18/9. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 1488c — Collyrium During Widow Iddah
The Obligation to mourn during the 'Iddah following the death of one's husband, but it is forbidden to mourn for more than three days in other cases
Hadith About Collyrium During Widow Iddah
Sahih Muslim : 1488c
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 1488c
وَحَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى، حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ حُمَيْدِ بْنِ نَافِعٍ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ زَيْنَبَ بِنْتَ أُمِّ سَلَمَةَ، تُحَدِّثُ عَنْ أُمِّهَا، أَنَّ امْرَأَةً، تُوُفِّيَ زَوْجُهَا فَخَافُوا عَلَى عَيْنِهَا فَأَتَوُا النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَاسْتَأْذَنُوهُ فِي الْكُحْلِ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " قَدْ كَانَتْ إِحْدَاكُنَّ تَكُونُ فِي شَرِّ بَيْتِهَا فِي أَحْلاَسِهَا - أَوْ فِي شَرِّ أَحْلاَسِهَا فِي بَيْتِهَا - حَوْلاً فَإِذَا مَرَّ كَلْبٌ رَمَتْ بِبَعَرَةٍ فَخَرَجَتْ أَفَلاَ أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ وَعَشْرًا " .
Zainab bint Umm Salama (Allah be pleased with her) reported on the authority of her mother that a woman lost her husband. (As her eyes were ailing) they (her kith and kin) entertained fear about her eyes, so they came to Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) and sought permission for the use of collyrium, whereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: One among you used to spend one year in a dungeon dressed in worst clothes. (And at the end of this period) she threw dung at the dog which happened to pass that way and then she came out (of her 'Idda). Can't she (wait) even for four months and ten days?
Reference : Sahih Muslim 1488cIn-book reference : Book 18, Hadith 76USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 9, Hadith 3541
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 1488c
This hadith about collyrium during iddah describes a woman whose husband had died. Her family feared for her eyes, so they came to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and asked permission to use collyrium. The reply did not allow it. The hadith then mentions that women before had spent a full year in a poor place and poor clothing, and at the end threw dung when a dog passed. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم then pointed to the much shorter period of four months and ten days. The main message in this text is restraint during the widow’s waiting period. It also shows that the period taught here is not one year, but four months and ten days.
What we learn from this hadith
- The hadith mentions a widow whose family feared for her eyes.
- Permission for collyrium was not granted in this report.
- The widow’s period is stated as four months and ten days.
- The text compares this period with an earlier one-year custom.
