68/5. Chapter:
Sahih Bukhari 5263 — Choosing the Husband Is Not Divorce
Giving option to the wives.
وَقَوْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: {قُلْ لأَزْوَاجِكَ إِنْ كُنْتُنَّ تُرِدْنَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا فَتَعَالَيْنَ أُمَتِّعْكُنَّ وَأُسَرِّحْكُنَّ سَرَاحًا جَمِيلاً}.
Choice in Marriage Hadith: When the Option Is Not Divorce
Sahih Bukhari : 5263
Sahih BukhariHadith Number 5263
حَدَّثَنَا مُسَدَّدٌ، حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى، عَنْ إِسْمَاعِيلَ، حَدَّثَنَا عَامِرٌ، عَنْ مَسْرُوقٍ، قَالَ سَأَلْتُ عَائِشَةَ عَنِ الْخِيَرَةِ،، فَقَالَتْ خَيَّرَنَا النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَفَكَانَ طَلاَقًا قَالَ مَسْرُوقٌ لاَ أُبَالِي أَخَيَّرْتُهَا وَاحِدَةً أَوْ مِائَةً بَعْدَ أَنْ تَخْتَارَنِي.
Masruq Narrated from:
I asked `Aisha about the option: She said, "The Prophet (ﷺ) gave us the option. Do you think that option was considered as a divorce?" I said, "It matters little to me if I give my wife the option once or a hundred times after she has chosen me."
Reference : Sahih al-Bukhari 5263In-book reference : Book 68, Hadith 13USC-MSA web (English) reference : Vol. 7, Book 63, Hadith 189
Summary of Sahih Bukhari Hadith 5263
This Hadith continues the topic of giving a wife the option in marriage. Masruq asked ʿAisha about the option given by the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. She replied by asking whether he thought that option was counted as divorce. Masruq then said that it would not matter to him whether he gave the option once or many times, as long as his wife chose him. The message is simple: in this report, the option did not become divorce because the wife chose to remain. This is why people search for this narration as a Hadith about option, wife choosing husband, and whether choice counts as talaq.
What we learn from this hadith
- The option was not treated as divorce when the wife chose her husband.
- ʿAisha used the Prophet's practice to answer the question.
- Masruq understood that choosing to stay changes the effect of the option.
- Marriage words should be understood with the choice that follows.
