Marriage

Jabir said:

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

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

Umm Salama told that a woman came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said:

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

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

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

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

Umm Salama said:

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

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

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

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

Abu-d Darda’ said that when the Prophet (ﷺ) passed a woman who was near the time to be delivered of a child he asked about her and was told that she was so and so’s slave woman. He asked whether he was having sexual intercourse with her, and when he was told that he was, he said, “I am inclined to invoke a curse on him which will enter his grave with him. How can he take the child into his service when that is not lawful for him, or how can he make it an heir when that is not lawful for him?”* * The reason for the curse is said to be because he did wait the prescribed period after acquiring the woman and so could not know whether the child was his or not. If he treated the child as a slave he might be enslaving his own son, and if he treated it as an heir he might be doing this to one who was not his son. Muslim transmitted it.

Abu Sa'id al-Khurdi traced to the Prophet (ﷺ) the following statement regarding the captives taken at Autas, “There must be no intercourse with a pregnant woman till she gives birth to her child, or with one who is not pregnant till she has had one menstrual period.” Ahmad, Abu Dawud and Darimi transmitted it.

Ruwaifi' b. Thabit. reported God’s Messenger as saying on the day of Hunain, “It is not lawful for a man who believes in God and the last day to water what another has sown with his water (meaning intercourse with women who are pregnant); it is not lawful for a man who believes in God and the last day to have intercourse with a captive woman till she has had a menstrual period; and it is not lawful for a man who believes in God and the last day to sell spoil till it is divided.” Abu Dawud transmitted it, and Tirmidhi transmitted it up to “what another has sown with his water.”

Malik said he heard that God's Messenger used to command that no intercourse be had with slave women till they had had a menstrual period if they were of the number who had such periods, or till three months had passed in the case of those who did not, and forbid watering another man's water. Razin transmitted.

Ibn ‘Umar said that when a girl with whom intercourse might be had was given as a present, or sold, or set free, it was necessary to wait till she had had a menstrual period, but that this was unnecessary in the case of a virgin. Razin transmitted.

‘A’isha told that Hind daughter of ‘Utba said, “Messenger of God, Abu Sufyan is a niggardly man who does not give me and my son enough; except what I take from him without his knowledge.” He replied, “Take what is enough for you and your son to the extent recognised by the law.”* * <i>Bil ma’roof</i>.This is what is generally recognised as reasonable. The amount would vary according to the circumstances of the people. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Jabir b. Samura reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When God prospers any of you he should spend first on himself and his family.” Muslim transmitted it.

Abu Huraira reported God’s Messenger as saying, “A slave is entitled to his food and clothing, and he should have imposed on him only such work as he is capable of doing.” Muslim transmitted it.

Abu Dharr reported God’s Messenger as saying, “God has put your brethren under your authority, so he who has his brother put under his authority by God must feed him from what he eats, clothe him from what he wears, and not impose on him work which is too much for him, but if he does so he must help him with it.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

‘Abdallah b. ‘Amr told that a steward of his came to him and he asked him whether he had given the slaves their food. When he replied that he had not, he told him to go and give it to them, for God’s Messenger had said, “It is a serious enough fault for a man to withhold his food from one whom he possesses.” A version has, “It is a serious enough fault for a man to destroy one he is bound to sustain.” Muslim transmitted it.