Sahih Bukhari 5289 — Ila and the Twenty-Nine Day Month

Summary of Sahih Bukhari Hadith 5289

This ila hadith reports that Allah's Messenger took an oath to abstain from his wives. At that time, his leg had been sprained, and he stayed in his Mashruba, an upper room, for twenty-nine days. When he came down, people said that he had taken an oath for one month. The Prophet answered, the month is twenty-nine days. The narration focuses on two clear points: the oath of abstention and the fact that a month can be twenty-nine days. It does not add more detail here about the reason for the oath. So the explanation should not go beyond the wording. People searching for the Prophet stayed away from his wives for 29 days hadith are usually looking for this exact report.