Bukhari

Chapter of Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith No. 5293: «بَابُ الإِشَارَةِ فِي الطَّلاَقِ وَالأُمُورِ:»
Relevance between the Chapter and the Hadith:
Imam al-Bukhari rahimahullah, through the chapter heading, has alluded to the validity of divorce (talaq) by means of a gesture, provided that the gesture is intelligible and clearly conveys the intended meaning. To establish this position, Imam al-Bukhari rahimahullah has mentioned under this chapter six suspended (mu‘allaq) narrations and seven connected (mawsool) hadiths, in which gestures are mentioned in relation to various issues, which is the objective of the chapter heading.

Among the narrations transmitted as mu‘allaq, there are:
➊ The narration of Ibn ‘Umar radi Allahu anhuma in which «واشار الي لسانه» is mentioned, whose relevance to the chapter is clear,
➋ The narration reported from Ka‘b ibn Malik in which the words «اشار النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم» correspond to the chapter,
➌ The incident of Asma’ radi Allahu anha in which «فأومت برأسها الي الشمس» is mentioned, and its relevance to the chapter is also clear,
➍ In the narration of Anas radi Allahu anhu, «اوما النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم بيده» is mentioned, and its relevance to the chapter is evident,
➎ In the hadith of Ibn ‘Abbas radi Allahu anhuma, the words «او ما بيده لا حرج» are relevant,
➏ And the words of our master Abu Qatadah radi Allahu anhu, «أو اشار اليها», are also relevant to the chapter.

Similarly, the connected narrations are also related to the chapter heading, for example:
The relevance of the hadith of our master Ibn ‘Abbas radi Allahu anhuma to the chapter is in these words: «فتح ياجوج و ماجوج مثل هذه», «و عقد تسعين»
“And the hadith of our master Abu Hurayrah radi Allahu anhu is related to «و قال بيده», «ووضع أنملته على بطن الوسطي و الخنضر».”
The hadith of our master Anas radi Allahu anhu is related to the chapter heading by «فأشارت برأسها», the hadith of our master Ibn ‘Umar radi Allahu anhuma by the words «واشار الي المشرق», the hadith of our master ‘Abdullah ibn Abi Awfa radi Allahu anhu by «ثم اومأ بيده الي المشرق»,
And the hadith of our master ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud radi Allahu anhu is related to the words of Yazid: «وأظهر يزيد يديه ثم مد احداهما من الاخري», and the last hadith of our master Abu Hurayrah radi Allahu anhu is related to «و يشير باصبعه الي حلقه».
In all these hadiths, gesture is mentioned, which is evidence for the point that if a gesture is intelligible, then it becomes a valid proof. Accordingly, Ibn al-Munir rahimahullah writes:
«يشير إلى طلاق الأخرص و غيره و الاشاره الي الاصل والعدد نافذ كاللفظ، بدليل أن الاشاره مفهمة، فساوت اللفظ فى مقصوده، و اعتبار الشرع لها دليلاً كالنطق يحقق ذلك» [المتوري : ص 302]
“That is, Imam al-Bukhari rahimahullah’s objective in the chapter heading is that if a gesture is such that both the essence and the number (of divorces) are clearly understood from it, then it will be valid in divorce and other matters, whether it is the gesture of a mute person or of one who is able to speak.”

Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah quotes the statement of Ibn Battal rahimahullah:
«ذهب الجهور إلى أن الاشارة اذا كان مفهمة تتنزل منزلة النطق وخالفه الحنفية فى بعض ذلك ولعل البخاري رد عليهم بهذه الاحاديث التى جعل فيها النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم الاشارة قائمة مقام النطق .» [فتح الباري لابن حجر : 374/10]
“The majority is inclined to the view that if a gesture is so clear that it is equivalent to speech, then it is permissible. Some among the Hanafis have opposed this principle. Perhaps Imam al-Bukhari rahimahullah, through these hadiths, is refuting (the Hanafis), in which the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam considered gesture as equivalent to speech, and gesture is permissible when, due to necessity, it is required to use gesture in various rulings and speech is not possible. (In such circumstances, using gesture) is permissible and it is equivalent to speech.”

The objective of Imam al-Bukhari rahimahullah, by mentioning the athar and hadiths under the chapter heading, is to indicate that if the gesture of a mute person is clear, then it is tantamount to speech.
In the arrangement of rulings, and indeed the Shari‘ah has considered (the clear gesture of a mute person) as valid, and its ruling is like that of words.
The sum of all this discussion is that Imam al-Bukhari rahimahullah, through the aforementioned hadiths in which the gestures of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam are mentioned, has indicated towards this issue: if a gesture is intelligible and clearly conveys the correct position, then such gestures can be used as evidence. In exactly the same way, if a mute person gestures to divorce his wife and that gesture is clear, then the ruling of divorce will be effected, and its effect will be just as if a speaking person had pronounced divorce verbally. Thus, here lies the relevance between the chapter and the hadiths and athar.

Hadith Commentary:
In this hadith as well, several indications have been considered as valid; this is the very reason for the correspondence between the hadith and the chapter.