27/67. Chapter:
Sunan an-Nasai 3538 — Kohl for an Inflamed Eye During Iddah
Prohibition Of Kohl For A Woman In Mourning
Kohl During Iddah for an Inflamed Eye
Sunan an-Nasai : 3538
Sunan an-NasaiHadith Number 3538
أَخْبَرَنَا الرَّبِيعُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا شُعَيْبُ بْنُ اللَّيْثِ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا أَيُّوبُ، - وَهُوَ ابْنُ مُوسَى - قَالَ حُمَيْدٌ وَحَدَّثَتْنِي زَيْنَبُ بِنْتُ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ أُمِّهَا أُمِّ سَلَمَةَ، قَالَتْ جَاءَتِ امْرَأَةٌ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ فَقَالَتْ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّ ابْنَتِي رَمِدَتْ أَفَأَكْحُلُهَا . وَكَانَتْ مُتَوَفًّى عَنْهَا . فَقَالَ " أَلاَ أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ وَعَشْرًا " . ثُمَّ قَالَتْ إِنِّي أَخَافُ عَلَى بَصَرِهَا فَقَالَ " لاَ إِلاَّ أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ وَعَشْرًا قَدْ كَانَتْ إِحْدَاكُنَّ فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ تَحِدُّ عَلَى زَوْجِهَا سَنَةً ثُمَّ تَرْمِي عَلَى رَأْسِ السَّنَةِ بِالْبَعْرَةِ " .
Umm Salamah Narrated from:
A woman from the Quraish came and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, my daughter's eyes are inflamed; shall I apply kohl to her?' (The daughter's) husband had died so (the Prophet) said: 'Not until four months and ten days (have passed).' Then she said: 'I fear for her sight.' He said: 'No, not until four months and ten days (have passed). During the Jahiliyyah one of you would mourn for her husband for a year, then when one year had passed she would throw a piece of dung.'
Reference : Sunan an-Nasa'i 3538In-book reference : Book 27, Hadith 152English translation : Vol. 4, Book 27, Hadith 3568
Summary of Sunan an-Nasai Hadith 3538
This narration describes a mother asking whether she could apply kohl to her widowed daughter's inflamed eyes. The Prophet did not permit it before four months and ten days had passed. The mother then said that she feared for her daughter's eyesight, but the same answer was repeated. The report compares this period with the older custom in which women mourned for a husband for a full year and then ended it by throwing a piece of dung. The hadith's main topic is kohl during iddah, especially in the case presented as an eye complaint. Because the answer in this report is direct, the explanation should not introduce exceptions from other narrations unless clearly labeled. Here, the stated period remains four months and ten days.
What we learn from this hadith
- The mother asked directly about kohl for her widowed daughter's inflamed eyes.
- The answer in this narration was to wait four months and ten days.
- The concern about eyesight was repeated, and the ruling was repeated.
- The hadith contrasts the Islamic period with an older one-year practice.
