26/68. Chapter:
Sunan an-Nasai 3358 — Careful Judgment
Permission To Get Married Without A Dowry
Hadith About Careful Ruling on an Unnamed Dowry
Sunan an-Nasai : 3358
Sunan an-NasaiHadith Number 3358
أَخْبَرَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ حُجْرٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُسْهِرٍ، عَنْ دَاوُدَ بْنِ أَبِي هِنْدٍ، عَنِ الشَّعْبِيِّ، عَنْ عَلْقَمَةَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، أَنَّهُ أَتَاهُ قَوْمٌ فَقَالُوا إِنَّ رَجُلاً مِنَّا تَزَوَّجَ امْرَأَةً وَلَمْ يَفْرِضْ لَهَا صَدَاقًا وَلَمْ يَجْمَعْهَا إِلَيْهِ حَتَّى مَاتَ . فَقَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ مَا سُئِلْتُ مُنْذُ فَارَقْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَشَدَّ عَلَىَّ مِنْ هَذِهِ فَأْتُوا غَيْرِي . فَاخْتَلَفُوا إِلَيْهِ فِيهَا شَهْرًا ثُمَّ قَالُوا لَهُ فِي آخِرِ ذَلِكَ مَنْ نَسْأَلُ إِنْ لَمْ نَسْأَلْكَ وَأَنْتَ مِنْ جِلَّةِ أَصْحَابِ مُحَمَّدٍ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِهَذَا الْبَلَدِ وَلاَ نَجِدُ غَيْرَكَ . قَالَ سَأَقُولُ فِيهَا بِجَهْدِ رَأْيِي فَإِنْ كَانَ صَوَابًا فَمِنَ اللَّهِ وَحْدَهُ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَإِنْ كَانَ خَطَأً فَمِنِّي وَمِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ وَاللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ مِنْهُ بُرَآءُ أُرَى أَنْ أَجْعَلَ لَهَا صَدَاقَ نِسَائِهَا لاَ وَكْسَ وَلاَ شَطَطَ وَلَهَا الْمِيرَاثُ وَعَلَيْهَا الْعِدَّةُ أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ وَعَشْرًا . قَالَ وَذَلِكَ بِسَمْعِ أُنَاسٍ مِنْ أَشْجَعَ فَقَامُوا فَقَالُوا نَشْهَدُ أَنَّكَ قَضَيْتَ بِمَا قَضَى بِهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي امْرَأَةٍ مِنَّا يُقَالُ لَهَا بِرْوَعُ بِنْتُ وَاشِقٍ . قَالَ فَمَا رُئِيَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ فَرِحَ فَرْحَةً يَوْمَئِذٍ إِلاَّ بِإِسْلاَمِهِ .
`Abdullah Narrated from:
Some people came to him and said: "A man among us married a woman, but he did not name a dowry for her, and he did not have intercourse with her before he died." 'Abdullah said: 'Since I left the Messenger of Allah I have never been asked a more difficult question than this. Go to someone else.' They kept coming to him for a month, then at the end of that they said: 'Who shall we ask if we do not ask you? You are one of the most prominent Companions of Muhammad in this land and we cannot find anyone else.'He said: 'I will say what I think, and if it is correct then it is from Allah alone, with no partner, and if it is wrong then it is from me and from the Shaitan, and Allah and His Messenger have nothing to do with it. I think she should be given a dowry like that of her peers and no less, with no injustice, and she may inherit from him, and she has to observe the 'Iddah, four months and ten days.'"He said: "And that was heard by some people from Ashja', who stood up and said: 'We bear witness that you have passed the same judgment as the Messenger of Allah did concerning a woman from among us who was called Birwa' bint Washiq.'" He said: "Abdullah was never seen looking so happy as he did on that day, except with having accepted Islam."
Reference : Sunan an-Nasa'i 3358In-book reference : Book 26, Hadith 163English translation : Vol. 4, Book 26, Hadith 3360
Summary of Sunan an-Nasai Hadith 3358
This Hadith about unnamed dowry gives the fullest picture of Abdullah’s careful response. People asked him about a man who married a woman, did not name a dowry, and died before having intercourse with her. Abdullah said he had not faced a harder question since leaving the Messenger of Allah, and he first told them to ask someone else. After they kept coming for a month, he gave his best view while clearly saying that correctness is from Allah, and any mistake would be from himself and Shaitan. His ruling was that she gets the dowry of her peers, with no shortage or unfair excess, inherits, and observes iddah for four months and ten days. Witnesses from Ashja then confirmed that this matched the Prophet’s judgment in the case of Birwa bint Washiq.
What we learn from this hadith
- Abdullah showed care before giving a ruling on a difficult case.
- The woman was given a peer dowry with no shortage and no unfair excess.
- The ruling included inheritance and iddah of four months and ten days.
- Witnesses confirmed the ruling matched a prophetic judgment about Birwa bint Washiq.
