The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Anyone who incites a woman against her husband or a slave against his master is not one of us.

The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Allah did not make anything lawful more abominable to Him than divorce.

The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Of all the lawful acts the most detestable to Allah is divorce.

AbdurRahman ibn Ayman, the client of Urwah, asked Ibn Umar and AbuzZubayr was was listening: What do you think if a man divorces his wife while she is menstruating? He said: Abdullah ibn Umar divorced his wife while she was menstruating during the time of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him).So Umar asked the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) saying: Abdullah ibn Umar divorced his wife while she was menstruating. Abdullah said: He returned her to me and did not count it (the pronouncement) anything. He said: When she is purified, he may divorce her or keep her with him. Ibn Umar said: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) recited the Qur'anic verse: O Prophet, when you divorce women, divorce them in the beginning of their waiting period."

Mutarrif ibn Abdullah reported:Imran ibn Husayn was asked about a person who divorces his wife, and then has intercourse with her, but he does not call any witness to her divorce nor to her restoration. He said: You divorced against the sunnah and took her back against the sunnah. Call someone to bear witness to her divorce, and to her return in marriage, and do not repeat it.

Umar ibn Mu'tab reported: AbuHasan, a client of Banu Nawfal asked Ibn Abbas: A slave had a wife who was a slave-girl. He divorced her by two pronouncements. Afterwards both of them were freed. Is it permissible for him to ask her in marriage again? He said: Yes. This is a decision given by the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him).

The aforesaid tradition (No. 2182) has also been transmitted by Ali (ibn al-Mubarak) through a different chain of narrators to the same effect.

This version adds: Ibn Abbas said: There remained one more pronouncement of divorce for you. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) took the same decision.

The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: The divorce of a slave-woman consists in saying it twice and her waiting period is two menstrual courses (qur') AbuAsim said: A similar tradition has been narrated to me by Muzahir and al-Qasim on the authority of Aisha from the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him), except that he said: And her waiting period ('iddah) is two courses.

The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: There is no divorce except in what you possess; there is no possession, there is no sale transaction till you possess. The narrator Ibn as-Sabbah added: There is no fulfilling a vow till you possess.

Muhammad ibn Ubayd ibn AbuSalih who lived in Ayliya said: I went out with Adi ibn Adi al-Kindi till we came to Mecca. He sent me to Safiyyah daughter of Shaybah who remembered a tradition (that she had heard) from Aisha. She said: I heard Aisha say: I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say: There is no divorce or emancipation in case of constraint or duress (ghalaq).

The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: There are three things which, whether undertaken seriously or in jest, are treated as serious: Marriage, divorce and taking back a wife (after a divorce which is not final)

Divorced women shall wait concerning themselves for three monthly periods. Nor is it lawful for them to hide what Allah hath created in their wombs. This means that if a man divorced his wife he had the right to take her back in marriage though he had divorced her by three pronouncements. This was then repealed (by a Qur'anic verse). Divorce is only permissible twice.

Abdu Yazid, the father of Rukanah and his brothers, divorced Umm Rukanah and married a woman of the tribe of Muzaynah. She went to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and said: He is of no use to me except that he is as useful to me as a hair; and she took a hair from her head. So separate me from him. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) became furious. He called on Rukanah and his brothers. He then said to those who were sitting beside him. Do you see so-and-so who resembles Abdu Yazid in respect of so-and-so; and so-and-so who resembles him in respect of so-and-so? They replied: Yes. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said to Abdu Yazid: Divorce her. Then he did so. He said: Take your wife, the mother of Rukanah and his brothers, back in marriage. He said: I have divorced her by three pronouncements, Apostle of Allah. He said: I know: take her back. He then recited the verse: "O Prophet, when you divorce women, divorce them at their appointed periods."

Tawus said: AbusSahba' said to Ibn Abbas: Do you know that a divorce by three pronouncements was made a single one during the time of the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him), and of AbuBakr and in the early days of the caliphate of Umar? He replied: Yes.

Hammad ibn Zayd said: I asked Ayyub: Do you know anyone who narrates the tradition narrated by Al-Hasan about uttering the words (addressing wife). "Your matter is in your hand"? He replied: No, except something similar transmitted by Qatadah from Kathir, the client of Samurah, from AbuSalamah on the authority of AbuHurayrah from the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him). Ayyub said: Kathir then came to us; so I asked him (about this matter). He replied: I never narrated it. I mentioned it to Qatadah who said: Yes (he narrated it) but he forgot.

(Rukanah) divorced his wife absolutely; so he came to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him). He asked (him): What did you intend? He said: A single utterance of divorce. He said: Do you swear by Allah? He replied: I swear by Allah. He said: It stands as you intended.

A man said to his wife: O my younger sister! The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)said: Is she your sister? He (the Prophet disliked it and prohibited saying so.

I was a man who was more given than others to sexual intercourse with women. When the month of Ramadan came, I feared lest I should have intercourse with my wife, and this evil should remain with me till the morning. So I made my wife like my mother's back to me till the end of Ramadan. But one night when she was waiting upon me, something of her was revealed. Suddenly I jumped upon her. When the morning came I went to my people and informed them about this matter.

I said: Go along with me to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him).

They said: No, by Allah. So I went to the Prophet (peace be upon him and informed him of the matter.

He said: Have you really committed it, Salamah? I said: I committed it twice, Apostle of Allah. I am content with the Commandment of Allah, the Exalted; so take a decision about me according to what Allah has shown you.

He said: Free a slave. I said: By Him Who sent you with truth, I do not possess a neck other than this: and I struck the surface of my neck.

He said: Then fast two consecutive months. I said: Whatever I suffered is due to fasting.

He said: Feed sixty poor people with a wasq of dates.

I said: By Him Who sent you with truth, we passed the night hungry; there was no food in our house.

He said: Then go to the collector of sadaqah of Banu Zurayq; he must give it to you. Then feed sixty poor people with a wasq of dates; and you and your family eat the remaining dates. Then I came back to my people, and said (to them): I found with you poverty and bad opinion; and I found with the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) prosperity and good opinion. He has commanded me to give alms to you.

Ibn al-Ala' added: Ibn Idris said: Bayadah is a sub-clan of Banu Zurayq.

My husband, Aws ibn as-Samit, pronounced the words: You are like my mother. So I came to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him), complaining to him about my husband.

The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) disputed with me and said: Remain dutiful to Allah; he is your cousin.

I continued (complaining) until the Qur'anic verse came down: "Allah hath heard the words of her who disputeth with thee concerning her husband...." till the prescription of expiation.

He then said: He should set free a slave. She said: He cannot afford it. He said: He should fast for two consecutive months. She said: Apostle of Allah, he is an old man; he cannot keep fasts. He said: He should feed sixty poor people. She said: He has nothing which he may give in alms. At that moment an araq (i.e. date-basket holding fifteen or sixteen sa's) was brought to him.

I said: I shall help him with another date-basked ('araq). He said: You have done well. Go and feed sixty poor people on his behalf, and return to your cousin. The narrator said: An araq holds sixty sa's of dates.

Khawlah was the wife of Aws ibn as-Samit; he was a man immensely given to sexual intercourse. When his desire for intercourse was intensified, he made his wife like his mother's back. So Allah, the Exalted, sent down Qur'anic verses relating to expiation for zihar.

A man made his wife like the back of his mother. He then had intercourse with her before he atoned for it. He came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and informed him of this matter. He asked (him): What moved you to the action you have committed? He replied: I saw the whiteness of her shins in moon light. He said: Keep away from her until you expiate for your deed.

The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If any woman asks her husband for divorce without some strong reason, the odour of Paradise will be forbidden to her.

Amrah, daughter of AbdurRahman ibn Sa'd ibn Zurarah, reported on the authority of Habibah, daughter of Sahl al-Ansariyyah: She (Habibah) was the wife of Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shimmas. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) came out one morning and found Habibah by his door.

The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: Who is this? She replied: I am Habibah, daughter of Sahl. He asked: What is your case? She replied: I and Thabit ibn Qays, referring to her husband, cannot live together.

When Thabit ibn Qays came, the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said to him: This is Habibah, daughter of Sahl, and she has mentioned (about you) what Allah wished to mention.

Habibah said: Apostle of Allah, all that he gave me is with me.

The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said to Thabit ibn Qays: Take it from her. So he took it from her, and she lived among her people (relatives).

Habibah daughter of Sahl was the wife of Thabit ibn Qays Shimmas He beat her and broke some of her part. So she came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) after morning, and complained to him against her husband. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) called on Thabit ibn Qays and said (to him): Take a part of her property and separate yourself from her. He asked: Is that right, Apostle of Allah? He said: Yes. He said: I have given her two gardens of mine as a dower, and they are already in her possession. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Take them and separate yourself from her.

The wife of Thabit ibn Qays separated herself from him for a compensation. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) made her waiting period a menstrual course.

Barirah was emancipated, and she was the wife of Mughith, a slave of Aal AbuAhmad. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) gave her choice, and said to her: If he has intercourse with you, then there is no choice for you.

Al-Qasim said: Aisha intended to set free two slaves of her who were spouses. She, therefore, asked the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) about this matter. He commanded to begin with the man before the woman. The narrator Nasr said: AbuAli al-Hanafi reported it to me on the authority of Ubaydullah.

A man came after embracing Islam during the time of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him). Afterwards his wife came after embracing Islam. He said: Apostle of Allah, she embraced Islam along with me; so restore her to me.

A woman embraced Islam during the time of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him); she then married. Her (former) husband then came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and said: Apostle of Allah, I have already embraced Islam, and she had the knowledge about my Islam. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) took her away from her latter husband and restored her to her former husband.

The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) restored his daughter Zaynab to Abul'As on the basis of the previous marriage, and he did not do anything afresh.

I embraced Islam while I had eight wives. So I mentioned it to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him). The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Select four of them.

I said: Apostle of Allah, I have embraced Islam and two sisters are my wives. He said: Divorce any one of them you wish.

AbdulHamid ibn Ja'far reported from his father on the authority of his grandfather Rafi' ibn Sinan that he (Rafi' ibn Sinan) embraced Islam and his wife refused to embrace Islam. She came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and said: My daughter; she is weaned or about to wean. Rafi' said: My daughter. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said to him: Be seated on a side. And he said to her: Be seated on a side. He then seated the girl between them, and said to them: Call her. The girl inclined to her mother. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: O Allah! guide her. The daughter then inclined to her father, and he took her.

When the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) ordered a man and his wife to invoke curses on each other, he ordered a man to put his hand on his mouth when he came to the fifth utterance, saying that it would be the deciding one.

Hilal ibn Umayyah was one of three people whose repentance was accepted by Allah. One night he returned from his land and found a man with his wife. He witnessed with his eyes and heard with his ears. He did not threaten him till the morning.

Next day he went to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) in the morning, and said: Apostle of Allah! I came to my wife at night and found a man with her. I saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) disliked what he described and he took it seriously.

Thereupon the following Qur'anic verse came down: "And those who make charges against their spouses but have no witnesses except themselves, let the testimony of one of them...."

When the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) came to himself (after the revelation ended), he said: Glad tidings for you, Hilal. Allah, the Exalted, has made it easy and, a way out for you.

Hilal said: I expected that from my Lord. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: Send for her. She then came. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) recited (the verses) to them that the punishment in the next world was more severe than that in this world.

Hilal said: I swear by Allah, I spoke the truth against her. She said: He told a lie.

The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: Apply the method of invoking curses on each other. Hilal was told: Bear witness. So he bore witness before Allah four times that he spoke the truth.

When he was about to utter a fifth time, he was told: Hilal, fear Allah, for the punishment in this world is easier than that in the next world; and this is the deciding one that will surely cause punishment to you.

He said: I swear by Allah. Allah will not punish me for this (act), as He did not cause me to be flogged for this (act). So he bore witness a fifth time invoking the curse of Allah on him if he was one of those who told lies.

Then the people said to her: Testify. So she gave testimony before Allah that he was a liar.

When she was going to testify a fifth time, she was told: Fear Allah, for the punishment in this world is easier than that in the next world. This is the deciding one that will surely cause punishment to you.

She hesitated for a moment, and then said: By Allah, I shall not disgrace my people. So she testified a fifth time invoking the curse of Allah on her if he spoke the truth.

The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) separated them from each other, and decided that the child would not be attributed to its father. Neither she nor her child would be accused of adultery. He who accused her or her child would be liable to punishment. He also decided that there would be no dwelling and maintenance for her (from the husband), as they were separated without divorce.

He then said: If she gives birth to a child with reddish hair, light buttocks, wide belly and light shins, he will be the child of Hilal. If she bears a dusky child with curly hair, fat limbs, fat shins and fat buttock he will be the child of the one who was accused of adultery. She gave birth to a dusky child with curly hair, fat limbs, fat shins and fat buttocks.

The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: Had there been no oaths I should have dealt with her severely.

Ikrimah said: Later on he became the chief of the tribe of Mudar. He was not attributed to his father.

A bedouin came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him), and said: My wife has given birth to a black son, and I disown him. He then narrated the rest of the tradition to the same effect.

AbuHurayrah heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say when the verse about invoking curses came down: Any woman who brings to her family one who does not belong to it has nothing to do with Allah (i.e. expects no mercy from Allah), and Allah will not bring her into His Paradise.

Allah, the Exalted, will veil Himself from any man who disowns his child when he looks at him, and disgrace him in the presence of all creatures, first and last.

The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: There is no prostitution in Islam. If anyone practised prostitution in pre-Islamic times, the child will be attributed to the master (of the slave-woman). He who claims his child without a valid marriage or ownership will neither inherit nor be inherited.

The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) decided regarding one who was treated as a member of a family after the death of his father, to whom he was attributed when the heirs said he was one of them, that if he was the child of a slave-woman whom the father owned when he had intercourse with her, he was included among those who sought his inclusion, but received none of the inheritance which was previously divided; he, however, received his portion of the inheritance which had not already been divided; but if the father to whom he was attributed had disowned him, he was not joined to the heirs.

If he was a child of a slave-woman whom the father did not possess or of a free woman with whom he had illicit intercourse, he was not joined to the heirs and did not inherit even if the one to whom he was attributed is the one who claimed paternity, since he was a child of fornication whether his mother was free or a slave.

The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) entered upon me. The version of Musaddad and Ibn as-Sarh has: one day looking pleased". The version of Uthman has: "The lines of his forehead were realised." He said: O Aisha, are you not surprised to hear that Mujazziz al-Mudlaji saw that Zayd and Usamah had a rug over them concerning their heads and letting their feet appear. He said: These feet are related.

I was sitting with the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him). A man came from the Yemen, and said: Three men from the people of the Yemen came to Ali, quarrelling about a child, asking him to give a decision. They had had sexual intercourse with a woman during a single state of purity.

He said to two of them: Give this child to this man (the third person) with pleasure. But they (refused and) cried loudly. Again he said to two of them: Give the child to the man (the third person) willingly. But they (refused and) cried loudly. He then said: You are quarrelsome partners. I shall cast lots among you; he who receives the lot, will acquire the child, and he shall pay two-thirds of the blood-money to both his companions. He then cast lots among them, and gave the child to the one who received the lot. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) laughed so much that his canine or molar teeth appeared.

Three persons were brought to Ali (Allah be pleased with him) when he was in the Yemen. They and sexual intercourse with a woman during a single state of purity. He asked two of them: Do you acknowledge this child for this (man)? They replied: No. He then put this (question) to all of them. Whenever he asked two of them, they replied in the negative. He, therefore, cast a lot among them, and attributed the child to the one who received the lot. He imposed two-third of the blood-money (i.e. the price of the mother) on him. This was then mentioned to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and he laughed so much that his molar teeth appeared.

A man got up and said: Apostle of Allah, so-and-so is my son; I had illicit intercourse with his mother in the pre-Islamic period. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: There is no unlawful claiming of paternity in Islam. What was done in pre-Islamic times has been annulled. The child is attributed to the one on whose bed it is born, and the fornicator is deprived of any right.

Rabah said: My people married me to a Roman slave-girl of theirs. I had intercourse with her, and she gave birth to a black (male) child like me. I named it Abdullah. I again had intercourse with her, and she gave birth to a black (male) child like me. I named it Ubaydullah. Then a Roman slave of my people, called Yuhannah, incited her, and spoke to her in his own unintelligible language. She gave birth to a son like a chameleon (red).

I asked her: What is this? She replied: This belongs to Yuhannah. We then brought the case to Uthman (for a decision). I think Mahdi said these words. He inquired from both of them, and they acknowledged (the facts).

He then said to them: Do you agree that I take the decision about you, which the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) had taken? The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) decided that the child was to attributed to the one on whose bed it was born. And I think he said: He flogged her and flogged him, for they were slaves.

A woman said: Apostle of Allah, my womb is a vessel to this son of mine, my breasts, a water-skin for him, and my lap a guard for him, yet his father has divorced me, and wants to take him away from me. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: You have more right to him as long as you do not marry.

Hilal ibn Usamah quoted AbuMaymunah Salma, client of the people of Medina, as saying: While I was sitting with AbuHurayrah, a Persian woman came to him along with a son of hers. She had been divorced by her husband and they both claimed him.

She said: AbuHurayrah, speaking to him in Persian, my husband wishes to take my son away.

AbuHurayrah said: Cast lots for him, saying it to her in a foreign language.

Then her husband came and asked: Who is disputing with me about my son?

AbuHurayrah said: O Allah, I do not say this, except that I heard a woman who came to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) while I was sitting with him, and she said: My husband wishes to take away my son, Apostle of Allah, and he draws water for me from the well of AbuInabah, and he has been good to me.

The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: Cast lots for him. Her husband said: Who is disputing with me about my son? The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: This is your father and this your mother, so take whichever of them you wish by the hand. So he took his mother's hand and she went away with him.

Zayd ibn Harithah went out to Mecca and brought the daughter of Hamzah with him. Then Ja'far said: I shall take her; I have more right to her; she is my uncle's daughter and her maternal aunt is my wife; the maternal aunt is like mother. Ali said: I am more entitled to take her. She is my uncle's daughter. The daughter of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) is my wife, and she has more right to her. Zayd said: I have more right to her. I went out and journeyed to her, and brought her with me. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) came out.

The narrator mentioned the rest of the tradition. He (i.e. the Prophet) said: As for the girl, I decided in favour of Ja'far. She will live with her maternal aunt. The maternal aunt is like mother.

When we came out from Mecca, Hamzah's daughter pursued us crying: My uncle. Ali lifted her and took her by the hand. (Addressing Fatimah he said:) Take your uncle's daughter. She then lifted her. The narrator then transmitted the rest of the tradition. Ja'far said: She is my uncle's daughter. Her maternal aunt is my wife. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) decided in favour of her maternal aunt, and said: The maternal aunt is like mother.

Amr ibn Muhajir reported on the authority of his father: Asma', daughter of Yazid ibn as-Sakan al-Ansariyyah, was divorced in the time of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him). No waiting period was prescribed for a divorced woman (at that time). When Asma' was divorced, Allah, the Exalted, sent down the injunction of waiting period for divorce. She is the first of the divorced women about whom the verse relating to waiting period was sent down.

Women who are divorced shall wait, keeping themselves apart, three monthly courses; and then said: And for such of your women as despair of menstruation, if ye doubt, their period (of waiting) shall be three months. This was abrogated from the former verse. Again he said: (O ye who believe, if ye wed believing women) and divorce them before ye have touched them, then there is no period that ye should reckon."

The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) divorced Hafsah, but he took her back in marriage.

AbuSalamah reported on the authority of Fatimah daughter of Qays who said to him that she was the wife of AbuHafs ibn al-Mughirah who divorced her by three pronouncements. She said that she came to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) and sought his opinion about her going out from her house. He commanded her to shift to (the house of )Ibn Umm Maktum who was blind. Marwan denied to confirm the tradition of Fatimah about the going out of a divorced woman from her house. Urwah said: Aisha objected to Fatimah daughter of Qays.

Urwah said: Aisha (Allah be pleased with her) severely objected to the tradition of Fatimah daughter of Qays. She said: Fatimah lived in a desolate house and she feared for her loneliness there. Hence the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) accorded permission to her (to leave the place).

Urwah ibn az-Zubayr said: Aisha was asked: Did you not see (i.e. known) the statement of Fatimah? She replied: It is not good for her to mention it (to others).

Al-Qasim ibn Muhammad and Sulayman ibn Yasar reported: Yahya ibn Sa'id ibn al-'As divorced the daughter of AbdurRahman ibn al-Hakam absolutely. AbdurRahman shifted her (from there). Aisha sent a message to Marwan ibn al-Hakam who was the governor of Medina, and said to him: Fear Allah, and return the woman to her home. Marwan said (according to Sulayman's version): AbdurRahman forced me. Marwan said (according to the version of al-Qasim): Did not the case of Fatimah daughter of Qays reach you? Aisha replied: There would be no harm to you if you did not make mention of the tradition of Fatimah. Marwan said: If you think that it was due to some evil (i.e. reason), then it is sufficient for you to see that there is also an evil between the two.

Humayd ibn Nafi' reported the following three traditions on the authority of Zaynab, daughter of AbuSalamah:

Zaynab said: I visited Umm Habibah when her father AbuSufyan, died. She asked for some yellow perfume containing saffron (khaluq) or something else. Then she applied it to a girl and touched her cheeks.

She said: I have no need of perfume, but I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say: It is not lawful for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to observe mourning for one who has died, more than three nights, except for four months and ten days in the case of a husband.

Zaynab said: I also visited Zaynab, daughter of Jahsh, when her brother died. She asked for some perfume and used it upon herself.

She then said: I have no need of perfume, but I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say when he was on the pulpit: It is not lawful for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to observe mourning for one who has died, more than three nights, except for four months and ten days in the case of a husband.

Zaynab said: I heard my mother, Umm Salamah, say: A woman came to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) and said: Apostle of Allah, the husband of my daughter has died, and she is suffering from sore eyes; may we put antimony in her eyes?

The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: No. He said this twice or thrice. Each time he said: No. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: The waiting period is now four months and ten days. In pre-Islamic days one of you used to throw away a piece of dung at the end of a year.

Humayd said: I asked Zaynab: What do you mean by throwing away a piece of dung at the end of a year.

Zaynab replied: When the husband of a woman died, she entered a small cell and put on shabby clothes, not touching perfume or any other thing until a year passed. Then an animal such as donkey or sheep or bird was provided for her. She rubbed herself with it. The animal with which she rubbed herself rarely survived. She then came out and was given a piece of dung which she threw away. She then used perfume or something else which she desired.

Zaynab, daughter of Ka'b ibn Ujrah narrated that Furay'ah daughter of Malik ibn Sinan, told her that she came to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) and asked him whether she could return to her people, Banu Khidrah, for her husband went out seeking his slaves who ran away. When they met him at al-Qudum, they murdered him.

So I asked the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him): "Should I return to my people, for he did not leave any dwelling house of his own and maintenance for me?

She said: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) replied: Yes. She said: I came out, and when I was in the apartment or in the mosque, he called for me, or he commanded (someone to call me) and, therefore, I was called.

He said: what did you say? So I repeated my story which I had already mentioned about my husband. Thereupon he said: Stay in your house till the term lapses. She said:

So I passed my waiting period in it (her house) for four months and ten days. When Uthman ibn Affan became caliph, he sent for me and asked me about that; so I informed him, and he followed it and decided cases accordingly.

The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: A woman whose husband has died must not wear clothes dyed with safflower (usfur) or with red ochre (mishq) and ornaments. She must not apply henna and collyrium.

Umm Hakim, daughter of Usayd, reported on the authority of her mother that her husband died and she was suffering from sore eyes. She therefore applied collyrium (jala'). Ahmad said: The correct version is "glittering collyrium (kuhl al-jala'). She sent her slave-girl to Umm Salamah, and she asked her about the use of glittering collyrium (kuhl al-jala').

She said: Do not apply it except in the case of dire need which is troubling you. In that case you can use it at night, but you should remove it in the daytime. Then Umm Salamah said: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) came to visit me when AbuSalamah died, and I had put the juice of aloes in my eye.

He asked : What is this, Umm Salamah? I replied: It is only the juice of aloes and contains no perfume. He said: It gives the face a glow, so apply it only at night and remove it in daytime, and do not comb yourself with scent or henna, for it is a dye. I asked: What should I use when I comb myself, Apostle of Allah? He said: Use lote-tree leaves and smear your head copiously with them.

I can invoke the curse of Allah on anyone who wishes: The smaller surat an-Nisa (i.e. Surat at-Talaq) was revealed after the verse regarding the waiting period of four months and ten days had been revealed.

Do not confuse us about his Sunnah. Ibn al-Muthanna said: The Sunnah of our Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) is that the waiting period of a slave-mother whose husband has died is four months and ten days.

The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) was asked about a man who divorced his wife three times, and she married another who entered upon her, but divorced her before having intercourse with her, whether she was lawful for the former husband. She said: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) replied: She is not lawful for the first (husband) until she tastes the honey of the other husband and he tastes her honey.

Musaykah, a slave-girl of some Ansari, came and said: My master forces me to commit fornication. Thereupon the following verse was revealed: "But force not your maids to prostitution (when they desire chastity)."

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