The Chapters on Divorce

‘Imrān ibn Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he was asked about a person who divorced his wife and then had intercourse with her without calling any witnesses to the divorce or the reunion. He said: "You divorced (in a manner that is) against the Sunnah and took back (in a manner that is) against the Sunnah. Call someone to bear witness to her divorce and to her reunion, and do not do that again."

Az-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwām (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he was married to Umm Kulthūm bint ‘Uqbah when she said to him, while being pregnant: "Make me happy by proclaiming divorce one time.” So he divorced her once, then went out to the prayer. He returned after she had given birth to a child, then he said: “What is the matter with her? She deceived me! May Allah deceive her!” Then he came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) who then said: “Her prescribed waiting period after divorce is over. Propose to her anew.”

Fātimah bint Qays reported: I said: "O Messenger of Allah, my husband has divorced me three times and I am afraid that my house will be broken into." So, he (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) told me to move.

Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: My maternal aunt was divorced, and she wanted to collect the harvest from her date-palm trees. A man rebuked her for going out to the trees. So she went to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) who said: "No, go and collect the harvest from your trees, for perhaps you will give (some of it in) charity or do a good deed with it."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Three things are binding regardless of whether they were expressed seriously or jokingly: marriage, divorce, and restoration (of a divorcee)."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah has forgiven my Ummah for the thoughts that come to their minds, unless they act upon them or utter them."

‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There are three (people) whose actions are not recorded by the Pen: a sleeping person till he awakes, a boy till he reaches puberty, and a person with an unsound mind till he regains his sanity."

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Allah has pardoned for me the mistakes and forgetfulness of my Ummah, and what they were coerced into doing."

‘Amr ibn Shu‘ayb reported from his father that his grandfather said that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The son of Adam cannot make a vow concerning what is not his; he cannot free a slave who is not his; and he cannot divorce a woman who is not his (wife).”

‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) left no dinar, dirham, sheep, or camels, and he did not bequeath anything.

Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Fast when you see it, and break the fast when you see it, but if the sky is overcast and you cannot see it, then act on estimation."

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that Hilāl ibn Umayyah went to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and accused his wife of committing illegal sexual intercourse with Sharīk ibn Sahmā'. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Either you provide proof, or you will receive the legal punishment on your back." Hilāl said: "O Messenger of Allah, if one of us saw a man on top of his wife, should he go and look for witnesses?" The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) kept saying: "Either you provide proof, or you will receive the legal punishment on your back." Hilāl then said: "By the One Who sent you with the Truth, I am truthful, and Allah will reveal to you what will save my back from the legal punishment." Then (the following) was revealed: {And for those who accuse their wives...} [Sūrat An-Nūr: 24:6] He kept reciting until he reached: {...if he was of the truthful.} [ Sūrat An-Nūr: 24:9]. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) left and had her summoned. So Hilāl came and took an oath. So the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was saying: "Allah knows that one of you is a liar, so, will either of you repent?" Then the woman got up and took the oaths, and when she was about to take the fifth one, the people stopped her and said to her: "It will definitely bring about Allah's curse upon you (if you are guilty)." So she hesitated and recoiled so much that we thought that she would withdraw her denial. But she said: "I will not dishonor my family for the rest of their days." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) then said: "Watch her, if she delivers a child with eyes that appear to have kohl on them, big bottoms, and fat shins, then it is Sharīk ibn Sahmā's child." (Later) she gave birth to a child fitting that description. So the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If it had not been settled in the Book of Allah, there would have been a matter between me and her."

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: Barīrah was instructed to observe an ‘Iddah of three menstrual cycles.

A relative of Umm Habībah died, so she asked for a yellow perfume and wiped it over her arms and said: "I do this only because I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) say: It is not lawful for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn for a deceased more than three [days], but for her husband, four months and ten days.'"

’Umm ‘Atiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A woman should not mourn for any dead person more than three days except her husband, for whom she should mourn four months and ten days. She should not wear dyed clothes (while in mourning) except ‘Asb (an unattractive Yemeni garment), nor should she apply kohl or touch perfume, except when she becomes purified (from her menses), as she may then apply a little Qust or Azhfār (types of incense)."