The Book of Marriage

Abu Salama b. 'Abd al-Rahman reported: I asked 'A'isha, the wife of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him): What is the amount of dower of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him)? She said: It was twelve 'uqiyas and one nash. She said: Do you know what is al-nash? I said: No. She said: It is half of uqiya, and it amounts to five hundred dirhams, and that was the dower given by Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) to his wives.

Anas b. Malik reported that Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) saw the trace of yellowness on 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Auf and said: What is this? Thereupon he said: Allah's Messenger, I have married a woman for a date-stone's weight of gold. He said: God bless you! Hold a wedding feast, even if only with a sheep.

Anas b. Malik (Allah be pleasedwith him) reported that 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Auf (Allah be pleased with him) married during the lifetime of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) for a nawat weight of gold and the messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said to him: Give a feast even with a sheep.

Anas b. Malik (Allah be pleased with him) reported that 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Auf (Allah be pleased with him) married a woman for a date-stone's weight of gold and Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said to him: Hold a wedding feast, even if only with a sheep.

This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Humaid with the same chain of transmitters except (with this minor alteration of words) that 'Abd al-Rahman said: " I married a woman."

Abd al-Rahman b. 'Auf (Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) saw the signs of the happiness of wedding in me, and I said: I have married a woman of the Ansar. He said: How much Mahr have you paid? I said: For a date-stone weight of gold. And in the hadith transmitted by Ishaq (it is): (nawat weight) of gold.

Anas b. Malik reported that 'Abd al-Rahman married a woman for a datestone weight of gold.

Shu'ba has narrattd this hadith with the same chain of transmitters except for (this alteration) that he said that a person from among the sons of 'Abd al Rahman said: " from gold".

Anas (Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) set out on an expedition to Khaibar and we observed our morning prayer in early hours of the dawn. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) then mounted and so did Abu Talha ride, and I was seating myself behind Abu Talha. Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) moved in the narrow street of Khaibar (and we rode so close to each other in the street) that my knee touched the leg of Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him). (A part of the) lower garment of Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) slipped from his leg and I could see the whiteness of the leg of Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him). As he entered the habitation he called: Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest). Khaibar is ruined. And when we get down in the valley of a people evil is the morning of the warned ones. He repeated it thrice. In the meanwhile the people went out for their work, and said: By Allah, Muhammad (has come). Abd al-'Aziz or some of our companions said: Muhammad and the army (have come). He said: We took it (the territory of Khaibar) by force, and there were gathered the prisoners of war. There came Dihya and he said: Messenger of Allah, bestow upon me a girl from among the prisoners. He said: Go and get any girl. He made a choice for Safiyya daughter of Huyayy (b. Akhtab). There came a person to Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) and said: Apostle of Allah, you have bestowed Safiyya bint Huyayy, the chief of Quraiza and al-Nadir, upon Dihya and she is worthy of you only. He said: Call him along with her. So he came along with her. When Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) saw her he said: Take any other woman from among the prisoners. He (the narrator) said: He (the Holy Prophet) then granted her emancipation and married her. Thabit said to him: Abu Hamza, how much dower did he (the Holy Prophet) give to her? He said: He granted her freedom and then married her. On the way Umm Sulaim embellished her and then sent her to him (the Holy Prophet) at night. Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) appeared as a bridegroom in the morning. He (the Holy Prophet) said: He who has anything (to eat) should bring that. Then the cloth was spread. A person came with cheese, another came with dates, and still another came with refined butter, and they prepared hais and that was the wedding feast of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him)

This hadith has been narrated through another chain of transmitters on the authority of Anas that Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) emancipated Safiyya, and her emancipation was treated as her wedding gift, and in the hadith transmitted by Mu'adh on the authority of his father (the words are): " He (the Holy Prophet) married Safiyya and bestowed her emancipation as her wedding gift."

Abu Musa reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said about one who emancipated a slave woman, and then married her, that for him there are two rewards.

Anas (Allah be pleased with him) reported: I was sitting behind Abu Talha on the Day of Khaibar and my feet touched the foot of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), and we came (to the people of Khaibar) when the sun had risen and they had driven out their cattle, and had themselves come out with their axes, large baskets and hatchets, and they said: (Here come) Muhammad and the army. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Khaibar is ruined. Verily when we get down in the valley of a people, evil is the morning of the warned ones (al-Qur'an, xxxvii. 177). Allah, the Majestic and the Glorious, defeated them (the inhabitants of Khaibar), and there fell to the lot of Dihya a beautiful girl, and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) got her in exchange of seven heads, and then entrusted her to Umm Sulaim so that she might embellish her and prepare her (for marriage) with him. He (the narrator) said: He had been under the impression that he had said that so that she might spend her period of 'Iddah in her (Umm Sulaim's) house. (The woman) was Safiyya daughter of Huyayy. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) arranged the wedding feast consisting of dates, cheese, and refined butter, and pits were dug and tiers were set in them dining cloths, and there was brought cheese and refined butter, and these were placed there. And the people ate to their fill, and they said: We do not know whether he (the Holy Prophet) had married her (as a free woman), or as a slave woman. They said: If he (the Holy Prophet) would make her wear the veil, then she would be a (free married) woman, and if he would not make her wear the veil, then she should be a slave woman. When he intended to ride, he made her wear the veil and she sat on the hind part of the camel; so they came to know that he had married her. As they approached Medina, Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) drove (his ride) quickly and so we did. 'Adba' (the name of Allah's Apostle's camel) stumbled and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) fell down and she (Radrat Safiyya: also fell down. He (the Holy Prophet) stood up and covered her. woman looked towards her and said: May Allah keep away the Jewess! He (the narrator) said: I said: Aba Hamza, did Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) really fall down? He said: Yes, by Allah, he in fact fell down. Anas said: I also saw the wedding feast of Zainab, and he (the Holy Prophet) served bread and meat to the people, and made them eat to their heart's content, and he (the Holy Prophet) sent me to call people, and as he was free (from the ceremony) he stood up and I followed him. Two persons were left and they were busy in talking and did not get out (of the apartment). He (the Holy Prophet) then proceeded towards (the apartments of) his wives. He greeted with as-Salamu 'alaikum to every one of them and said: Members of the household, how are you? They said: Messenger of Allah, we are in good state 'How do you find your family? He would say: In good state. When he was free from (this work of exchanging greetings) he came back, and I also came back along with him. And as he reached the door, (he found) that the two men were still busy in talking. And when they saw him having returned, they stood up and went out; and by Allah! I do not know whether I had informed him, or there was a revelation to him (to the affect) that they had gone. He (the Holy Prophet) then came back and I also returned along with him, and as he put his step on the threshold of his door he hung a curtain between me and him, and (it was on this occasion) that Allah revealed this verse: (" O you who believe), do not enter the houses of the Prophet unless permission is given to 'you" (xxxiii. 53).

Anas, (Allah be pleased with him) reported: Safiyya (Allah be pleased with her) fell to the lot of Dihya in the spoils of war, and they praised her in the presence of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and said: We have not seen the like of her among the captives of war. He sent (a messenger) to Dihya and he gave him whatever he demanded. He then sent her to my mother and asked her to embellish her. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) then got out of Khaibar until when he was on the other side of it, he halted, and a tent was pitched for him. When it was morning Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: He who has surplus of provision with him should bring that to us. Some persons would bring the surplus of dates, and the other surplus of mush of barley until there became a heap of bals. They began to eat the hais and began to drink out of the pond which had the water of rainfall in it and which was situated by their side. Anas said that that constituted the wedding feast of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). He (further) said: We proceeded until we saw the walls of Medina, and we were delighted. We made our mounts run quickly and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) also made his mount run quickly. And Safiyya (Allah be pleased with her) was at his back, and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) had seated her behind him. The camel of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) stumbled and he (the Holy Prophet) fell down and she also fell down. And none among the people was seeing him and her, until Allah's Messeuger (may peace be upon him) stood up and he covered her, and we came to him and he said: We have received no injury. We entered Medina and there came out the young ladies of the household. They saw her (hadrat Safiyya) and blamed her for falling down.

Anas (Allah be pleased with him) reported: When the 'Iddah of Zainab was over, Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said to Zaid to make a mention to her about him. Zaid went on until he came to her and she was fermenting her flour. He (Zaid) said: As I saw her I felt in my heart an idea of her greatness so much so that I could not see towards her (simply for the fact) that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) had made a mention of her. So I turned my back towards her. and I turned upon my heels, and said: Zainab, Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) has sent (me) with a message to you. She said: I do not do anything until I solicit the will of my Lord. So she stood at her place of worship and the (verse of) the Qur'an (pertaining to her marriage) were revealed, and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) came to her without permission. He (the narrator) said: I saw that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) served us bread and meat until it was broad day light and the people went away, but some persons who were busy in con- versation stayed on in the house after the meal. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) also went out and I also followed him, and he began to visit the apartments of his wives greeting them (with the words): As-Salamu 'alaikum, and they would say: Allah's Messenger, how did you find your family (hadrat Zainab)? He (the narrator) stated: I do not know whether I had informed him that the people had gone out or he (the Holy Prophet) informed me (about that). He moved on until he entered the apartment, and I also went and wanted to enter (the apartment) along with him, but he threw a curtain between me and him, as (the verfes pertaining to seclusion) had been revealed, and people were instructed in what they had been instructed. Ibn Rafii had made this addition in his narration:" O you who believe, enter not the houses of the Prophet unless permission is given to you for a meal, not waiting for its cooking being finished..." to the words"... Allah forbears not from the truth."

Anas (Allah be pleased with him) reported: I did not see Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) giving a wedding feast (on the marriage) of any one (of his wives) as he did in the case of (his marriage with) Zainab, for then he sacrificed a goat (on this occasion).

Anas b. Malik (Allah be pleased with him) reported: Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) gave no better wedding feast than the one he did (on the occasion of his marriage with) Zainab. Thabit al-Bunani (one of the narrators) said: What did he serve in the wedding feast? He (Anas) said: He fed them bread and meat (so lavishly) that they (the guests) abandoned it (of their own accord after having taken them to their hearts' content).

Anas b. Malik (Allah be pleased with him) reported: When Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) married Zainab bint jahsh, he invited people (to the wedding feast) and they ate food. They then sat there and entered into conversation. He (the Holy Prophet) made a stir as if he was preparing to stand up, but (the persons busy in talking) did not stand up. When he (the Holy Prophet) saw it, he stood up and when he did so, some other persons stood up. 'Asim and Abd al-A'la in their narrations made this addition: Three (persons) sat there, and Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) came there to enter (the apartment) but he found the people sitting there. Then they stood up and went away. He said: Then I came and informed Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) that they had gone away. He (the Holy Prophet) then came there until he entered (the apartment). I also went and was about to enter, when he hung a curtain between me and him (and it was on this occasion that) Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, revealed this verse:" O you who believe, enter not the houses of the Prophet unless permission is given to you for a meal, not waiting for its cooking being finished to the (words)" Surely this is serious in the sight of Allah" (xxxiii. 53).

Anas b. Malik (Allah be pleased with him) reported: I was the best informed among the people pertaining to Hijab (veil and seclusion). Ubayy b. Ka'b used to ask me about it. Anas (Allah be pleased with him) thus narrated: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) got up in the morning as a bridegroom of Zainab bint jahsh (Allah be pleased witt her) as he had married her at Medina. He invited people to the wedding feast after the day had well risen. There sat Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and there kept sitting along with him some persons after the people had stood up (for departure) ; then Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) stood up and walked on and I also walked along with him until he reached the door of the apartment of 'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her). He then thought that they (those who had been sitting there after meal) had gone away. So he returned and I also returned with him, but they were still sitting at their places. So he returned for the second time and I also returned until he reached the apartment of 'A'isha. He again returned and I also returned and they had (by that time) stood up, and he hung a curtain between me and him (at the door of the apartment of Hadrat Zainab, where he had to stay), and Allah revealed the verse pertaining to veil.

Anas b. Malik (Allah be pleased with him) reported: Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) contracted marriage and he went to his wife. My mother Umm Sulaim prepared hais and placed it in an earthen vessel and said: Anas, take it to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and say: My mother has sent that to you and she offers greetings to you, and says that it is a humble gift for you on our behalf, Messenger of Allah. So I went along with it to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and said: My mother offers you salutations, and says that it is a humble gift for you on our behalf. He said: Place it here, and then said: Go and invite on my behalf so and so and anyone whom you meet, and he even named some persons. He (Anas) said: I invited whom he had named and whom I met. I (one of the narrators) said: I said to Anas: How many (persons) were there? He (Anas) said: They were about three hundred persons. Then Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) (said to me): Anas, bring that earthen vessel. They (the guests) then began to enter until the courtyard and the apartment were fully packed. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Make a circle of ten (guests), and every person should eat from that nearest to him. They began to eat, until they ate to their fill. A group went out (after eating the food), and another group came in until all of them had eaten. He (the Holy Prophet) said to me: Anas, lift it (the earthen vessel), so I lifted it, but I could not assess whether it had more (food) when I placed it (before Allah's Messenger) or when I lifted it (after the people had been served out of it). A group among them (the guests) began to talk in the house of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) was sitting and his wife had been sitting with her face turned towards the wall. It was troublesome for Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), so Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) went out and greeted his wives. He then returned. When they (the guests) saw that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) had returned they thought that it (their overstay) was something troublesome for him. He (the narrator) said: They hastened towards the door and all of them went out. And there came Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and he hung a curtain and went in, and I was sitting in his apartment and he did not stay but for a short while. He then came to me and these verses were revealed. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) came out and recited them to the people:" O you who believe, enter not the houses of the Prophet unless permission is given to you for a meal, not waiting for its cooking being finished-but when you are invited, enter, and when you have taken food, disperse not seeking to listen to talk. Surely this gives the Prophet trouble", to the end of verse (xxxiii. 53). (Al-Ja'd said that Anas [b. Malik] stated: I am the first amongst the people to hear these verses), and henceforth the wives of the Apostle (may peace be upon him) began to observe seclusion (al-hijab).

Anas (Allah be pleased with him) reported: When Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) contracted marriage with Zainab (Allah be pleased with bet), Umm Sulaim sent him hats in a vessel of stone as a gift. Anas stated that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said to him: Go and invite on my behalf all the Muslims whom you meet. So I invited on his behalf everyone whom I met. They entered (his house) and they ate and went out. And Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) had kept his hand on the food, and he invoked blessing on that, and said whatever Allah wished him to say, and none whom I met was left uninvited. They ate to their fill and went out, but a group among them remained there and was engaged in lengthy discussion. Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) felt shy of saying them anything. So he went out and left them in his house and Allah the Great and Majestic revealed this verse:" 0 you who believe, enter not the houses of the Prophet unless permission is given to you for a meal, not waiting for its cooking being finished." Qatada (instead of using the word Ghaira Nazirina) used the word Ghaira Mutahayyinina (i. e. not waiting for the time of the food). But when you are invited, enter..." up to this verse. This is purer for your hearts and their hearts.

Ibn Umar (Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: When any one of you is invited to a feast, he should attend it.

Ibn 'Umar (Allah be pleased with them) reported Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) as saying: When any one of you is invited to a feast, he should accept. 'Ubaidallah took this feast to be a wedding feast.

Ibn Umar (Allah be pleased withthem) reported Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) having said this: When any one of you is invited to a wedding feast, he should accept that.

Ibn Umar (Allah be pleased with them) reported Allah's Messenger (may be upon him) having said this: Accept the feast, when you are invited.

Ibn Umar (Allah be pleased with them) reported Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) as saying: When any one of you invites his brother, he (the latter) should accept his wedding feast, or any other like it.

Ibn 'Umar (Allah be pleated with them) reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) having said: He who is invited to a wedding feast or like it, he should accept it.

" Abdullah b. Umar (Allah be pleased with them) reported Allah's Messen- ger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Come to the feast, when you are invited.

Nafil reported: I heard Abdullah b. Umar (Allah be pleased with them) narrating that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Accept the feast when you are invited to it. And Abdullah (b. Umar) used to come to the feast, whether it was a wedding feast or other than that, and he would come there even in the state of fasting.

Ibn Umar (Allah be pleased with them) reported Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) having said: When you are invited to a feast (even though it is) the leg of the sheep, you should accept it.

Jabir (Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace he upon him) said: When any one of you is invited to a feast, he should accept it. He may eat if he likes, or he may abandon (eating) if he likes. Ibn Mathanni did not make mention of the word" feast".