Sunan Abi Dawud — Divorce (Kitab Al-Talaq)

Mujahid said “I was with Ibn ‘Abbas”. A man came to him and said that he divorced his wife by three pronouncements. I kept silence and thought that he was going to restore het to him. He then said “A man goes and commits a foolish act and then says “O, Ibn ‘Abbas! Alaah has said “And for those who fear Allaah, He (ever) prepares a way out.” Since you did not keep duty to Allaah I do not find a way out for you. You disobeyed your Lord and your wife was separated from you. Allaah has said “O Prophet! When you divorce women divorce them in the beginning of their waiting period.” Abu Dawud said “This tradition has been transmitted by Humaid Al A’raj and by others from Mujahid on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas. Shu’bjh narrated it from ‘Amr bin Murrah from Sa’id bin Jubair on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas. Ayyub and Ibn ‘Jubair both narrated it from “’Ikrimah bin Khalid from Sa’id bin Jubair on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas. Ibn Juraij narrated it from ‘Abd Al Hamid bin Rafi’ from ‘Ata from Ibn ‘Abbas. Al A’mash narrated it from Malik bin Al Harith on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas. They all said about the divorce by three pronouncements. He allowed it and said” (Your wife) has been separated from you similar to the tradition narrated by Isma’il from Ayub from ‘Abd Allaah bin Kathir.” Abu Dawud said “Hammad bin Zaid narrated it from Ayyub from ‘Ikrimah on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas. This version adds If he said “You are divorced three times saying in one pronouncement, it constitutes a single (divorce). Isma’il bin Ibrahim narrated it from Ayyub from ‘Ikrimah. This is his (‘Ikrimah’s) statement. He did not mention the name of Ibn ‘Abbas. He narrated it as a statement of ‘Ikrimah.”

A’ishah said The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) gave us our choice and we chose him so that was not reckoned anything (i.e., divorce)

A similar tradition has been transmitted by Ibn Ishaq with a different chain of narrators. But in this version he said ‘Araq is a date-basket holding thirty sa’s. Abu Dawud said “This version is sounder than that of Yahya bin Adam.”

The tradition mentioned above has also been narrated by Al Zuhri through a different chain of narrators to the same effect. This version adds “At that time he was hinting at disowning the child.”

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

Abu Salamah bin ‘Abd Al Rahman reported on the authority of Fatimah daughter of Qais Abu ‘Amr bin Hafs divorced her (Fatimah daughter of Qais) absolutely when he was away from home and his agent sent her home barley. She was displeased with it. He said “I swear by Allah, you have no claim on us. She then came to Apostle of Allah (ﷺ) and mentioned that to him. He said to her “No maintenance is due to you from him. He ordered her to spend the waiting period in the house of Umm Sharik but he said afterwards “that is a woman whom my Companions visit. Spend the waiting period in the house of Ibn Umm Maktum for he is blind and you can undress. Then when you are in a position of being remarried, tell me.” She said “When I was in a position to remarry, I mentioned to him that Mu’awiyah bin Abi Sufyan and Abu Jahm had asked me in marriage. The Apostle of Allah (ﷺ)said “As for Abu Jahm, he does not put down his stick from his shoulder, and as for Mu’awiyah he is a poor man who has no property; marry Usamah bin Zaid. I disliked him but he said “Marry Usamah bin Zaid. So, I married him. And Allah prospered him very much and I was envied.”

Abu Salamah bin ‘Abd Al Rahman said that Fatimah daughter of Qais told him that Abu Hafs Al Mughirah divorced her three times. He then narrated the rest of the tradition. The version has Khalid bin Walid and some people of Banu Makhzum came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said Prophet of Allaah (ﷺ) Abu Hafs Al Mughirah divorced his wife three times and he has left a little for her. He said “No maintenance is necessary for her. He then transmitted the rest of the tradition. The tradition narrated by Malik is more perfect.

Abu Salamah reported on the authority of Fatimah daughter of Qais that Abu ‘Amr bin Hafs Al Makhzumi divorced her three times. He then narrated the rest of the tradition. He then mentioned about Khalid bin Walid and said that the Prophet (ﷺ) said “There are no maintenance and dwelling for her.” This version has “The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) sent a message to her “Do not give her consent for marriage without my permission.””

AbuIshaq reported on the authority of Silah: We were with Ammar on the day when the appearance of the moon was doubtful. (The meat of) goat was brought to him. Some people kept aloof from (eating) it. Ammar said: He who keeps fast on this day disobeys AbulQasim (i.e. the Prophet) (ﷺ).

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying: Do not fast one day or two days just before Ramadan, except in the case of a man who has been in the habit of observing the particular fast, for he may fast on that day.

When the verse “Until the white thread of dawn appear to you distinct from its black thread” was revealed, I took a white rope and a black rope, and placed them beneath my pillow ; and then I looked at them, byt they were not clear to me. So I mentioned it to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He laughed and said: Your pillow is so broad and lengthy ; that is (i.e. means) night and day. The version of the narrator ‘Uthman has: That is the blackness of night and whiteness of day.

We went along with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) while he was fasting. When the sun set, he said to Bilal: Bilal, come down and prepare barley beverage for us. He said: Messenger of Allah, would that you waited for the evening. He said: Come down and prepare barley beverage for us. He said: Messenger of Allah, the say still remains on you (i.e. there remains the brightness of the day). He said: Come down and prepare barley drink for us. So he came down and prepared barley drink. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) drank it and said: When you see that the night approaches from this side, he who fasts has reached the time to break it ; and he pointed to the east with his finger.

(A man broke his fast intentionally) during Ramadan. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) commanded him to emancipate a slave, or fast for two months, or feed sixty poor men. He said: I cannot provide. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Sit down. Thereafter a huge basket of dates (‘araq) was brought to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He said: Take this and give it as sadaqah (alms). He said: Messenger of Allah, there is no poorer than I. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) thereupon laughed so that his canine teeth became visible and said: Eat it yourself. Abu Dawud said: Ibn Juraij narrated it from al-Zuhri in the wordings of the narrator Malik that a man broke his fast. This version says: You should either free a slave, or fast for two months, or provide food for sixty poor men.

A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: Messenger of Allah, I ate and drank in forgetfulness when I was fasting. Hie said: Allah had fed you and given you drink.

He said: Messenger of Allah, tell me about keeping fast on Monday and Thursday. He said: On it I was born, and on it the Qur’an was first revealed to me.

The Prophet (ﷺ) as saying: If anyone fasts during Ramadan, then follows it with six days in Shawwal, it will be like a perpetual fast.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to fast to such an extent that we thought that he would never break his fast, and he would go without fasting to such an extent that we thought he would never fast. I never saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) fast a complete month except in Ramadan, and I never saw his fast more in any month than in Sha’ban.

Anas bin Malik reported on the authority of his father, The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) said “ You left behind some people in Madeenah who did not fail to be with you wherever you went and whatever you spent (of your goods) and whatever valley you crossed. They asked Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) how can they be with us when they are still in Madeenah? He replied “They were declined by a valid excuse.”

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Our Lord Most High is pleased with a man who fights in the path of Allah, the Exalted; then his companions fled away (i.e. retreated). But he knew that it was a sin (to flee away from the battlefield), so he returned, and his blood was shed. Thereupon Allah, the Exalted, says to His angels: Look at My servant; he returned seeking what I have for him (i.e. the reward), and fearing (the punishment) I have, until his blood was shed.

The Prophet (ﷺ) used to hold a race between horses and kept the one in the fifth year at a long distance.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: A single rider is a devil, and a pair of riders are a pair of devils, but three are a company of riders.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: When three are on a journey, they should appoint one of them as their commander.

When a boy was born to one of us in the pre-Islamic period, we sacrificed a sheep and smeared his head with its blood; but when Allah brought Islam, we sacrificed a sheep, shaved his head and smeared his head with saffron.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying: If anyone leaves property, it goes to his heirs. And if anyone leaves dependents (without resources), they come to us.

The Prophet (ﷺ) protected Naqi and said: There is no (permission for) protected land except for Allah Most High.

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say three days before his death: No one of you dies but he had good faith in Allah.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying: When one of you is afflicted with a calamity, he should say: “We belong to Allah, and to Him we do return.” O Allah, I expect reward from Thee from this affliction, so give me reward for it, and give me a better compensation.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to stand up for a funeral until the corpse was placed in the grave. A learned Jew (once) passed him and said: This is how we do. The Prophet (ﷺ) sat down and said: Sit down and act differently from them.

I swear by Allah, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayed over Suhail b. al-Baida’ in the mosque.

I prayed over a dead person along with Ibn ‘Abbas. He recited Surat al-Fatihah and he said: This is the Sunnah.

I was present with Marwan who asked AbuHurayrah: Did you hear how the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to pray over the dead? He said: Even with the words that you said. (The narrator said: They exchanged hot words between them before that.) Abu Hurairah said: O Allah, Thou art its Lord. Thou didst create it, Thou didst guide it to Islam, Thou hast taken its spirit, and Thou knowest best its inner nature and outer aspect. We have come as intercessors, so forgive him. Abu Dawud said: Shu’bah made a mistake in mentioning the name of ‘Ali b. Shammakh. He said in his version: ‘Uthman b. Shammas. Abu Dawud said: I heard Ahmad b. Ibrahim al-Mawsili say that Ahmad b. Hanbal said: In every meeting which I attended with Hammad b. Zaid he forbade to narrate this traditions from ‘Abd al-Warith and Ja’far b. Sulaiman.

I said: Messenger of Allah, I have a slave girl whom I slapped. This grieved the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). I said to him: Should I not emancipate her? He said: Bring her to me. He said: Then I brought her. He asked: Where is Allah ? She replied: In the heaven. He said: Who am I ? She replied: You are the Messenger of Allah. He said: Emancipate her, she is a believer.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying: If anyone vows to obey Allah, let him obey Him, but if anyone vows to disobey Him, let him not disobey Him.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: After the grave sins which Allah has prohibited the greatest sin is that a man dies while he has debt due from him and does not leave anything to pay it off, and meets Him with it.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If anyone rescinds a sale with a Muslim, Allah will cancel his slip, on the Day of Resurrection.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying: There is the right of option regarding everything which is shared, whether a dwelling or a garden. It is not lawful to sell before informing one’s partner, but if he sells without informing him, he has the greatest right to it.

A similar tradition has also been transmitted by Samurah from the Prophet (ﷺ) through a different chain of narrators.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If anyone is given life-tenancy, it belongs to him and to his descendants. His descendants who inherit him will inherit from it.

A similar tradition has also been transmitted by al-Laith b. Sa’d from al-Zuhri, from Abu Salamah from Jabir.

A similar tradition has been transmitted by ‘Aqil from Ibn Shihab and by Yazid b. Abi Habib from Shihab. Al-Auza’i’s wordings vary from those of Ibn Shihab. Fulaih b. Sulaiman also narrated the tradition like that of Malik.

“We will never employ or we shall not employ (the narrator is doubtful) in our work one who wants it.”

When Mecca was conquered, the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) stood up. He (Abu Hurairah) then mentioned the sermon of the Holy Prophet (ﷺ). He said: A man of the Yemen, who was called Abu Shah, got up and said: Messenger of Allah! Write it for me. He said: Write it for Abu Shah.

I swear on Allah, it will be better for you that Allah should give guidance to one man through your agency than that you should acquire the red ones among the camels.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If a large amount of anything causes intoxication, a small amount of it is prohibited.

The Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) forbade mixing of raisins and dried dates: and unripe dates and fresh dates.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to visit me, accompanied by Ali who was convalescing. We had some ripe dates hung up. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) got up and began to eat from them. Ali also got up to eat, but the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said repeatedly to Ali: Stop, Ali, for you are convalescing, and Ali stopped. She said: I then prepared some barley and beer-root and brought it. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then said: Take some of this, Ali, for it will be more beneficial for you. AbuDawud said: The narrator Harun said: al-Adawiyyah (i.e. Umm al-Mundhar).

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Taking omens is polytheism; taking omens is polytheism. He said it three times. Every one of us has some, but Allah removes it by trust (in Him).

Do not pluck out grey hair. If any believer grows a grey hair in Islam, he will have light on the Day of Resurrection. (This is Sufyan’s version). Yahya’s version says: Allah will record on his behalf a good deed for it, and will blot out a sin for it.

If anyone memorizes ten verses from the beginning of surat al-Kahf, he will be protected from the trial of Dajjal (Antichrist). Abu Dawud said: In this way Hashim al-dastawa’I transmitted it from Qatadah, but he said : “If anyone memorizes the closing verses of surat al-Kahf.” Shu’bah narrated from Qatadah the words “from the end of al-Kahf.

I heard the crier of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) calling : Assemble for the prayer. I Then came out and prayed along with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) finished his prayer, he sat on the pulpit laughing, and he said : Everyone should remain where he had said his prayer. He then asked : Do you know why I have assembled you? They said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He (ﷺ) said: I did not call you together fors some alarming news or for something good. Rather, I called you all because Tamim al-Dari, a Christian, who came and accepted Islam, told me something which agrees with what I was telling you about the Dajjal. He told me that he sailed with thirty men of Lakhm and Judham and that they were storm-tossed for a month. They drew near to an island when the sun was setting. They sat in a boat nearest to them and entered the island where they were met by a very hairy beast. They said: Woe to you! What can you be ? It replied : I am the Jassasah. Go to this man in the monastery, for he is anxious to get news of you. He said : When it named a man to us we were afraid of it lest it should be a she-devil. So we went off quickly and entered the monastery, where we found a man with the hugest and strongest frame we had ever seen with his hands chained to his neck. He then narrated the rest of the tradition. He asked them about the palm-trees of Baisan and the spring of Zughar and about the unlettered prophet. He said: I am the messiah (the Antichrist) and will be soon given permission to emerge. And the Prophet (ﷺ) said: He is in the Syrian sea or the Yemeni sea: No, on the contrary, it is towards the east that he is. He said it twice and pointed his hand to the east. She said: I memorized this (tradition) from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and she narrated the tradition.

We saw the last of Ibn Sayyad at the battle of the Harrah.

A man of the tribe of Aslam came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and testified four times against himself that he had had illicit intercourse with a woman, while all the time the Prophet (ﷺ) was turning away from him. Then when he confessed a fifth time, he turned round and asked: Did you have intercourse with her? He replied: Yes. He asked: Have you done it so that your sexual organ penetrated hers? He replied: Yes. He asked: Have you done it like a collyrium stick when enclosed in its case and a rope in a well? He replied: Yes. He asked: Do you know what fornication is? He replied: Yes. I have done with her unlawfully what a man may lawfully do with his wife. He then asked: What do you want from what you have said? He said: I want you to purify me. So he gave orders regarding him and he was stoned to death. Then the Prophet (ﷺ) heard one of his companions saying to another: Look at this man whose fault was concealed by Allah but who would not leave the matter alone, so that he was stoned like a dog. He said nothing to them but walked on for a time till he came to the corpse of an ass with its legs in the air. He asked: Where are so and so? They said: Here we are, Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)! He said: Go down and eat some of this ass’s corpse. They replied: Messenger of Allah! Who can eat any of this? He said: The dishonour you have just shown to your brother is more serious than eating some of it. By Him in Whose hand my soul is, he is now among the rivers of Paradise and plunging into them.

He (the Prophet) commanded regarding the two men and the woman who spoke obscenity were Hassan ibn Thabit and Mistah ibn Uthathah. An-Nufayl said: It is said that the woman was Hammah daughter of Jahsh.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If they (the people) drink wine, flog them, again if they drink it, flog them. Again if they drink it, kill them.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: I will not forgive anyone who kills after accepting blood-wit

A Jewess presented a poisoned sheep to the Prophet (ﷺ), but the Prophet (ﷺ) did not interfere with he. Abu Dawud said: The Jewess who poisoned the Prophet (ﷺ) was sister of Marhab.

Jabir ibn Abdullah used to say that a Jewess from the inhabitants of Khaybar poisoned a roasted sheep and presented it to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) who took its foreleg and ate from it. A group of his companions also ate with him. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then said: Take your hands away (from the food). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then sent someone to the Jewess and he called her. He said to her: Have you poisoned this sheep? The Jewess replied: Who has informed you? He said: This foreleg which I have in my hand has informed me. She said: Yes. He said: What did you intend by it? She said: I thought if you were a prophet, it would not harm you; if you were not a prophet, we should rid ourselves of him (i.e. the Prophet). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then forgave her, and did not punish her. But some of his companions who ate it, died. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had himself cupped on his shoulder on account of that which he had eaten from the sheep. AbuHind cupped him with the horn and knife. He was a client of Banu Bayadah from the Ansar.

A man of the Ansar was killed at Khaybar and his relatives went to the Prophet (ﷺ) and mentioned that to him. He asked: Have you two witnesses who can testify to the murderer of your friend? They replied: Messenger of Allah! there was not a single Muslim present, but only Jews who sometimes have the audacity to do even greater crimes than this. He said: Then choose fifty of them and demand that they take an oath; but they refused and the Prophet (ﷺ) paid the blood-wit himself.

About the story of Haml ibn Malik, Ibn Abbas said: She aborted a child who had grown hair and was dead, and the woman also died. He (the Prophet) gave judgment that the blood-wit was to be paid by the woman’s relatives on the father’s side. Her uncle said: Messenger of Allah! She has aborted a child who had grown hair. The father of the woman who had slain said: He is a liar: I swear by Allah, he did not raise his voice, or drink or eat. No compensation is to be paid for an offence like this. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: is it a rhymed prose of pre-Islamic Arabia and its soothsaying? Pay a male or female slave of the best quality in compensation for the child. Ibn ‘Abbas said: The name of one of them was Mulaikah, and the name of the other was Umm Ghutaif.

About this story: Then the woman, against whom he decided that a male or female should be paid for her, died. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then gave judgement that her sons will inherit from her, and the bloodwit should be paid by her relatives on the father’s side.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If anyone is killed blindly or, when people are throwing stones, by a stone or a whip, his blood-wit is the blood-wit for an accidental murder. But if anyone is killed intentionally, retaliation is due. If anyone tries to prevent it, the curse of Allah, of angels, and of all the people will rest on him.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: No recompense may be demanded if the fire spreads.

I came to my family when my hands had cracks. They dyed me with saffron. I then went to Prophet (ﷺ) and saluted him, but he did not return me salutation. He said: Go and wash it away from you.

It is not fitting for a servent to say that I (The Prophet) is better than Jonah son of Matta.

I shall be pre-eminent among the descendants of Adam, the first from whom the earth will be cleft open the first intercessor, and the first whose intercession will be accepted.

when the Prophet (May peace be upon him) turned towards the Ka’bah (in prayer), the people asked : Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him)! what will happen with those who died while they prayed with their faces towards Jerusalem ? Allah the Exalted, then revealed : “And never would Allah make your faith of no effect.”

Do not sit with those who believe in free will and do not address them before they address you.

I asked: Messenger of Allah! will each one of us see his Lord? Ibn Mu’adh’s version has: “being alone with Him, on the Day of Resurrection? And what sign is there is His creation?” He replied: AbuRazin! does each one of you not see the moon? Ibn Mu’adh’s version has: “on the night when it is full, being alone with it?” Then the agreed version goes: I said: Yes. He said: Allah is more great. Ibn Mu’adh’s version has: It is only part of Allah’s creation, but Allah is more glorious and greater.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: The trumpet (sur) which will be blown.

When the Prophet (ﷺ) was informed of anything of a certain man, he would not say: What is the matter with so and so that he says? But he would say: What is the matter with the people that they say such and such?

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: The believer is simple and generous, but the profligate is deceitful and ignoble.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) spoke in a distinct and leisurely manner.

The Prophet (May peace be upon him) cursed effeminate men (mukhannathan) and women who imitated men, saying: Put them out of your houses, and put so-and-so out. (that is to say, the effeminate men)

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: He who plays backgammon disobeys Allah and His Apostle.

I was riding on a mount behind the prophet (May peace be upon him). It stumbled. Thereupon I said: May the devil perish! He said: do not say; may the devil perish! For you say that, he will swell so much so that he will be like a house, and say: by my power. But say: in the name of Allah; for when you say that, he will diminish so much so that he will be like a fly.

When the time draws near, a believer’s vision can hardly be false. The truer one of them is in his speech, the truer he is in his vision. Visions are of three types: Good visions are glad tidings from Allah, a terrifying vision caused by the devil, and the ideas which come from within a man. So when one sees anything he dislikes, he should get up and pray, and should not tell it to the people. He said : I like a fetter and dislike a shackle on the neck; a fetter indicates being firmly established in religion. Abu Dawud said : “when the time draws near” means that when the day and night are equal.

I heard the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) say: A good vision comes from Allah and a dream (hulm) from the devil, so when one of you sees what he dislikes, he must spit on his left (three times), and seek refuge in Allah from its evil. It will then not harm him.

The Jews used to try to sneezes in the presence of the Prophet (ﷺ) hoping that he would say to them: “Allah have mercy on you!” but he would say: May Allah guide you and grant you well-being!

Messenger of Allah! A man loves some people, but he cannot do work like their work. He replied; Yes, Abu Dharr, will be with those whom you love. Abu Dharr then repeated it. The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) also repeated it.

Mujahid said that Abdullah ibn Amr slaughtered a sheep and said: Have you presented a gift from it to my neighbour, the Jew, for I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: Gabriel kept on commending the neighbour to me so that I thought he would make an heir?

When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to some people’s door, he did not face it squarely, but faced the right or left corner, and said: Peace be upon you! peace be upon you! That was because there were no curtains on the doors of the house at that time.

when he came near the mosque, he said to the Ansar; stand up showing respect to your chief.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came out to us leaning on a stick. We stood up to show respect to him. He said: Do not stand up as foreigners do for showing respect to one another.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: For the first blow seventy good deeds will be recorded.