitting Me so as to benefit Me. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as pious as the most pious heart of any one man of you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any one man of you, that would not decrease My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to rise up in one place and make a request of Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have, any more that a needle decreases the sea if put into it. O My servants, it is but your deeds that I reckon up for you and then recompense you for, so let him finds good praise Allah and let him who finds other that blame no one but himself.
It was related by Muslim (also by at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah).
Hadith Qudsi 18:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) will say on the Day of Resurrection:
O son of Adam, I fell ill and you visited Me not. He will say: O Lord, and how should I visit You when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant So-and-so had fallen ill and you visited him not? Did you not know that had you visited him you would have found Me with him? O son of Adam, I asked you for food and you fed Me not. He will say: O Lord, and how should I feed You when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant So-and-so asked you for food and you fed him not? Did you not know that had you fed him you would surely have found that (the reward for doing so) with Me? O son of Adam, I asked you to give Me to drink and you gave Me not to drink. He will say: O Lord, how should I give You to drink whin You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: My servant So-and-so asked you to give him to drink and you gave him not to drink. Had you given him to drink you would have surely found that with Me.
It was related by Muslim.
Hadith Qudsi 19:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said:
Pride is my cloak and greatness My robe, and he who competes with Me in respect of either of them I shall cast into Hell-fire.
It was related by Abu Dawud (also by Ibn Majah and Ahmad) with sound chains of authority. This Hadith also appears in Muslim in another version.
Hadith Qudsi 20:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
The gates of Paradise will be opened on Mondays and on Thursdays, and every servant [of Allah] who associates nothing with Allah will be forgiven, except for the man who has a grudge against his brother. [About them] it will be said: Delay these two until they are reconciled; delay these two until they are reconciled.
It was related by Muslim (also by Malik and Abu Dawud).
Hadith Qudsi 21:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said that Allah the Almighty said:
There are three (1) whose adversary I shall be on the Day of Resurrection: a man who has given his word by Me and has broken it; a man who has sold a free man (2) and has consumed the price; and a man who has hired a workman, has exacted his due in full from him and has not given him his wage.
(1) i.e. types of men.
(2) i.e. a man who has made a slave of another and has sold him.
It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Ibn Majah and Ahmad ibn Hanbal).
Hadith Qudsi 22:
On the authority of Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
Let not any one of you belittle himself. They said: O Messenger of Allah, how can any one of us belittle himself? He said: He finds a matter concerning Allah about which he should say something, and he does not say [it], so Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says to him on the Day of Resurrection: What prevented you from saying something about such-and-such and such-and-such? He say: [It was] out of fear of people. Then He says: Rather it is I whom you should more properly fear.
It was related by Ibn Majah with a sound chain of authorities.
Hadith Qudsi 23:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection:
Where are those who love one another through My glory? Today I shall give them shade in My shade, it being a day when there is no shade but My shade.
It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Malik).
Hadith Qudsi 24:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
If Allah has loved a servant [of His] He calls Gabriel (on whom be peace) and says: I love So-and-so, therefore love him. He (the Prophet pbuh) said: So Gabriel loves him. Then he (Gabriel) calls out in heaven, saying: Allah loves So-and-so, therefore love him. And the inhabitants of heaven love him. He (the Prophet pbuh) said: Then acceptance is established for him on earth. And if Allah has abhorred a servant [of His], He calls Gabriel and says: I abhor So-and-so, therefore abhor him. So Gabriel abhors him. Then Gabriel calls out to the inhabitants of heaven: Allah abhors So-and-so, therefore abhor him. He (the Prophet pbuh) said: So they abhor him, and abhorrence is established for him on earth.
It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, Malik, and at-Tirmidhi).
Hadith Qudsi 25:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said:
Whosoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be at war with him. My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him.
It was related by al-Bukhari.
Hadith Qudsi 26:
On the authority of Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said:
Truly of those devoted to Me the one I most favour is a believer who is of meagre means and much given to prayer, who has been particular in the worship of his Lord and has obeyed Him inwardly (1), who was obscure among people and not pointed our, and whose sustenance was just sufficient to provide for him yet he bore this patiently. Then the Prophet (pbuh) rapped his hand and said: Death will have come early to him, his mourners will have been few, his estate scant.
(1) i.e. he has not been ostentatious in his obedience.
It was related by at-Tirmidhi (also by Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Ibn Majah). Its chain of authorities is sound.
Hadith Qudsi 27:
On the authority of Masruq, who said:
We asked Abdullah (i.e. Ibn Masud) about this verse: And do not regard those who have been killed in the cause of Allah as dead, rather are they alive with their Lord, being provided for (Quran Chapter 3 Verse 169). He said: We asked about that and the Prophet (pbuh) said: Their souls are in the insides of green birds having lanterns suspended from the Throne, roaming freely in Paradise where they please, then taking shelter in those lanterns. So their Lord cast a glance at them (1) and said: Do you wish for anything? They said: What shall we wish for when we roam freely in Paradise where we please? And thus did He do to them three times. When they say that they would not be spared from being asked [again], they said: O Lord, we would like for You to put back our souls into our bodies so that we might fight for Your sake once again. And when He saw that they were not in need of anything they were let be.
(1) i.e. at those who had been killed in the cause of Allah.
It was related by Muslim (also by at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah).
Hadith Qudsi 28:
On the authority of Jundub ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
There was amongst those before you a man who had a wound. He was in [such] anguish that he took a knife and made with it a cut in his hand, and the blood did not cease to flow till he died. Allah the Almighty said: My servant has himself forestalled Me; I have forbidden him Paradise.
It was related by al-Bukhari.
Hadith Qudsi 29:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says:
My faithful servant's reward from Me, if I have taken to Me his best friend from amongst the inhabitants of the world and he has then borne it patiently for My sake, shall be nothing less than Paradise.
It was related by al-Bukhari.
Hadith Qudsi 30:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said:
If My servant likes to meet Me, I like to meet him; and if he dislikes to meet Me, I dislike to meet him. Prophetic explanation of this Sacred Hadith: He who likes to meet Allah, Allah likes to meet him; and he who dislikes to meet Allah, Allah dislikes to meet him. Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: O Prophet of Allah, is it because of the dislike of death, for all of us dislike death? The Prophet (pbuh) said: It is not so, but rather it is that when the believer is given news of Allah's mercy, His approval and His Paradise, he likes to meet Allah and Allah likes to meet him; but when the unbeliever is given news of Allah's punishment and His displeasure, he dislikes to meet Allah and Allah dislikes to meet him.
It was related by al-Bukhari and Malik. The Prophetic version is related by Muslim.
Hadith Qudsi 31:
On the authority of Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) related:
A man said: By Allah, Allah will not forgive So-and-so. At this Allah the Almighty said: Who is he who swears by Me that I will not forgive So-and-so? Verily I have forgiven So-and-so and have nullified your [own good] deeds (1) (or as he said [it]).
(1) A similar Hadith, which is given by Abu Dawud, indicates that the person referred to was a goldly man whose previous good deeds were brought to nought through presuming to declare that Allah would not forgive someone's bad deeds.
It was related by Muslim.
Hadith Qudsi 32:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
A man sinned greatly against himself, and when death came to him he charged his sons, saying: When I have died, burn me, then crush me and scatter [my ashes] into the sea, for, by Allah, if my Lord takes possession of me, He will punish me in a manner in which He has punished no one [else]. So they did that to him. Then He said to the earth: Produce what you have taken-and there he was! And He said to him: What induced you to do what you did? He said: Being afraid of You, O my Lord (or he said: Being frightened of You) and because of that He forgave him.
It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah).
Hadith Qudsi 33:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (PBUH), from among the things he reports from his Lord (mighty and sublime be He), is that he said:
A servant [of Allah's] committed a sin and said: O Allah, forgive me my sin. And He (glorified and exalted be He) said: My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for them. Then he sinned again and said: O Lord, forgive me my sin. And He (glorified and exalted be He) said: My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for them. Then he sinned again and said: O Lord, forgive me my sin. And He (glorified and exalted be He) said: My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for sins. Do what you wish, for I have forgiven you.
It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari).
Hadith Qudsi 34:
On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say: Allah the Almighty said:
O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great at it.
It was related by at-Tirmidhi (also by Ahmad ibn Hanbal). Its chain of authorities is sound.
Hadith Qudsi 35:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
Our Lord (glorified and exalted be He) descends each night to the earth's sky when there remains the final third of the night, and He says: Who is saying a prayer to Me that I may answer it? Who is asking something of Me that I may give it him? Who is asking forgiveness of Me that I may forgive him?
It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim, Malik, at-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud).
In a version by Muslim the Hadith ends with the words:
And thus He continues till [the light of] dawn shines.
Hadith Qudsi 36:
On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (PBUH), who said:
The believers will gather together on the Day of Resurrection and will say: Should we not ask [someone] to intercede for us with our Lord? So they will come to Adam and will say: You are the Father of mankind; Allah created you with His hand He made His angels bow down to you and He taught you the names of everything, so intercede for us with you Lord so that He may give us relief form this place where we are. And he will say: I am not in a position [to do that] - and he will mention his wrongdoing and will feel ashamed and will say: Go to Noah, for he is the first messenger that Allah sent to the inhabitants of the earth. So they will come to him and he will say: I am not in a position [to do that] - and he will mention his having requested something of his Lord about which he had no [proper] knowledge (Quran Chapter 11 Verses 45-46), and he will feel ashamed and will say: Go to the Friend of the Merciful (Abraham). So they will come to him and he will say: I am not in a position [to do that]. Go to Moses, a servant to whom Allah talked and to whom He gave the Torah. So they will come to him and he will say: I am not in a position [to do that] - and he will mention the talking of a life other that for a life (Quran Chapter 28 Verses 15-16), and he will fell ashamed in the sight of his Lord and will say: Go to Jesus, Allah's servant and messenger, Allah's word and spirit. So they will come to him and he will say: I am not in a position [to do that]. Go to Muhammad (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), a servant to whom Allah has forgiven all his wrongdoing, past and future. So they will come to me and I shall set forth to ask permission to come to my Lord, and permission will be given, and when I shall see my Lord I shall prostrate myself. He will leave me thus for such time as it pleases Him, and then it will be said [to me]: Raise your head. Ask and it will be granted. Speak and it will be heard. Intercede and your intercession will be accepted. So I shall raise my head and praise Him with a form of praise that He will teach me. Then I shall intercede and HE will set me a limit [as to the number of people], so I shall admit them into Paradise. Then I shall return to Him, and when I shall see my Lord [I shall bow down] as before. Then I shall intercede and He will set me a limit [as to the number of people]. So I shall admit them into Paradise. Then I shall return for a third time, then a fourth, and I shall say: There remains in Hell-fire only those whom the Quran has confined and who must be there for eternity. There shall come out of Hell-fire he who has said: There is no god but Allah and who has in his heart goodness weighing a barley-corn; then there shall come out of Hell-fire he who has said: There is no god but Allah and who has in his heart goodness weighing a grain of wheat; then there shall come out of Hell-fire he who has said: There is no god but Allah and who has in his heart goodness weighing an atom.
It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim, at-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah).
Hadith Qudsi 37:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah said:
I have prepared for My righteous servants what no eye has seen and no ear has heard, not has it occurred to human heart. Thus recite if you wish (1): And no soul knows what joy for them (the inhabitants of Paradise) has been kept hidden (Quran Chapter 32 Verse 17).
(1) The words "Thus recite if you wish" are those of Abu Harayrah.
It was related by al-Bukhari, Muslim, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.
Hadith Qudsi 38:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
When Allah created Paradise and Hell-fire, He sent Gabriel to Paradise, saying: Look at it and at what I have prepared therein for its inhabitants. The Prophet (pbuh) said: So he came to it and looked at it and at what Allah had prepared therein for its inhabitants. The Prophet (pbuh) said: So he returned to Him and said: By your glory, no one hears of it without entering it. So He ordered that it be encompassed by forms of hardship, and He said: Return to it and look at what I have prepared therein for its inhabitants. The Prophet (pbuh) said: So he returned to it and found that it was encompassed by forms of hardship (1). Then he returned to Him and said: By Your glory, I fear that no one will enter it. He said: Go to Hell-fire and look at it and what I have prepared therein for its inhabitants, and he fount that it was in layers, one above the other. Then he returned to Him and said: By Your glory, no one who hears of it will enter it. So He ordered that it be encompassed by lusts. Then He said: Return to it. And he returned to it and said: By Your glory, I am frightened that no one will escape from entering it.
(1) The Arabic word used here is "makarih", the literal meaning of which is "things that are disliked". In this context it refers to forms of religious discipline that man usually finds onerous.
It was related by Tirmidhi, who said that it was a good and sound Hadith (also by Abu Dawud and an-Nasa'i).
Hadith Qudsi 39:
On the authority of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
Paradise and Hell-fire disputed together, and Hell-fire said: In me are the mighty and the haughty. Paradise said: In me are the weak and the poor. So Allah judged between them, [saying]: You are Paradise, My mercy; through you I show mercy to those I wish. And you are Hell-fire, My punishment; through you I punish those I wish, and it is incumbent upon Me that each of you shall have its fill.
It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari and at-Tirmidhi).
Hadith Qudsi 40:
On the authority of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
Allah will say to the inhabitant of Paradise: O inhabitants of Paradise! They will say: O our Lord, we present ourselves and are at Your pleasure, and goodness rests in Your hands. Then He will say: Are you contented? And they will say: And how should we not be contented, O Lord, when You have given to us that which You have given to no one else of Your creation? Then He will say: Would not like Me to give you something better than that? And they will say: O Lord and what thing is better than that? And He will say: I shall cause My favour to descend upon you and thereafter shall never be displeased with you.
It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim and at-Tirmidhi).
Good Character
Section: Good Character
Book 47, Number 47.1.1:
Yahya related to me from Malik that Muadh ibn Jabal said, "The last advice the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave me when I put my foot in the stirrup was that he said, 'Make your character good for the people, Muadh ibn Jabal!' "
Book 47, Number 47.1.2:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn az-Zubayr that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not have to choose between two matters, but that he chose the easier of them as long as it was not a wrong action. If it was a wrong action, he was the furthest of people from it. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not take revenge for himself unless the limits of Allah were violated. Then he took revenge for it for Allah."
Book 47, Number 47.1.3:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Ali ibn Husayn ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Part of the excellence of a man's Islam is that he leaves what does not concern him."
Book 47, Number 47.1.4:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A man asked permission to come in to see the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. I was with him in the house and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'He is an evil member of his tribe.' Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave him permission."
A'isha continued, "It was not long before I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, laughing with him. When the man left, I said, 'Messenger of Allah, you said what you said about him, and then before long you were laughing with him.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, replied, 'Among the most evil of people is the one whom people are cautious with because of his evil.' "
Book 47, Number 47.1.5:
Yahya related to me from Malik from his paternal uncle, Abu Suhayl ibn Malik from his father that Kab al-Ahbar said, "If you want to know what a slave has with his Lord, then look at whatever good praise follows him."
Book 47, Number 47.1.6:
Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said said, "I have heard that by his good character a man can reach the degree of the one who stands in prayer at night and the one who is thirsty from fasting in the heat of the day."
Book 47, Number 47.1.7:
Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said said that he heard Said ibn al-Musayyab say, "Shall I tell you what is better than much prayer and sadaqa?" They said, "Yes." He said, "Mending discord. And beware of hatred - it strips you (of your deen)."
Book 47, Number 47.1.8:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I was sent to perfect good character."
Section: Modesty
Book 47, Number 47.2.9:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Salama ibn Safwan ibn Salama az-Zuraqi that Zayd ibn Talha ibn Rukana, who attributed it to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Every deen has an innate character. The character of Islam is modesty.' "
Book 47, Number 47.2.10:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Salim ibn Abdullah from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, passed by a man who was chiding his brother about modesty. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Leave him. Modesty is part of iman."
Section: Anger
Book 47, Number 47.3.11:
Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab from Humayd ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf that a man came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, "Messenger of Allah, teach me some words which I can live by. Do not make them too much for me, lest I forget." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do not be angry."
Book 47, Number 47.3.12:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Said ibn al-Musayyab from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A strong person is not the person who throws his adversaries to the ground. A strong person is the person who contains himself when he is angry."
Section: Shunning People
Book 47, Number 47.4.13:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Ata ibn Yazid al-Laythi from Abu Ayyub al-Ansari that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "It is not halal for a muslim to shun his brother for more than three nights, that is they meet, and this one turns away and that one turns away. The better of the two is the one who says the greeting first."
Book 47, Number 47.4.14:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Anas ibn Malik that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do not be angry with each other and do not envy each other and do not turn away from each other, and be slaves of Allah, brothers. It is not halal for a muslim to shun his brother for more than three nights."
Book 47, Number 47.4.15:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zinad from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Beware of suspicion. Suspicion is the most untrue speech. Do not spy and do not eavesdrop. Do not compete with each other and do not envy each other and do not hate each other and do not shun each other. Be slaves of Allah, brothers."
Book 47, Number 47.4.16:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ata ibn Abi Muslim that Abdullah al-Khurasani said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Shake hands and rancour will disappear. Give presents to each other and love each other and enmity will disappear.' "
Book 47, Number 47.4.17:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Suhayl ibn Abi Salih from his father from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The doors of the Garden are opened on Monday and Thursday. Every muslim slave who does not associate anything with Allah is forgiven except for the man who has enmity between him and his brother. It is said, 'Leave these two until they have made a reconciliation. Leave these two until they have made a reconciliation.' "
Book 47, Number 47.4.18:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Muslim ibn Abi Maryam from Abu Salih as-Samman that Abu Hurayra said, "The actions of people are presented twice each week, on Monday and Thursday. Every trusting slave is forgiven except for a slave who has enmity between him and his brother. It is said, 'Leave these two until they turn in tawba. Leave these two until they turn in tawba.' ''
Book 47, Number 47.1.1:
Yahya related to me from Malik that Muadh ibn Jabal said, "The last advice the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave me when I put my foot in the stirrup was that he said, 'Make your character good for the people, Muadh ibn Jabal!' "
Book 47, Number 47.1.2:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn az-Zubayr that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not have to choose between two matters, but that he chose the easier of them as long as it was not a wrong action. If it was a wrong action, he was the furthest of people from it. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not take revenge for himself unless the limits of Allah were violated. Then he took revenge for it for Allah."
Book 47, Number 47.1.3:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Ali ibn Husayn ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Part of the excellence of a man's Islam is that he leaves what does not concern him."
Book 47, Number 47.1.4:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A man asked permission to come in to see the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. I was with him in the house and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'He is an evil member of his tribe.' Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave him permission."
A'isha continued, "It was not long before I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, laughing with him. When the man left, I said, 'Messenger of Allah, you said what you said about him, and then before long you were laughing with him.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, replied, 'Among the most evil of people is the one whom people are cautious with because of his evil.' "
Book 47, Number 47.1.5:
Yahya related to me from Malik from his paternal uncle, Abu Suhayl ibn Malik from his father that Kab al-Ahbar said, "If you want to know what a slave has with his Lord, then look at whatever good praise follows him."
Book 47, Number 47.1.6:
Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said said, "I have heard that by his good character a man can reach the degree of the one who stands in prayer at night and the one who is thirsty from fasting in the heat of the day."
Book 47, Number 47.1.7:
Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said said that he heard Said ibn al-Musayyab say, "Shall I tell you what is better than much prayer and sadaqa?" They said, "Yes." He said, "Mending discord. And beware of hatred - it strips you (of your deen)."
Book 47, Number 47.1.8:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I was sent to perfect good character."
Section: Modesty
Book 47, Number 47.2.9:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Salama ibn Safwan ibn Salama az-Zuraqi that Zayd ibn Talha ibn Rukana, who attributed it to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Every deen has an innate character. The character of Islam is modesty.' "
Book 47, Number 47.2.10:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Salim ibn Abdullah from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, passed by a man who was chiding his brother about modesty. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Leave him. Modesty is part of iman."
Section: Anger
Book 47, Number 47.3.11:
Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab from Humayd ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf that a man came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, "Messenger of Allah, teach me some words which I can live by. Do not make them too much for me, lest I forget." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do not be angry."
Book 47, Number 47.3.12:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Said ibn al-Musayyab from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A strong person is not the person who throws his adversaries to the ground. A strong person is the person who contains himself when he is angry."
Section: Shunning People
Book 47, Number 47.4.13:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Ata ibn Yazid al-Laythi from Abu Ayyub al-Ansari that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "It is not halal for a muslim to shun his brother for more than three nights, that is they meet, and this one turns away and that one turns away. The better of the two is the one who says the greeting first."
Book 47, Number 47.4.14:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Anas ibn Malik that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do not be angry with each other and do not envy each other and do not turn away from each other, and be slaves of Allah, brothers. It is not halal for a muslim to shun his brother for more than three nights."
Book 47, Number 47.4.15:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zinad from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Beware of suspicion. Suspicion is the most untrue speech. Do not spy and do not eavesdrop. Do not compete with each other and do not envy each other and do not hate each other and do not shun each other. Be slaves of Allah, brothers."
Book 47, Number 47.4.16:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ata ibn Abi Muslim that Abdullah al-Khurasani said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Shake hands and rancour will disappear. Give presents to each other and love each other and enmity will disappear.' "
Book 47, Number 47.4.17:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Suhayl ibn Abi Salih from his father from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The doors of the Garden are opened on Monday and Thursday. Every muslim slave who does not associate anything with Allah is forgiven except for the man who has enmity between him and his brother. It is said, 'Leave these two until they have made a reconciliation. Leave these two until they have made a reconciliation.' "
Book 47, Number 47.4.18:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Muslim ibn Abi Maryam from Abu Salih as-Samman that Abu Hurayra said, "The actions of people are presented twice each week, on Monday and Thursday. Every trusting slave is forgiven except for a slave who has enmity between him and his brother. It is said, 'Leave these two until they turn in tawba. Leave these two until they turn in tawba.' ''
Marriage
Section: Asking for Someone's Hand in Marriage
Book 28, Number 28.1.1:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Habban from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do not ask for a woman in marriage when another muslim has already done so."
Book 28, Number 28.1.2:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do not ask for a woman in marriage when another muslim has already done so."
Malik said, "The explanation of the statement of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, according to what we think - and Allah knows best - is that 'Do not ask for a woman in marriage when another muslim has already done so' means that when a man has asked for a woman in marriage, and she has inclined to him and they have agreed on a bride-price, which she has suggested and with which they are mutually satisfied, it is forbidden for another man to ask for that woman in marriage. It does not mean that when a man has asked for a woman in marriage, and his suit does not agree with her and she does not incline to him that no one else can ask for her in marriage. That is a door to misery for people."
Book 28, Number 28.1.3:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Qasim that his father said about the word of Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, "There is no fault in you about the proposal you offer to women, or hide in yourselves. Allah knows that you will be mindful of them; but do not make troth with them secretly without honourable words," (Sura 2 ayat 235) that it referred to a man saying to a woman while she was still in her idda after the death of her husband, "You are dear to me, and I desire you, and Allah brings provision and blessing to you," and words such as these.
Section: Asking Consent of Virgins and Women Previously Married for their Persons
Book 28, Number 28.2.4:
Malik related to me from Abdullah ibn al-Fadl from Nafi ibn Jubayr ibn Mutim from Abdullah ibn Abbas that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A woman who has been previously married is more entitled to her person than her guardian, and a virgin must be asked for her consent for herself, and her consent is her silence "
Book 28, Number 28.2.5:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Said ibn al-Musayyab had said that Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "A woman is only married with the consent of her guardian, someone of her family with sound judgement or the Sultan.
Book 28, Number 28.2.6:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that al-Qasim ibn Muhammad and Salim ibn Abdullah were marrying off their daughters and they did not consult them.
Malik said, "That is what is done among us about the marriage of virgins."
Malik said, "A virgin has no right to her property until she enters her house and her state (competence, maturity etc.) is known for sure."
Book 28, Number 28.2.7:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that al-Qasim ibn Muhammad and Salim ibn Abdullah and Sulayman ibn Yasar said about the virgin given by her father in marriage without her permission, "That is binding on her."
Section: The Bride-Price and Unreturnable Gifts
Book 28, Number 28.3.8:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Malik from Abu Hazim ibn Dinar from Sahl ibn Sad as-Saidi that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, "Messenger of Allah! I have given myself to you." She stood for a long time, and then a man got up and said, "Messenger of Allah, marry her to me if you have no need of her." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do you have anything to give her as a bride-price?" He said, "I possess only this lower garment of mine." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If you give it to her you will not have a garment to wear so look for something else." He said, "I have nothing else." He said, "Look for something else, even if it is only an iron ring." He looked, and found that he had nothing. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do you know any of the Qur'an?" He said, "Yes. I know such-and-such a sura and such-and-such a sura," which he named. The Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to him, "I have married her to you for what you know of the Qur'an."
Book 28, Number 28.3.9:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Said ibn al-Musayyab had said that Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "If a man marries a woman who is insane, or has leprosy or white leprosy, without being told of her condition by her guardian, and he has sexual relations with her, she keeps her bride-price in its entirety. Her husband has damages against her guardian."
Malik said, "The husband has damages against her guardian when the guardian is her father, brother, or one who is deemed to have knowledge of her condition. If the guardian who gives her in marriage is a nephew, a mawla or a member of her tribe who is not deemed to have knowledge of her condition, there are no damages against him, and the woman returns what she has taken of her bride-price, and the husband leaves her whatever amount is thought to be fair."
Book 28, Number 28.3.10:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that the daughter of Ubaydullah ibn Umar whose mother was the daughter of Zayd ibn al-Khattab, married the son of Abdullah ibn Umar. He died and had not yet consummated the marriage or specified her bride-price. Her mother wanted the bride-price, and Abdullah ibn Umar said, "She is not entitled to a bride-price. Had she been entitled to a bride-price, we would not have kept it and we would not do her an injustice. "The mother refused to accept that. Zayd ibn Thabit was brought to adjudicate between them and he decided that she had no bride-price, but that she did inherit.
Book 28, Number 28.3.11:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz during his khalifate, wrote to one of his governors, "Whatever a father, or guardian, who gives someone in marriage, makes a condition in the way of unreturnable gift or of favour, belongs to the woman if she wants it."
Malik spoke about a woman whose father gave her in marriage and made an unreturnable gift a condition of the bride-price which was to be given. He said, "Whatever is given as a condition by which marriage occurs belongs to the woman if she wants it. If the husband parts from her before the marriage is consummated, the husband has half of the unreturnable gift by which the marriage occurred."
Malik said about a man who married off his young son and the son had no wealth at all, that the bride-price was obliged of the father if the young man had no property on the day of marriage. If the young man did have property the bride-price was taken from his property unless the father stipulated that he would pay the bride-price. The marriage was affirmed for the son if he was a minor only if he was under the guardianship of his father.
Malik said that if a man divorced his wife before he had consummated the marriage and she was a virgin, her father returned half of the bride-price to him. That half was permitted to the husband from the father to compensate him for his expenses.
Malik said that that was because Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said in His Book, "Unless they (women with whom he had not consummated marriage) make remission or he makes remission to him in whose hand is the knot of marriage." (Sura 2 ayat 237). (He being the father of a virgin daughter or the master of a female slave.)
Malik said, "That is what I have heard about the matter, and that is how things are done among us."
Malik said that a jewish or christian woman who was married to a jew or christian and then became muslim before the marriage had been consummated, did not keep anything from the bride-price.
Malik said, "I do not think that women should be married for less than a quarter of a dinar. That is the lowest amount for which cutting off the hand is obliged ."
Section: Consummating the Marriage
Book 28, Number 28.4.12:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Said ibn al-Musayyab that 'Umar ibn al-Khattab decided about the woman who was married by a man and the marriage had been consummated, that the bride-price was obligatory.
Book 28, Number 28.4.13:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Zayd ibn Thabit said, "When a man takes his wife to his house and co-habits with her then the bride-price is obliged."
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Said ibn al-Musayyab said, "When a man comes to his wife in her room, he is believed. When she comes to him in his room, she is believed."
Malik commented, "I think that this refers to sexual intercourse. When he comes in to her in her room and she says, 'He has had intercourse with me' and he says, 'I have not touched her', he is believed. When she comes in to him in his room and he says, 'I have not had intercourse with her' and she says, 'He had intercourse with me', she is believed."
28.5 Wedding Nights of Virgins and Women Previously Married
Section: Wedding Nights of Virgins and Women Previously Married
Book 28, Number 28.5.14:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Hazm from Abd al-Malik ibn Abi Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham al-Makhzumi from his father that when the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, married Umm Salama and then spent the night with her, he said to her, "You are not being humbled in your right. If you wish, I will stay with you for seven nights as I stayed seven nights with the others. If you wish, I will stay with you for three nights, and then visit the others in turn." She said, "Stay three nights."
Book 28, Number 28.5.15:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Humayd at-Tawil that Anas ibn Malik said, "A virgin has seven nights, and a woman who has been previously married has three nights."
Malik affirmed, "That is what is done among us."
Malik added, "If the man has another wife, he divides his time equally between them after the wedding nights. He does not count the wedding nights against the one he has just married."
Section: Stipulations Not Permitted in Marriage
Book 28, Number 28.6.16:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Said ibn al-Musayyab was asked about a woman who made a stipulation on her husband not to take her away from her town. Said ibn al-Musayyab said, "He takes her away if he wishes."
Malik said, "The custom among us is that when a man marries a woman, and he makes a condition in the marriage contract that he will not marry after her or take a concubine, it means nothing unless there is an oath of divorce or setting-free attached to it. Then it is obliged and required of him."
Section: Marriage of the Muhallil and its Like
Book 28, Number 28.7.17:
Yahya related to me from Malik from al-Miswar ibn Rifaa al-Quradhi from az-Zubayr ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn az-Zubayr that Rifaa ibn Simwal divorced his wife, Tamima bint Wahb, in the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, three times. Then she married Abd ar-Rahman ibn az-Zubayr and he turned from her and could not consummate the marriage and so he parted from her. Rifaa wanted to marry her again and it was mentioned to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he forbade him to marry her. He said, "She is not halal for you until she has tasted the sweetness of intercourse."
Book 28, Number 28.7.18:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said when asked whether it was permissible for a man to marry again a wife he had divorced irrevocably if she had married another man who divorced her before consummating the marriage, "Not until she has tasted the sweetness of intercourse."
Book 28, Number 28.7.19:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that when asked whether it was permissible for a man to return to his wife if he had divorced her irrevocably and then another man had married her after him and died before consummating the marriage, al-Qasim ibn Muhammad said, "It is not halal for the first husband to return to her."
Malik said, about the muhallil, that he could not remain in the marriage until he undertook a new marriage. If he had intercourse with her in that marriage, she had her dowry.
Section: Combinations of Women Not to be Married Together
Book 28, Number 28.8.20:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zinad from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said "One cannot be married to a woman and her paternal aunt, or a woman and her maternal aunt at the same time."
Book 28, Number 28.8.21:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Said ibn al-Musayyab said, "It is forbidden to be married to a woman and her paternal or maternal aunt at the same time, and for a man to have intercourse with a female slave who is carrying another man's child."
Section: Prohibition against Marrying Mothers of Wives
Book 28, Number 28.9.22:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Zayd ibn Thabit asked whether it was halal for a man who married a woman and then separated from her before he had cohabited with her, to marry her mother. Zayd ibn Thabit said, "No. The mother is prohibited unconditionally. There are conditions, however about foster-mothers."
Book 28, Number 28.9.23:
Yahya related to me from Malik from more than one source that when Abdullah ibn Masud was in Kufa, he was asked for an opinion about marrying the mother after marrying the daughter when the marriage with the daughter had not been consummated. He permitted it. When Ibn Masud came to Madina, he asked about it and was told that it was not as he had said, and that this condition referred to foster-mothers. Ibn Masud returnedto Kufa,and he had just reached his dwelling when the man who had asked him for the opinion came to visit and he ordered him to separate from his wife.
Malik said that if a man married the mother of a woman who was his wife and he had sexual relations with the mother then his wife was haram for him, and he had to separate from both of them. They were both haram to him forever, if he had had sexual relations with the mother. If he had not had relations with the mcther, his wife was not haram for him, and he separated from the mother.
Malik explained further about the man who married a woman, and then married her mother and cohabited with her, "The mother will never be halal for him, and she is not halal for his father or his son, and any daughters of hers are not halal for him and so his wife is haram for him."
Malik said, "Fornication however, does not make any of that haram because Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, mentioned 'the mothers of your wives,' as one whom marriage made haram, and he didn't mention the making haram by fornication. Every marriage in a halal manner in which a man cohabits with his wife, is a halal marriage. This is what I have heard, and this is how things are done among us."
Section: Marriage to Mothers of Women with Whom One has had Sexual Relations in a Disapproved Manner
Book 28, Number 28.10.23a:
Malik said that a man who had committed fornication with a woman and the hadd-punishment had been applied to him for it, could marry that woman's daughter and his son could marry the woman herself if he wished. That was because he had haram relations with her, and the relations Allah had made haram were from the relations made in a halal manner or in a manner resembling marriage. Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said, "Do not marry the women your fathers have married. " (Sura 4 ayat 21)
Malik said, "If a man were to marry a woman in her idda-period in a halal marriage and have relations with her, it would be haram for his son to marry the woman. That is because the father married her in a halal manner, and the hadd-punishment would not have been applied to him. Any child who was born to him would be attached to him as the father. Just as it would be haram for the son to marry a woman whom his father had married in her idda-period and had relations with, so the woman's daughter would be haram for the father if he had had sexual relations with her."
Section: What is Not Permitted in Marriage in General
Book 28, Number 28.11.24:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade shighar, which meant one man giving his daughter in marriage to another man on the condition that the other gave his daughter to him in marriage without either of them paying the bride-price.
Book 28, Number 28.11.25:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Qasim from his father from Abd ar-Rahman and Mujamma the sons of Yazid ibn Jariya al-Ansari from Khansa bint Khidam al-Ansariya that her father gave her in marriage and she had been previously married. She disapproved of that, and went to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he revoked the marriage.
Book 28, Number 28.11.26:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zubayr al-Makki that a case was brought to Umar about a marriage which had only been witnessed by one man and one woman . He said, "This is a secret marriage and I do not permit it. Had I been the first to come upon it, I would have ordered them to be stoned."
Book 28, Number 28.11.27:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Said ibn al-Musayyab and from Sulayman ibn Yasar that Tulayha al-Asadiya was the wife of Rushayd ath-Thaqafi. He divorced her, and she got married in her idda-period. Umar ibn al-Khattab beat her and her husband with a stick several times, and separated them. Then Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "If a woman marries in her idda-period, and the new husband has not consummated the marriage, then separate them, and when she has completed the idda of her first husband, the other becomes a suitor. If he has consummated the marriage then separate them. Then she must complete her idda from her first husband, and then the idda from the other one, and they are never to be reunited."
Malik added, ''Said ibn al-Musayyab said that she had her dowry because he had consummated the marriage."
Malik said,"The practice with us concerning a free woman whose husband dies, is that she does an idda of four months and ten days and she does not marry if she doubts her period until she is free of any doubt or if she fears that she is pregnant."
Section: Marrying Slaves when already Married to Free Women
Book 28, Number 28.12.28:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Abdullah ibn Abbas and Abdullah ibn Umar were asked about a man who had a free woman as a wife and then wanted to marry a slave-girl. They disapproved that he should combine the two of them.
Book 28, Number 28.12.29:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Said ibn al-Musayyab said, "The slave girl is not married when there is a free woman who is a wife unless the free woman wishes it. If the free woman complies, she has two-thirds of the division of time."
Malik said, "A free man must not marry a slave-girl when he can afford to marry a free-woman, and he should not marry a slave-girl when he cannot afford a free woman unless he fears fornication. That is because Allah, may he be Blessed and Exalted, says in His Book, 'If you are not affluent enough to marry believing women, who are muhsanat, take slave-girls who are believing women that your right hands own.' (Sura 4 ayat 24) He says, 'That is for those of you who fear al-anat.' "
Malik said, "Al-anat is fornication."
Section: A Man's Owning a Slave Whom He has Married and then Divorced
Book 28, Number 28.13.30:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Abu Abd ar-Rahman that Zayd ibn Thabit said that if a man divorced his slave-girl three times and then bought her, she was not halal for him until she had married another husband.
Book 28, Number 28.13.31:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Said ibn al-Musayyab and Sulayman ibn Yasar were asked whether, when a man married a slave of his to a slave-girl and the slave divorced her irrevocably, and then her master gave her to the slave, she was then halal for the slave by the possession of the right hand. They said, "No. She is not halal until she has married another husband."
Book 28, Number 28.13.32:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had asked Ibn Shihab about a man who had a slave-girl as a wife, and then he bought her, and divorced her once. He said, "She is halal for him by the possession of the right hand as long as he does not make his divorce irrevocable. If he irrevocably divorces her, she is not halal for him by the possession of the right hand until she has married another husband."
Malik said that if a man rnarried a female slave and then she had a child by him, and then he bought her, she was not an umm walad for him because of the child born to him while she belonged to another, until she had had a child by him while she was in his possession after he had purchased her.
Malik said, "If he buys her and she is pregnant by him and she then gives birth while she belongs to him, she is his umm walad by that pregnancy, according to what we think, and Allah knows best."
Section: Reprehensibility of Intercourse with Two Sisters or a Mother and Daughter that One Owns
Book 28, Number 28.14.33:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Ubaydullah ibn Abdullah ibn Utba ibn Masud from his father that Umar ibn al-Khattab was asked about a woman and her daughter who were in the possession of the right hand, and whether one could have intercourse with one of them after the other Umar said, "I dislike both being permitted together." He then forbade that.
Book 28, Number 28.14.34:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Qabisa ibn Dhu'ayb that a man asked Uthman ibn Affan whether one could have intercourse with two sisters who one owned. Uthman said, "One ayat makes them halal, and one ayat makes them haram. As for me, I wouldn't like to do it." The man left him and met one of the companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and asked him about it, and he said, "Had I any authority and I found someone who had done it, I would punish him as an example."
Ibn Shihab added, "I think that it was Ali ibn Abi Talib. "
Book 28, Number 28.14.35:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that az-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam said the like of that.
Malik said that if a man had sexual relations with a female slave that he owned, and then he wanted to also have relations with her sister, the sister was not halal for a man until intercourse with the slave-girl had been made haram for him by marriage, setting free, kitaba, or the like of that - for instance, if he had married her to his slave or someone other than his slave.
Section: Prohibition against Intercourse with a Slave-Girl who Belonged to One's Father
Book 28, Number 28.15.36:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Umar ibn al-Khattab gave his son a slave-girl and said, "Do not touch her, for I have uncovered her."
Yayha related to me from Malik that Abd arRahman ibn al-Mujabbir said that Salim ibn Abdullah gave his son a slave-girl and said, "Do not go near her, for I wanted her, and did not act towards her."
Book 28, Number 28.15.37:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Abu Nahshal ibn al-Aswad said to al-Qasim ibn Muhammad,"I saw a slave-girl of mine uncovered in the moonlight, and so I sat on her as a man sits on a woman. She said that she was menstruating, so I stood up and have not gone near her after that. Can I give her to my son to have intercourse with?" Al-Qasim forbade that.
Book 28, Number 28.15.38:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibrahim ibn Abi Abla from Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan that he gave a slave-girl to a friend of his, and later asked him about her. He said, "I intended to give her to my son to do such-and-such with her." Abd al-Malik said, "Marwan was more scrupulous than you. He gave a slave-girl to his son, and then he said, 'Do not go near her, for I have seen her leg uncovered .' "
Section: Prohibition against Marrying Slave-Girls of the People of the Book
Book 28, Number 28.16.38a:
Malik said, "It is not halal to marry a christian or jewish slave-girl because Allah the Blessed, the Exalted, said in His Book, 'Believing women who are muhsanat and women of those who were given the Book before you who are muhsanat', (sura 5 ayat 6) and they are free women from the Christians and Jews. Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said in His Book, 'If you are not affluent enough to marry believing women who are muhsanat, take believing slave-girls whom your right hands own.' " (Sura 4 ayat 24)
Malik said, "In our opinion, Allah made marriage to believing slave-girls halal, and He did not make halal marriage to christian and jewish slave-girls from the People of the Book."
Malik said, "The christian and jewish slave-girl are halal for their master by right of possession, but intercourse with a magian slave-girl is not halal by the right of possession."
Section: Muhsanat
Book 28, Number 28.17.39:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Said ibn al-Musayyab said, "The muhsanat among women are those who have husbands." That referred to the fact that Allah has made fornication haram.
Book 28, Number 28.17.40:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab, and he had heard from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad that they said, "When a free man marries a slave-girl and consummates the marriage, she makes him muhsan."
Malik said, "All (of the people of knowledge) I have seen said that a slave-girl makes a free man muhsan when he marries her and consummates the marriage."
Malik said, "A slave makes a free woman muhsana when he consummates a marriage with her and a free woman only makes a slave muhsan when he is freed and he is her husband and has had sexual relations with her after he has been set free. If he parts from her before he is free, he is not a muhsan unless he marries her after having been set free and he consummates the marriage."
Malik said, "When a slave-girl is married to a free man and then he separates from her before she is set free, his marriage to her does not make her muhsana. She is not muhsana until she has married after she has been set free and she has had intercourse with her husband. That gives her ihsan. If she is the wife of a freeman and then she is set free while she is his wife before he separates from her, the man makes her muhsana if he has intercourse with her after she has been set free."
Malik said, "The christian and jewish free women and the muslim slave-girl all make a muslim free man muhsan when he marries one of them and has intercourse with her."
Section: Temporary Marriage
Book 28, Number 28.18.41:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Abdullah and Hasan, the sons of Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib from their ather, mayAllah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade temporary marriage with women and the flesh of domestic donkeys on the Day of Khaybar.
Book 28, Number 28.18.42:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn az-Zubayr that Khawla ibn Hakim came to Umar ibn al-Khattab and said, ''Rabia ibn Umayya made a temporary marriage with a woman and she is pregnant by him.'' Umar ibn al-Khattab went out in dismay dragging his cloak, saying, "This temporary marriage, had I come across it, I would have ordered stoning and done away with it! "
Section: Marriage of Slaves
Book 28, Number 28.19.43:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard Rabia ibn Abd ar-Rahman say that a slave could marry four women.
Malik said, "This is the best of what I have heard about the matter."
Malik said, "The slave differs with the muhallil if the slave is given permission by his master for his ex-wife. If his master does not give him permission, he separates them. The muhallil is separated in any case if he intends to make the woman halal by marriage."
Malik said, "When a slave is owned by his wife or a husband owns his wife, the possession of each of them is rendered void without divorce. If a man, for instance, is married to a slave-girl, and then he buys her, he must divorce her as a matter of course. They can then re-marry. If they re-marry afterwards, that separation was not divorce."
Malik said, "When a slave is freed by his wife who owns him and she is in the idda-period from him, they can only return to each other after she has made another marriage."
Section: Marriage of Idol Worshippers when their Wives become Muslim before Them
Book 28, Number 28.20.44:
Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab that he had heard that in the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, women were becoming muslim in their own lands and they did not do hijra while their husbands were still kafirun although they themselves had become muslim. Among them was the daughter of al-Walid ibn al-Mughira and she was the wife of Safwan ibn Umayya. She became muslim on the day of the conquest (of Makka), and her husband, Safwan ibn Umayya fled from Islam. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sent Safwan's paternal cousin, Wahb ibn Umayr with the cloak of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as a safe-conduct for Safwan ibn Umayya, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, called him to Islam and asked for him to come to him and if he was pleased with the matter to accept it. If not he would have a respite for two months.
When Safwan came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with his cloak, he called out to him over the heads of the people, "Muhammad! Wahb ibn Umayr brought me your cloak and claimed that you had summoned me to come to you and if I was pleased with the matter, I should accept it and if not, you would give me a respite for two months. "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Come down, Abu Wahb." He said, "No, by Allah! I will not come down until you make it clear to me." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "You have a respite of four months." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went out toward Hawazin at Hunayn. He sent to Safwan ibn Umayya to borrow some equipment and arms that he had. Safwan said, "Willingly or unwillingly?" He said, "Willingly." Therefore he lent him the equipment and arms which he had. Then Safwan went out with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, while he was still a kafir. He was present at the battles of Hunayn and at-Ta'if while he was still a kafir and his wife was a muslim. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not separate Safwan and his wife until he had become muslim, and his wife was settled with him by that marriage.
Book 28, Number 28.20.45:
Yahya related to me from Malik that Ibn Shihab said, "Between the Islam of Safwan and the Islam of his wife there was about one month."
Ibn Shihab said, "We have not heard about any woman doing hijra for Allah and His Messenger while her husband was a kafir abiding in the land of kufr, but that her hijra separated her and her husband unless her husband came in hijra before her period of idda had been completed."
Book 28, Number 28.20.46:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Umm Hakim bint al-Harith ibn Hisham who was the wife of Ikrima ibn Abi Jahl became muslim on the day of the conquest of Makka, and her husband Ikrima fled from Islam as far as the Yemen. Umm Hakim set out after him until she came to him in the Yemen and she called him to Islam, and he became muslim. He went to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in the year of the conquest. When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw him, he rushed to him in joy and did not bother to put on his cloak until he had made the pledge with him. They were confirmed in their marriage.
Malik said, "If a man becomes muslim before his wife, a separation occurs between them when he presents Islam to her and she does not become muslim, because Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said in His Book, 'Do not hold fast to the ties of women who are kafirun.' "
Section: The Wedding Feast
Book 28, Number 28.21.47:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Humayd at-Tawil from Anas ibn Malik that Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he had a traceof yellow on him. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asked about it. He told him that he had just been married. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "How much did you hand over to her?" He said, "The weight of a date pit in gold." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to him, "Hold a feast, even if it is only with a sheep.
Book 28, Number 28.21.48:
Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said said, "I have heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, held a wedding feast in which there was neither meat nor bread."
Book 28, Number 28.21.49:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When you are invited to a wedding feast, you must go to it."
Book 28, Number 28.21.50:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibr. Shihab from al-Araj that Abu Hurayra said, "The worst food is the food of a wedding feast to which the rich are invited and the poor are left out. If anyone rejects an invitation, he has rebelled against Allah and His Messenger."
Book 28, Number 28.21.51:
Yahya related to me from Malik that Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn Abi Talha heard Anas ibn Malik say that a certain tailor invited the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to eat some food which he had prepared.
Anas said, "I went with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to eat the food. He served barley bread and a soup with pumpkin in it. I saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, going after the pumpkin around the dish, so I have always liked pumpkin since that day."
Section: Marriage in General
Book 28, Number 28.22.52:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When you marry a woman or buy a slave-girl, take her by the forelock and ask for baraka. When you buy a camel, take the top of its hump, and seek refuge with Allah from Shaytan."
Book 28, Number 28.22.53:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zubayr al-Makki that somebody asked a man for his sister in marriage and the man mentioned that she had committed fornication. Umar ibn al-Khattab heard about it and he beat the man or almost beat him, and said, "What did you mean by giving him such information?"
Book 28, Number 28.22.54:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Rabia ibn Abi Abd ar-Rahman that al-Qasim ibn Muhammad and Urwa ibn az-Zubayr said that a man who had four wives and then divorced one of them irrevocably, could marry straightaway if he wished, and he did not have to wait for the completion of her idda.
Book 28, Number 28.22.55:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Rabia ibn Abd ar-Rahman that al-Qasim ibn Muhammad and Urwa ibn az-Zubayr gave the same judgement to al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik in the year of his arrival in Madina except that al-Qasim ibn Muhammad said that he divorced his wife on various occasions. (i.e. not at one time).
Book 28, Number 28.22.56:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Said ibn al-Musayyab said, "There are three things in which there is no jest: marriage, divorce, and setting free."
Book 28, Number 28.22.57:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Rafi ibn Khadij married the daughter of Muhammad ibn Maslama al-Ansari. She was with him until she grew older, and then he married a young girl and preferred the young girl to her. She begged him to divorce her, so he divorced her and then he gave her time until she had almost finished her idda period and then he returned and still preferred the young girl. She therefore asked him to divorce her. He divorced her once, and then returned to her, and still preferred the young girl, and she asked him to divorce her. He said, "What do you want? There is only one divorce left. If you like, continue and put up with what you see of preference, and if you like, I will separate from you." She said, "I will continue in spite of the preference." He kept her in spite of that. Rafi did not see that he had done any wrong action when she remained with him in spite of preference.
Translation of Malik's Muwatta, Book 28:
Book 28, Number 28.1.1:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Habban from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do not ask for a woman in marriage when another muslim has already done so."
Book 28, Number 28.1.2:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do not ask for a woman in marriage when another muslim has already done so."
Malik said, "The explanation of the statement of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, according to what we think - and Allah knows best - is that 'Do not ask for a woman in marriage when another muslim has already done so' means that when a man has asked for a woman in marriage, and she has inclined to him and they have agreed on a bride-price, which she has suggested and with which they are mutually satisfied, it is forbidden for another man to ask for that woman in marriage. It does not mean that when a man has asked for a woman in marriage, and his suit does not agree with her and she does not incline to him that no one else can ask for her in marriage. That is a door to misery for people."
Book 28, Number 28.1.3:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Qasim that his father said about the word of Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, "There is no fault in you about the proposal you offer to women, or hide in yourselves. Allah knows that you will be mindful of them; but do not make troth with them secretly without honourable words," (Sura 2 ayat 235) that it referred to a man saying to a woman while she was still in her idda after the death of her husband, "You are dear to me, and I desire you, and Allah brings provision and blessing to you," and words such as these.
Section: Asking Consent of Virgins and Women Previously Married for their Persons
Book 28, Number 28.2.4:
Malik related to me from Abdullah ibn al-Fadl from Nafi ibn Jubayr ibn Mutim from Abdullah ibn Abbas that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A woman who has been previously married is more entitled to her person than her guardian, and a virgin must be asked for her consent for herself, and her consent is her silence "
Book 28, Number 28.2.5:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Said ibn al-Musayyab had said that Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "A woman is only married with the consent of her guardian, someone of her family with sound judgement or the Sultan.
Book 28, Number 28.2.6:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that al-Qasim ibn Muhammad and Salim ibn Abdullah were marrying off their daughters and they did not consult them.
Malik said, "That is what is done among us about the marriage of virgins."
Malik said, "A virgin has no right to her property until she enters her house and her state (competence, maturity etc.) is known for sure."
Book 28, Number 28.2.7:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that al-Qasim ibn Muhammad and Salim ibn Abdullah and Sulayman ibn Yasar said about the virgin given by her father in marriage without her permission, "That is binding on her."
Section: The Bride-Price and Unreturnable Gifts
Book 28, Number 28.3.8:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Malik from Abu Hazim ibn Dinar from Sahl ibn Sad as-Saidi that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, "Messenger of Allah! I have given myself to you." She stood for a long time, and then a man got up and said, "Messenger of Allah, marry her to me if you have no need of her." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do you have anything to give her as a bride-price?" He said, "I possess only this lower garment of mine." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If you give it to her you will not have a garment to wear so look for something else." He said, "I have nothing else." He said, "Look for something else, even if it is only an iron ring." He looked, and found that he had nothing. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do you know any of the Qur'an?" He said, "Yes. I know such-and-such a sura and such-and-such a sura," which he named. The Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to him, "I have married her to you for what you know of the Qur'an."
Book 28, Number 28.3.9:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Said ibn al-Musayyab had said that Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "If a man marries a woman who is insane, or has leprosy or white leprosy, without being told of her condition by her guardian, and he has sexual relations with her, she keeps her bride-price in its entirety. Her husband has damages against her guardian."
Malik said, "The husband has damages against her guardian when the guardian is her father, brother, or one who is deemed to have knowledge of her condition. If the guardian who gives her in marriage is a nephew, a mawla or a member of her tribe who is not deemed to have knowledge of her condition, there are no damages against him, and the woman returns what she has taken of her bride-price, and the husband leaves her whatever amount is thought to be fair."
Book 28, Number 28.3.10:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that the daughter of Ubaydullah ibn Umar whose mother was the daughter of Zayd ibn al-Khattab, married the son of Abdullah ibn Umar. He died and had not yet consummated the marriage or specified her bride-price. Her mother wanted the bride-price, and Abdullah ibn Umar said, "She is not entitled to a bride-price. Had she been entitled to a bride-price, we would not have kept it and we would not do her an injustice. "The mother refused to accept that. Zayd ibn Thabit was brought to adjudicate between them and he decided that she had no bride-price, but that she did inherit.
Book 28, Number 28.3.11:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz during his khalifate, wrote to one of his governors, "Whatever a father, or guardian, who gives someone in marriage, makes a condition in the way of unreturnable gift or of favour, belongs to the woman if she wants it."
Malik spoke about a woman whose father gave her in marriage and made an unreturnable gift a condition of the bride-price which was to be given. He said, "Whatever is given as a condition by which marriage occurs belongs to the woman if she wants it. If the husband parts from her before the marriage is consummated, the husband has half of the unreturnable gift by which the marriage occurred."
Malik said about a man who married off his young son and the son had no wealth at all, that the bride-price was obliged of the father if the young man had no property on the day of marriage. If the young man did have property the bride-price was taken from his property unless the father stipulated that he would pay the bride-price. The marriage was affirmed for the son if he was a minor only if he was under the guardianship of his father.
Malik said that if a man divorced his wife before he had consummated the marriage and she was a virgin, her father returned half of the bride-price to him. That half was permitted to the husband from the father to compensate him for his expenses.
Malik said that that was because Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said in His Book, "Unless they (women with whom he had not consummated marriage) make remission or he makes remission to him in whose hand is the knot of marriage." (Sura 2 ayat 237). (He being the father of a virgin daughter or the master of a female slave.)
Malik said, "That is what I have heard about the matter, and that is how things are done among us."
Malik said that a jewish or christian woman who was married to a jew or christian and then became muslim before the marriage had been consummated, did not keep anything from the bride-price.
Malik said, "I do not think that women should be married for less than a quarter of a dinar. That is the lowest amount for which cutting off the hand is obliged ."
Section: Consummating the Marriage
Book 28, Number 28.4.12:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Said ibn al-Musayyab that 'Umar ibn al-Khattab decided about the woman who was married by a man and the marriage had been consummated, that the bride-price was obligatory.
Book 28, Number 28.4.13:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Zayd ibn Thabit said, "When a man takes his wife to his house and co-habits with her then the bride-price is obliged."
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Said ibn al-Musayyab said, "When a man comes to his wife in her room, he is believed. When she comes to him in his room, she is believed."
Malik commented, "I think that this refers to sexual intercourse. When he comes in to her in her room and she says, 'He has had intercourse with me' and he says, 'I have not touched her', he is believed. When she comes in to him in his room and he says, 'I have not had intercourse with her' and she says, 'He had intercourse with me', she is believed."
28.5 Wedding Nights of Virgins and Women Previously Married
Section: Wedding Nights of Virgins and Women Previously Married
Book 28, Number 28.5.14:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Hazm from Abd al-Malik ibn Abi Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham al-Makhzumi from his father that when the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, married Umm Salama and then spent the night with her, he said to her, "You are not being humbled in your right. If you wish, I will stay with you for seven nights as I stayed seven nights with the others. If you wish, I will stay with you for three nights, and then visit the others in turn." She said, "Stay three nights."
Book 28, Number 28.5.15:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Humayd at-Tawil that Anas ibn Malik said, "A virgin has seven nights, and a woman who has been previously married has three nights."
Malik affirmed, "That is what is done among us."
Malik added, "If the man has another wife, he divides his time equally between them after the wedding nights. He does not count the wedding nights against the one he has just married."
Section: Stipulations Not Permitted in Marriage
Book 28, Number 28.6.16:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Said ibn al-Musayyab was asked about a woman who made a stipulation on her husband not to take her away from her town. Said ibn al-Musayyab said, "He takes her away if he wishes."
Malik said, "The custom among us is that when a man marries a woman, and he makes a condition in the marriage contract that he will not marry after her or take a concubine, it means nothing unless there is an oath of divorce or setting-free attached to it. Then it is obliged and required of him."
Section: Marriage of the Muhallil and its Like
Book 28, Number 28.7.17:
Yahya related to me from Malik from al-Miswar ibn Rifaa al-Quradhi from az-Zubayr ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn az-Zubayr that Rifaa ibn Simwal divorced his wife, Tamima bint Wahb, in the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, three times. Then she married Abd ar-Rahman ibn az-Zubayr and he turned from her and could not consummate the marriage and so he parted from her. Rifaa wanted to marry her again and it was mentioned to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he forbade him to marry her. He said, "She is not halal for you until she has tasted the sweetness of intercourse."
Book 28, Number 28.7.18:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said when asked whether it was permissible for a man to marry again a wife he had divorced irrevocably if she had married another man who divorced her before consummating the marriage, "Not until she has tasted the sweetness of intercourse."
Book 28, Number 28.7.19:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that when asked whether it was permissible for a man to return to his wife if he had divorced her irrevocably and then another man had married her after him and died before consummating the marriage, al-Qasim ibn Muhammad said, "It is not halal for the first husband to return to her."
Malik said, about the muhallil, that he could not remain in the marriage until he undertook a new marriage. If he had intercourse with her in that marriage, she had her dowry.
Section: Combinations of Women Not to be Married Together
Book 28, Number 28.8.20:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zinad from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said "One cannot be married to a woman and her paternal aunt, or a woman and her maternal aunt at the same time."
Book 28, Number 28.8.21:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Said ibn al-Musayyab said, "It is forbidden to be married to a woman and her paternal or maternal aunt at the same time, and for a man to have intercourse with a female slave who is carrying another man's child."
Section: Prohibition against Marrying Mothers of Wives
Book 28, Number 28.9.22:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Zayd ibn Thabit asked whether it was halal for a man who married a woman and then separated from her before he had cohabited with her, to marry her mother. Zayd ibn Thabit said, "No. The mother is prohibited unconditionally. There are conditions, however about foster-mothers."
Book 28, Number 28.9.23:
Yahya related to me from Malik from more than one source that when Abdullah ibn Masud was in Kufa, he was asked for an opinion about marrying the mother after marrying the daughter when the marriage with the daughter had not been consummated. He permitted it. When Ibn Masud came to Madina, he asked about it and was told that it was not as he had said, and that this condition referred to foster-mothers. Ibn Masud returnedto Kufa,and he had just reached his dwelling when the man who had asked him for the opinion came to visit and he ordered him to separate from his wife.
Malik said that if a man married the mother of a woman who was his wife and he had sexual relations with the mother then his wife was haram for him, and he had to separate from both of them. They were both haram to him forever, if he had had sexual relations with the mother. If he had not had relations with the mcther, his wife was not haram for him, and he separated from the mother.
Malik explained further about the man who married a woman, and then married her mother and cohabited with her, "The mother will never be halal for him, and she is not halal for his father or his son, and any daughters of hers are not halal for him and so his wife is haram for him."
Malik said, "Fornication however, does not make any of that haram because Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, mentioned 'the mothers of your wives,' as one whom marriage made haram, and he didn't mention the making haram by fornication. Every marriage in a halal manner in which a man cohabits with his wife, is a halal marriage. This is what I have heard, and this is how things are done among us."
Section: Marriage to Mothers of Women with Whom One has had Sexual Relations in a Disapproved Manner
Book 28, Number 28.10.23a:
Malik said that a man who had committed fornication with a woman and the hadd-punishment had been applied to him for it, could marry that woman's daughter and his son could marry the woman herself if he wished. That was because he had haram relations with her, and the relations Allah had made haram were from the relations made in a halal manner or in a manner resembling marriage. Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said, "Do not marry the women your fathers have married. " (Sura 4 ayat 21)
Malik said, "If a man were to marry a woman in her idda-period in a halal marriage and have relations with her, it would be haram for his son to marry the woman. That is because the father married her in a halal manner, and the hadd-punishment would not have been applied to him. Any child who was born to him would be attached to him as the father. Just as it would be haram for the son to marry a woman whom his father had married in her idda-period and had relations with, so the woman's daughter would be haram for the father if he had had sexual relations with her."
Section: What is Not Permitted in Marriage in General
Book 28, Number 28.11.24:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade shighar, which meant one man giving his daughter in marriage to another man on the condition that the other gave his daughter to him in marriage without either of them paying the bride-price.
Book 28, Number 28.11.25:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Qasim from his father from Abd ar-Rahman and Mujamma the sons of Yazid ibn Jariya al-Ansari from Khansa bint Khidam al-Ansariya that her father gave her in marriage and she had been previously married. She disapproved of that, and went to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he revoked the marriage.
Book 28, Number 28.11.26:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zubayr al-Makki that a case was brought to Umar about a marriage which had only been witnessed by one man and one woman . He said, "This is a secret marriage and I do not permit it. Had I been the first to come upon it, I would have ordered them to be stoned."
Book 28, Number 28.11.27:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Said ibn al-Musayyab and from Sulayman ibn Yasar that Tulayha al-Asadiya was the wife of Rushayd ath-Thaqafi. He divorced her, and she got married in her idda-period. Umar ibn al-Khattab beat her and her husband with a stick several times, and separated them. Then Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "If a woman marries in her idda-period, and the new husband has not consummated the marriage, then separate them, and when she has completed the idda of her first husband, the other becomes a suitor. If he has consummated the marriage then separate them. Then she must complete her idda from her first husband, and then the idda from the other one, and they are never to be reunited."
Malik added, ''Said ibn al-Musayyab said that she had her dowry because he had consummated the marriage."
Malik said,"The practice with us concerning a free woman whose husband dies, is that she does an idda of four months and ten days and she does not marry if she doubts her period until she is free of any doubt or if she fears that she is pregnant."
Section: Marrying Slaves when already Married to Free Women
Book 28, Number 28.12.28:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Abdullah ibn Abbas and Abdullah ibn Umar were asked about a man who had a free woman as a wife and then wanted to marry a slave-girl. They disapproved that he should combine the two of them.
Book 28, Number 28.12.29:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Said ibn al-Musayyab said, "The slave girl is not married when there is a free woman who is a wife unless the free woman wishes it. If the free woman complies, she has two-thirds of the division of time."
Malik said, "A free man must not marry a slave-girl when he can afford to marry a free-woman, and he should not marry a slave-girl when he cannot afford a free woman unless he fears fornication. That is because Allah, may he be Blessed and Exalted, says in His Book, 'If you are not affluent enough to marry believing women, who are muhsanat, take slave-girls who are believing women that your right hands own.' (Sura 4 ayat 24) He says, 'That is for those of you who fear al-anat.' "
Malik said, "Al-anat is fornication."
Section: A Man's Owning a Slave Whom He has Married and then Divorced
Book 28, Number 28.13.30:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Abu Abd ar-Rahman that Zayd ibn Thabit said that if a man divorced his slave-girl three times and then bought her, she was not halal for him until she had married another husband.
Book 28, Number 28.13.31:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Said ibn al-Musayyab and Sulayman ibn Yasar were asked whether, when a man married a slave of his to a slave-girl and the slave divorced her irrevocably, and then her master gave her to the slave, she was then halal for the slave by the possession of the right hand. They said, "No. She is not halal until she has married another husband."
Book 28, Number 28.13.32:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had asked Ibn Shihab about a man who had a slave-girl as a wife, and then he bought her, and divorced her once. He said, "She is halal for him by the possession of the right hand as long as he does not make his divorce irrevocable. If he irrevocably divorces her, she is not halal for him by the possession of the right hand until she has married another husband."
Malik said that if a man rnarried a female slave and then she had a child by him, and then he bought her, she was not an umm walad for him because of the child born to him while she belonged to another, until she had had a child by him while she was in his possession after he had purchased her.
Malik said, "If he buys her and she is pregnant by him and she then gives birth while she belongs to him, she is his umm walad by that pregnancy, according to what we think, and Allah knows best."
Section: Reprehensibility of Intercourse with Two Sisters or a Mother and Daughter that One Owns
Book 28, Number 28.14.33:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Ubaydullah ibn Abdullah ibn Utba ibn Masud from his father that Umar ibn al-Khattab was asked about a woman and her daughter who were in the possession of the right hand, and whether one could have intercourse with one of them after the other Umar said, "I dislike both being permitted together." He then forbade that.
Book 28, Number 28.14.34:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Qabisa ibn Dhu'ayb that a man asked Uthman ibn Affan whether one could have intercourse with two sisters who one owned. Uthman said, "One ayat makes them halal, and one ayat makes them haram. As for me, I wouldn't like to do it." The man left him and met one of the companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and asked him about it, and he said, "Had I any authority and I found someone who had done it, I would punish him as an example."
Ibn Shihab added, "I think that it was Ali ibn Abi Talib. "
Book 28, Number 28.14.35:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that az-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam said the like of that.
Malik said that if a man had sexual relations with a female slave that he owned, and then he wanted to also have relations with her sister, the sister was not halal for a man until intercourse with the slave-girl had been made haram for him by marriage, setting free, kitaba, or the like of that - for instance, if he had married her to his slave or someone other than his slave.
Section: Prohibition against Intercourse with a Slave-Girl who Belonged to One's Father
Book 28, Number 28.15.36:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Umar ibn al-Khattab gave his son a slave-girl and said, "Do not touch her, for I have uncovered her."
Yayha related to me from Malik that Abd arRahman ibn al-Mujabbir said that Salim ibn Abdullah gave his son a slave-girl and said, "Do not go near her, for I wanted her, and did not act towards her."
Book 28, Number 28.15.37:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Abu Nahshal ibn al-Aswad said to al-Qasim ibn Muhammad,"I saw a slave-girl of mine uncovered in the moonlight, and so I sat on her as a man sits on a woman. She said that she was menstruating, so I stood up and have not gone near her after that. Can I give her to my son to have intercourse with?" Al-Qasim forbade that.
Book 28, Number 28.15.38:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibrahim ibn Abi Abla from Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan that he gave a slave-girl to a friend of his, and later asked him about her. He said, "I intended to give her to my son to do such-and-such with her." Abd al-Malik said, "Marwan was more scrupulous than you. He gave a slave-girl to his son, and then he said, 'Do not go near her, for I have seen her leg uncovered .' "
Section: Prohibition against Marrying Slave-Girls of the People of the Book
Book 28, Number 28.16.38a:
Malik said, "It is not halal to marry a christian or jewish slave-girl because Allah the Blessed, the Exalted, said in His Book, 'Believing women who are muhsanat and women of those who were given the Book before you who are muhsanat', (sura 5 ayat 6) and they are free women from the Christians and Jews. Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said in His Book, 'If you are not affluent enough to marry believing women who are muhsanat, take believing slave-girls whom your right hands own.' " (Sura 4 ayat 24)
Malik said, "In our opinion, Allah made marriage to believing slave-girls halal, and He did not make halal marriage to christian and jewish slave-girls from the People of the Book."
Malik said, "The christian and jewish slave-girl are halal for their master by right of possession, but intercourse with a magian slave-girl is not halal by the right of possession."
Section: Muhsanat
Book 28, Number 28.17.39:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Said ibn al-Musayyab said, "The muhsanat among women are those who have husbands." That referred to the fact that Allah has made fornication haram.
Book 28, Number 28.17.40:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab, and he had heard from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad that they said, "When a free man marries a slave-girl and consummates the marriage, she makes him muhsan."
Malik said, "All (of the people of knowledge) I have seen said that a slave-girl makes a free man muhsan when he marries her and consummates the marriage."
Malik said, "A slave makes a free woman muhsana when he consummates a marriage with her and a free woman only makes a slave muhsan when he is freed and he is her husband and has had sexual relations with her after he has been set free. If he parts from her before he is free, he is not a muhsan unless he marries her after having been set free and he consummates the marriage."
Malik said, "When a slave-girl is married to a free man and then he separates from her before she is set free, his marriage to her does not make her muhsana. She is not muhsana until she has married after she has been set free and she has had intercourse with her husband. That gives her ihsan. If she is the wife of a freeman and then she is set free while she is his wife before he separates from her, the man makes her muhsana if he has intercourse with her after she has been set free."
Malik said, "The christian and jewish free women and the muslim slave-girl all make a muslim free man muhsan when he marries one of them and has intercourse with her."
Section: Temporary Marriage
Book 28, Number 28.18.41:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Abdullah and Hasan, the sons of Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib from their ather, mayAllah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade temporary marriage with women and the flesh of domestic donkeys on the Day of Khaybar.
Book 28, Number 28.18.42:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn az-Zubayr that Khawla ibn Hakim came to Umar ibn al-Khattab and said, ''Rabia ibn Umayya made a temporary marriage with a woman and she is pregnant by him.'' Umar ibn al-Khattab went out in dismay dragging his cloak, saying, "This temporary marriage, had I come across it, I would have ordered stoning and done away with it! "
Section: Marriage of Slaves
Book 28, Number 28.19.43:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard Rabia ibn Abd ar-Rahman say that a slave could marry four women.
Malik said, "This is the best of what I have heard about the matter."
Malik said, "The slave differs with the muhallil if the slave is given permission by his master for his ex-wife. If his master does not give him permission, he separates them. The muhallil is separated in any case if he intends to make the woman halal by marriage."
Malik said, "When a slave is owned by his wife or a husband owns his wife, the possession of each of them is rendered void without divorce. If a man, for instance, is married to a slave-girl, and then he buys her, he must divorce her as a matter of course. They can then re-marry. If they re-marry afterwards, that separation was not divorce."
Malik said, "When a slave is freed by his wife who owns him and she is in the idda-period from him, they can only return to each other after she has made another marriage."
Section: Marriage of Idol Worshippers when their Wives become Muslim before Them
Book 28, Number 28.20.44:
Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab that he had heard that in the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, women were becoming muslim in their own lands and they did not do hijra while their husbands were still kafirun although they themselves had become muslim. Among them was the daughter of al-Walid ibn al-Mughira and she was the wife of Safwan ibn Umayya. She became muslim on the day of the conquest (of Makka), and her husband, Safwan ibn Umayya fled from Islam. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sent Safwan's paternal cousin, Wahb ibn Umayr with the cloak of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as a safe-conduct for Safwan ibn Umayya, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, called him to Islam and asked for him to come to him and if he was pleased with the matter to accept it. If not he would have a respite for two months.
When Safwan came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with his cloak, he called out to him over the heads of the people, "Muhammad! Wahb ibn Umayr brought me your cloak and claimed that you had summoned me to come to you and if I was pleased with the matter, I should accept it and if not, you would give me a respite for two months. "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Come down, Abu Wahb." He said, "No, by Allah! I will not come down until you make it clear to me." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "You have a respite of four months." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went out toward Hawazin at Hunayn. He sent to Safwan ibn Umayya to borrow some equipment and arms that he had. Safwan said, "Willingly or unwillingly?" He said, "Willingly." Therefore he lent him the equipment and arms which he had. Then Safwan went out with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, while he was still a kafir. He was present at the battles of Hunayn and at-Ta'if while he was still a kafir and his wife was a muslim. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not separate Safwan and his wife until he had become muslim, and his wife was settled with him by that marriage.
Book 28, Number 28.20.45:
Yahya related to me from Malik that Ibn Shihab said, "Between the Islam of Safwan and the Islam of his wife there was about one month."
Ibn Shihab said, "We have not heard about any woman doing hijra for Allah and His Messenger while her husband was a kafir abiding in the land of kufr, but that her hijra separated her and her husband unless her husband came in hijra before her period of idda had been completed."
Book 28, Number 28.20.46:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Umm Hakim bint al-Harith ibn Hisham who was the wife of Ikrima ibn Abi Jahl became muslim on the day of the conquest of Makka, and her husband Ikrima fled from Islam as far as the Yemen. Umm Hakim set out after him until she came to him in the Yemen and she called him to Islam, and he became muslim. He went to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in the year of the conquest. When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw him, he rushed to him in joy and did not bother to put on his cloak until he had made the pledge with him. They were confirmed in their marriage.
Malik said, "If a man becomes muslim before his wife, a separation occurs between them when he presents Islam to her and she does not become muslim, because Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said in His Book, 'Do not hold fast to the ties of women who are kafirun.' "
Section: The Wedding Feast
Book 28, Number 28.21.47:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Humayd at-Tawil from Anas ibn Malik that Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he had a traceof yellow on him. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asked about it. He told him that he had just been married. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "How much did you hand over to her?" He said, "The weight of a date pit in gold." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to him, "Hold a feast, even if it is only with a sheep.
Book 28, Number 28.21.48:
Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said said, "I have heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, held a wedding feast in which there was neither meat nor bread."
Book 28, Number 28.21.49:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When you are invited to a wedding feast, you must go to it."
Book 28, Number 28.21.50:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibr. Shihab from al-Araj that Abu Hurayra said, "The worst food is the food of a wedding feast to which the rich are invited and the poor are left out. If anyone rejects an invitation, he has rebelled against Allah and His Messenger."
Book 28, Number 28.21.51:
Yahya related to me from Malik that Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn Abi Talha heard Anas ibn Malik say that a certain tailor invited the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to eat some food which he had prepared.
Anas said, "I went with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to eat the food. He served barley bread and a soup with pumpkin in it. I saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, going after the pumpkin around the dish, so I have always liked pumpkin since that day."
Section: Marriage in General
Book 28, Number 28.22.52:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When you marry a woman or buy a slave-girl, take her by the forelock and ask for baraka. When you buy a camel, take the top of its hump, and seek refuge with Allah from Shaytan."
Book 28, Number 28.22.53:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zubayr al-Makki that somebody asked a man for his sister in marriage and the man mentioned that she had committed fornication. Umar ibn al-Khattab heard about it and he beat the man or almost beat him, and said, "What did you mean by giving him such information?"
Book 28, Number 28.22.54:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Rabia ibn Abi Abd ar-Rahman that al-Qasim ibn Muhammad and Urwa ibn az-Zubayr said that a man who had four wives and then divorced one of them irrevocably, could marry straightaway if he wished, and he did not have to wait for the completion of her idda.
Book 28, Number 28.22.55:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Rabia ibn Abd ar-Rahman that al-Qasim ibn Muhammad and Urwa ibn az-Zubayr gave the same judgement to al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik in the year of his arrival in Madina except that al-Qasim ibn Muhammad said that he divorced his wife on various occasions. (i.e. not at one time).
Book 28, Number 28.22.56:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Said ibn al-Musayyab said, "There are three things in which there is no jest: marriage, divorce, and setting free."
Book 28, Number 28.22.57:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Rafi ibn Khadij married the daughter of Muhammad ibn Maslama al-Ansari. She was with him until she grew older, and then he married a young girl and preferred the young girl to her. She begged him to divorce her, so he divorced her and then he gave her time until she had almost finished her idda period and then he returned and still preferred the young girl. She therefore asked him to divorce her. He divorced her once, and then returned to her, and still preferred the young girl, and she asked him to divorce her. He said, "What do you want? There is only one divorce left. If you like, continue and put up with what you see of preference, and if you like, I will separate from you." She said, "I will continue in spite of the preference." He kept her in spite of that. Rafi did not see that he had done any wrong action when she remained with him in spite of preference.
Translation of Malik's Muwatta, Book 28:
