13/4. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 1085a — Month Length and Oath
The month may be twenty-nine days
Umm Salama Hadith on Month 29 Days
Sahih Muslim : 1085a
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 1085a
حَدَّثَنِي هَارُونُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، حَدَّثَنَا حَجَّاجُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، قَالَ قَالَ ابْنُ جُرَيْجٍ أَخْبَرَنِي يَحْيَى بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ صَيْفِيٍّ، أَنَّ عِكْرِمَةَ بْنَ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ، أَخْبَرَهُ أَنَّ أُمَّ سَلَمَةَ - رضى الله عنها - أَخْبَرَتْهُ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم حَلَفَ أَنْ لاَ يَدْخُلَ عَلَى بَعْضِ أَهْلِهِ شَهْرًا فَلَمَّا مَضَى تِسْعَةٌ وَعِشْرُونَ يَوْمًا غَدَا عَلَيْهِمْ - أَوْ رَاحَ - فَقِيلَ لَهُ حَلَفْتَ يَا نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ أَنْ لاَ تَدْخُلَ عَلَيْنَا شَهْرًا . قَالَ " إِنَّ الشَّهْرَ يَكُونُ تِسْعَةً وَعِشْرِينَ يَوْمًا " .
Umm Salamah Narrated from:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) took an oath that he would not go to some of his wives for the whole of the month. When twenty-nine days bad passed he (the Holy Prophet) went to them in the morning or in the evening. Upon this it was said to him: Apostle of Allah, you took an oath that you would not come to us for a month, whereupon he said: The month may also consist of twenty-nine days.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 1085aIn-book reference : Book 13, Hadith 29USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 6, Hadith 2387
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 1085a
Umm Salama reports that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم took an oath that he would not go to some of his wives for the whole month. After twenty-nine days had passed, he went to them in the morning or evening. When he was reminded of the oath, he said that the month may also consist of twenty-nine days. This hadith about month 29 days is direct. It shows that the word “month” in the oath was not limited to thirty days. The text does not add other details, so the safe explanation is simple: a lunar month may be twenty-nine days, and this was the Prophet’s صلى الله عليه وسلم answer in that situation.
What we learn from this hadith
- A month may be twenty-nine days.
- The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم clarified the meaning when asked about the oath.
- The narration links the count to twenty-nine days passing.
