Jurisprudence and Juristic Principles

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) saw the trace of saffron on ‘Abdur-Rahmān ibn ‘Awf so he said: "What is this?" He replied: "O Messenger of Allah, I married a woman." He asked: "How much did you give her as dowry?" He replied: "A date seed weight of gold." He then said: "May Allah grant you blessing. Hold a wedding feast, even if only with a sheep."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Once Bilāl brought some Barni dates to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) who asked him, "Where did you get these dates?" Bilāl replied: "I had some inferior type of dates, and I exchanged two Sā‘s of it for one Sā‘ of Barni dates in order to give it to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) to eat." Thereupon, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Beware! Beware! This is definitely usury! This is definitely usury! Do not do so, but if you want to buy (a superior kind of dates) sell the inferior dates for money and then buy the superior kind of dates with that money."

An-Nu‘mān ibn Bashīr (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported: His mother, Bint Rawāhah, asked his father for some of his wealth as a gift for her son. He hesitated for a year, but then he decided. She said: I will not be satisfied until you make the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) witness what you have given to my son. So, my father took my hand, and I was a young boy at that time, and he went to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). He said: O Messenger of Allah, the mother of this, Bint Rawāhah, wishes for you to witness what I have given as a gift to her son. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Bashīr, do you have children other than this one?" He said: Yes. He then said: "Have you given them all the same gift as this?" He said: No. he said: "Then do not make me a witness, for I do not bear witness to injustice." And in the version of Muslim: "Then have someone else witness it, not me."

Abu Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited the price of a dog, the earning of a prostitute, and the money paid to a soothsayer.

Rāfi‘ ibn Khadīj (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The price of a dog is evil, the earning of a prostitute is evil and the earning of a cupper is evil."

Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I was traveling on a camel and it got exhausted, and I decided to release it. However, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) caught up with me, supplicated for me, and struck it. Thereupon, it started to walk like never before. Then, he said: "Sell it to me for an ounce." I said: ‘No.’ He again said: "Sell it to me." So, I sold it to him for an ounce, but made the stipulation that I should be allowed to ride it back to my family. Then, when I reached home, I took the camel to him and he paid me its price on the spot. As I went back, he sent someone after me and said: "Do you think I bargained with you to take your camel? Take your camel and your dirhams; these are yours."

Hanzhalah ibn Qays reported: When I asked Rāfi‘ ibn Khadīj about leasing land in return for gold and silver, he replied: "There is no harm in it. At the time of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) the people used to lease lands in return for the yield of what grows on the banks of large rivers and beginnings of water streams or the yield of certain parts of the land. Some of the harvest would be affected with blight and some would remain safe. This was the only system the people had for renting lands, and, thus, he forbade it. If the rent is something known and guaranteed, there is no harm in it."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that mention was made of coitus interruptus in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) whereupon he said: "Why would anyone of you do that? (He did not say: 'No one should do that') Verily, no soul is ordained to be created but Allah will create it."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) granted concession for the sale of Al-‘Arāyā (unpicked ripe dates for dry dates) when they are equal to or less than five Wasqs (a standard measure).

Zayd ibn Thābit (may Allah be pleased with him) reported the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) granted concession to the owner of Al-‘Ariyyah (a dates palm) to sell its unpicked fruits for dry dates by estimation. Another narration by Imām Muslim reads: "...for dry dates by estimation and the new owners might eat their dates fresh."

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) forbade ‘Uthmān ibn Mazh‘ūn to be celibate. If he had given him permission we would have castrated ourselves.

Sahl ibn Sa‘d As-Sā‘idi (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "I give myself in marriage to you." The woman stood for a long time. Then a man said: "O Messenger of Allah, marry her to me if you do not want her." He said: "Do you have anything to give her for dowry?" He said: "I have nothing but my lower garment." So the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If you gave her your lower garment, then you would have nothing to wear. Find something else to give her." He said: "I could not find anything." Then he said: "Find anything even if it is an iron ring." So he looked and did not find anything. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) thus, said: "Do you memorize anything of the Qur'an?" He said: 'Yes.' So the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I give her to you in marriage for what you have (memorized) of the Qur'an."

Subay‘ah al-Aslamiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that she was married to Sa‘d ibn Khawlah, who belonged to the tribe of ‘Āmir ibn Lu’ay. He was one of the Companions who participated in the battle of Badr. He died during the Farewell Hajj while Subay‘ah was pregnant. Shortly after his death, she delivered her child. When her post-natal bleeding stopped, she beautified herself for prospective suitors. Abu As-Sanābil ibn Ba‘kak (a man from the tribe of Banu ‘Abd Ad-Dār) entered upon her and said: "Why are you thus adorned? Perhaps you wish to remarry? By Allah, you cannot remarry unless four months and ten days (of ‘Iddah) have passed." Subay‘ah said: "When he said that, I put on my clothes in the evening and I went to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). I asked him about that, and he gave me a Fatwa that remarrying had became lawful to me when I delivered my child, and he ordered me to marry if I so wished." Ibn Shihāb said: "I do not find anything wrong with her marrying right after she gives birth, even if she is still bleeding (post-partum) except that her new husband should not approach her until she attains purity (when the bleeding stops).

Zayd ibn Khālid al-Juhani (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about the lost and picked up item that is made of gold or silver, whereupon he said: "Remember the description of its container and the string with which it is tied. Make a public announcement of it for one year. If nobody comes and claims it, then utilize the money but keep it as a trust with you. If its owner comes back one day seeking it, then return it to him." Then, he asked him about the lost camel, whereupon the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is none of your concern. Leave it, for it has its feet and a water container (reservoir), and it will reach water and eat from the trees until its owner finds it." He then asked him about the lost sheep, whereupon he said: "Take it, for it is either for you, or for your brother, or for the wolf."

Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh al-Ansāri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I witnessed the prayer of fear with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). We stood in two rows behind the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and the enemy was between us and the Qiblah. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said Takbīr and we all did. He then bowed and we all bowed. He then raised his head from bowing, and we all did. He then prostrated with the row behind him, while the back row stood in the face of the enemy. When the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) completed the prostration and the row behind him stood, the back row prostrated and then stood up. Then the back row moved to the front and the front row moved to the back. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) bowed and we all bowed. He then raised his head from bowing and we also raised ours. Then he and the row behind him, which was back in the first Rak‘ah, prostrated, whereas the back row stood in the face of the enemy. When the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and the row behind him finished the prostration, the back row prostrated. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) ended the prayer with Taslīm and we all did the same. Jābir said: ''As those guards of yours do with their chiefs.'' Al-Bukhāri mentioned part of it: ''That he performed the prayer of fear with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in the seventh battle, i.e. the battle of Dhāt Ar-Riqā‘."

‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: 'I donated a horse for Jihad. The man who had the horse neglected it, so I wanted to buy it back, thinking that he would sell it for a cheap price. I asked the Prophet about this, and he said: "Do not buy it back and do not take back your charity, even if he gives it to you for one dirham, for the one who takes back his gift is like the one who takes back his vomit."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one who takes back the gift he has given to someone is like one who eats his vomit." In another wording: "The one who takes back the charity that he gave is like a dog that vomits then eats its vomit."

‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) prayed in his house during his illness. He prayed while sitting and the people prayed behind him while standing. He pointed to them to sit down. When he had finished the prayer, he said: "Verily, the Imām is appointed in order to be followed. So when he bows, you should bow, and when he raises his head, you should do the same. And if he says: 'Allah hears the one who praises Him,' you should say: 'Our Lord, all praise is due to You.' And if the Imām prays while sitting, you all should pray while sitting as well."

Umm Habībah bint Abu Sufyān (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that she said: "O Messenger of Allah, marry my sister, the daughter of Abu Sufyān." He said: "Would you like that?" I said: "Yes, for I cannot have you for myself alone, and I like my sister to be the one who shares with me that goodness." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That is not lawful for me." She said: "We heard that you want to marry the daughter of Abu Salamah." He said: "The daughter of Umm Salamah?" She said: 'Yes.' He said: "Even if she was not my stepdaughter whom I raised, she would still be unlawful for me because she is my niece through suckling. Thuwaybah breastfed me and Abu Salamah (her father). So, do not offer me your daughters or sisters (in marriage)." ‘Urwah said that Thuwaybah was an emancipated slave girl of Abu Lahab, and she breastfed the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). When Abu Lahab died, one of his family members saw him in a vision in an awful state. He said to him: "What did you find?" Abu Lahab said: "I found no good after you, except that I have been given water to drink in this (the space between his thumb and other fingers) and that is because of my emancipation of Thuwaybah."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that when the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) came to Madīnah, they used to pay one, two or three years in advance for fruits, so he said: "Whoever pays in advance for anything, let him pay for a specified measure and a specified weight, to be delivered on a specified period of time."