Jurisprudence and Juristic Principles

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited the selling and gifting of Walā' (the right of a master to inherit from his freed slave by virtue of the bond of loyalty between them).

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the transaction called Habal al-Habalah which was practiced in pre-Islamic times. A man would buy the meat of the slaughtered camel up to Habal al-Habalah, which implies that a she-camel should give birth and then its offspring would grow young and become pregnant and give birth. It was said that a man would sell his old she-camel for the unborn offspring of the fetus inside the womb of the buyer's camel (i.e. he buys the offspring of the offspring of the pregnant camel).

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that a Bedouin man came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "My wife has given birth to a black boy." The Prophet asked him: "Do you have camels?" He replied: 'Yes.' The Prophet asked: "What color are they?" He replied: 'Red.' The Prophet asked: "Is any of them gray?" He replied: 'Yes.' The Prophet asked: "From where did that grayness come?" He said: "It might have inherited it from its ancestors." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Perhaps this son of yours (also) inherited it (this color) from his ancestors."

Abu ‘Abdullāh Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) dispatched us to intercept a caravan belonging to Quraysh, and he appointed Abu ‘Ubaydah (may Allah be pleased with him) as our commander. He gave us a sack of dates as provision, other than which he did not find anything for us. Abu ‘Ubaydah used to give us one date at a time. He was asked: “What did you use to do with it?” He said: “We used to suck it just as a baby suckles, then we would drink some water after it, which would suffice us for a day until the night. We also used to beat off tree leaves with our sticks, then soak them in water and eat them.” He continued: “We then headed towards the sea coast, where something like a huge mound appeared to us. When we came to it, we found that it was an animal called 'Al-‘Anbar' (sperm whale). Abu ‘Ubaydah said: "It is a dead animal." Then he said: "No, rather we are the messengers of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and we have gone out in the cause of Allah. Now you are forced by necessity, so you can eat." We kept on eating from it for a month until we fattened up, and we were three hundred men. And indeed, I saw how we scooped out fat from the cavity of its eye in pitchers, then we would cut pieces from it like a bull or the size of a bull. Abu ‘Ubaydah took thirteen men from us and seated them in the cavity of its eye. He took one of its ribs and fixed it up, then saddled the largest camel of ours and it passed under it (the rib). We took large pieces of its meat as provision for our journey back home. When we arrived at Madīnah, we came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and mentioned all of that to him. Thereupon, he said: "It is sustenance that Allah brought out for you. Do you have anything from its meat with you, so that you would feed us?" We sent some of its meat to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) which he ate.

‘Uqbah ibn al-Hārith (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he had married Umm Yahya bint Abi Ihāb. Then a black slave-woman came and said: "I suckled you both." I mentioned that to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) who turned his face aside. So I went to the other side and told him about it (again). He said: "How can you (keep your wife) when she (the slave-woman) has claimed that she suckled both of you?!"

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He who gives in charity the value of a date which was lawfully earned, and Allah only accepts that which has been lawfully earned, then Allah will accept it with His right hand and nurture it for him, just as one of you nurtures his foal, until it becomes like a mountain."

‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: We were in the company of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: "Those who can afford marriage should marry, for it is more effective in lowering the gaze and guarding chastity. He who cannot afford it should fast, for indeed it serves as a restraint for him."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If any of you leads the people in prayer, let him shorten it, because among them are the weak, the sick, and the busy (who have needs to fulfill). If any of you prays alone, then let him prolong (his prayer) as much as he wishes."

‘Ā'ishah bint Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) bought food from a Jew and pledged him his iron armor.

Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) came to visit me for an illness which became so hard to bear in the year of the Farewell Hajj. I said: "O Messenger of Allah, you can see the severity of the illness which I am experiencing. I have property and none will inherit me except a daughter. Shall I give two thirds of my property in charity?" The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'No.' I said: "Then shall I give one half, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: 'No.' Then I said: "So, (shall I give) one third?" The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "(Give) one third, and one third is too much. Indeed, leaving your heirs rich is better than leaving them poor and begging from people. You never spend anything seeking thereby the pleasure of Allah but that you are rewarded for it, even what you place in the mouth of your wife." I said: "O Messenger of Allah, will I be left here in Makkah after my companions have departed for Madīnah?" He said: "If you are left behind and do good deeds whereby you seek Allah's pleasure, you will be raised a degree and your status will be elevated on account of them. Perhaps you will be left behind so that some people may benefit by you and others may be harmed by you. O Allah, complete for my Companions their Hijrah (immigration to Madīnah), and do not turn them back on their heels. The unfortunate one, however, is Sa‘d ibn Khawlah." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) felt sorry for him, as he had died at Makkah.

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Give the prescribed shares (of inheritance) to those who are entitled to them, and whatever remains goes to the nearest male relative."

‘Uqbah ibn ‘Āmir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Beware of entering upon women." A man from the Ansār said: O Messenger of Allah, what about the Hamw (brother-in-law)? He said: "The Hamw is death."

Mālik ibn Aws ibn al-Hadathān reported: I came saying: Who will exchange the dirhams? Talhah ibn ‘Ubaydullāh, who was in the company of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with both of them), said: Show us your gold, then come to us when our servant comes to give you your silver. Thereupon, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb said: No, by Allah, you must either give him his silver or give him back his gold, as the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Silver for gold is Riba (usury) unless exchanged on the spot; wheat for wheat is Riba unless exchanged on the spot; barley for barley is Riba unless exchanged on the spot; and dates for dates is Riba unless exchanged on the spot."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: While we were on a journey with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) a man came while riding a mount of his, and he began to look on the right and left. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one who has an extra mount should hand it over to one who has no mount, and the one who possesses surplus provision should give it to the one who has no provision." He named various kinds of properties until we began to think that none of us had any right to anything surplus.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Deeds are presented (to Allah) on Monday and Thursday. So, I like my deeds to be presented while I am fasting." Another narration reads: “Gates of Paradise are opened on Mondays and Thursdays, and every slave [of Allah] who associates nothing with Allah will be forgiven, except for a man who is at odds with his brother. It will be said: 'Delay these two until they are reconciled; delay these two until they are reconciled.'” Another narration reads: "Deeds are presented to Allah on every Monday and Thursday, and Allah will forgive every slave who does not associate anything with Allah in worship, except for a person who is at odds with his brother. He shall say: 'Leave these two until they are reconciled.’"

‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) entered upon me with his face shining with delight and said: "Have you not known that Mujazziz has recently looked at Zayd ibn Hārithah and Usāmah ibn Zayd and said: 'Indeed, these feet are related to one another?'" Another wording of the Hadīth adds: “Mujazziz was a lineage tracker.”

Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the sales called Mukhābarah, Muhāqalah, Muzābanah and the selling of fruits until they are fit for eating. He also forbade the selling of fruits but for money, except in the case of ‘Araya.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not go out to meet the riders (in a trade caravan), do not urge buyers to cancel a sale transaction to make a new one with you, do not bid against each other (to fool another bidder), a townsman must not buy on behalf of a Bedouin, and do not tie up the udders of camels and sheep (so that they appear to have a lot of milk). However, if someone buys them while in this condition and has already milked them, then he has two options: If he is pleased with them, he may keep them, and if he is displeased with them, he may return them along with a Sā‘ of dates.”

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the town-dweller to sell (merchandise) on behalf of a Bedouin. And not to practice Najsh (offering a high price for a thing which you do not really want to buy in order to raise its price value and deceive other buyers). No Muslim should offer more for a thing already bought by his Muslim brother, nor should he propose to a women already engaged to another Muslim. A Muslim woman should not ask that her sister (i.e. another Muslim woman) be divorced in order to invert her plate (i.e. an idiom meaning to deprive her of what she has in order to take her place).

Abu al-Minhāl said: “I asked Al-Barā’ ibn ‘Āzib and Zayd ibn Arqam about ‘Sarf’ (exchanging monies). Each of them said about the other: 'He is better than me’, and both of them said: ‘The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited the sale of exchange of gold with silver on credit.'"