Musnad Imam Shafi'i

Sahl bin Sa’d al-Sa’idi (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that ‘Uwaymir al-‘Ajlani (may Allah be pleased with him) came to ‘Asim bin ‘Adi al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) and said to him: “O ‘Asim! What is your opinion if a man finds another man with his wife and kills him, will you then kill him in retaliation? So what should he do? ‘Asim! Please ask this issue from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) for me.” When ‘Asim (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about it, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) disliked these questions, and what he (ﷺ) said in this regard was unpleasant to ‘Asim (may Allah be pleased with him). Then when ‘Asim (may Allah be pleased with him) returned home, ‘Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) came to him and asked: “O ‘Asim! What answer did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) give?” So ‘Asim (may Allah be pleased with him) said to ‘Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him): “No good has come to me from you; the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) disliked what you had asked.” ‘Uwaymir said: “By Allah! I will not rest until I ask about this issue.” So ‘Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) while he (ﷺ) was sitting among the people, and ‘Uwaymir said: “O Messenger of Allah! If a man finds another man with his wife and kills him, will you then kill him in retaliation? What should he do?” (Upon hearing this) the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Allah has revealed something concerning you and your wife, so go and bring her.” Sahl bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Then both (the husband and wife) performed li’an, and I was also present with the people at the time with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). When both finished the li’an, ‘Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah! If after this I keep her with me, (it would mean) that I am a liar, so he gave his wife three divorces before the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gave any command.” Ibn Shihab narrated that then this became the established procedure for those who perform li’an.

Sahl bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that ‘Uwaymir al-‘Ajlani (may Allah be pleased with him) came to ‘Asim bin ‘Adi (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: “O ‘Asim! Ask Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) this issue for me: If a man finds another man with his wife and kills him, will he then be killed in retaliation? So what should he do?” ‘Asim asked the Prophet (ﷺ), and the Prophet (ﷺ) disliked these issues. Then ‘Asim (may Allah be pleased with him) met ‘Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him), and he asked: “What did you do (about my issue)?” He replied: “I asked, but no good came to me from your side. I asked Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ), but he disliked the issue.” Then ‘Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “By Allah! I will go myself to Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and ask.” He came, and by then the Qur’an had been revealed regarding both of them (the husband and wife). The Prophet (ﷺ) called both of them and had them perform li’an (mutual cursing). Then ‘Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “If I now keep her with me, it means I am a liar.” So he divorced her three times before the Prophet (ﷺ) gave any ruling. Then Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: “Look at her! If she gives birth to a child who is dark-skinned, with black eyes and large buttocks, then I will consider the husband to have spoken the truth about her. But if she gives birth to a child who is reddish, short like al-Wahrah, then I will consider the woman to be truthful (and the husband to have slandered her).” When the child was born, he had the bad trait (i.e., he resembled the man with whom she was rumored). Ibn Shihab narrated that this then became the established procedure for those who perform li’an.

It is narrated from Sahl bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) that ‘Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) came to ‘Asim (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: “A man finds another man with his wife and kills him; then will you also kill him in retribution? So what should that man do? ‘Asim! Ask the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) this question for me.” He asked the Prophet (ﷺ), and the Prophet (ﷺ) disliked the matter and expressed displeasure. ‘Asim (may Allah be pleased with him) came to ‘Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) and informed him that the Prophet (ﷺ) disliked the matter and expressed displeasure, so ‘Uwaymir said: “By Allah! I will go to the Prophet (ﷺ) myself.” He came, and after ‘Asim (may Allah be pleased with him) had left, the Qur’an had been revealed. He came and asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), so the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “The Qur’an has been revealed regarding you.” Then both of them (the husband and wife) came and performed li’an (mutual cursing). Then ‘Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “If I still keep her in my marriage, then it means I am a liar,” so he separated from her (i.e., divorced her), although the Prophet (ﷺ) had not commanded him to do so. Then this became the practice among those who performed li’an. And the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Look! If she gives birth to a child with red complexion, short stature, and resembling a lizard, then I will think that her husband has slandered her, and if she gives birth to a child who is dark-skinned, with large eyes and large buttocks, then I will think that her husband has spoken the truth about her.” When the child was born, he had the disliked characteristic (i.e., he was from adultery).

It is narrated from Sa'id bin al-Musayyib (may Allah have mercy on him) and 'Ubaydullah bin 'Abdullah bin 'Utbah (may Allah have mercy on him) that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: "If she gives birth to a red and straight-haired child, then he is her husband's, and if she gives birth to a black, dark child, then he is the one about whom suspicion has been raised." He said: Then she gave birth to a black, dark child.

It is narrated from Sahl bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man from the Ansar came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked: “O Messenger of Allah! What do you think if a man finds another man with his wife, should he kill him? Then will you kill him in retribution, or what should he do now?” Regarding them, Allah Almighty revealed those verses of the Qur’an in which the details of those who perform li’an are mentioned. Then the Prophet ﷺ said: “The decision has been made between you and your wife.” It is narrated that then both of them performed li’an and I was present there. Then the husband gave his wife (three) divorces in the presence of the Prophet ﷺ. After that, it became the practice that those who perform li’an are separated from each other, and the woman was pregnant, so her husband denied being the father of the child, so the son was attributed to his mother.

It is narrated from Qasim bin Muhammad, he said: I was with Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) when he mentioned the case of those who perform li'an (mutual cursing). So Abdullah bin Shaddad said to him: "Was this the same woman about whom the Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'If I were to stone someone without evidence, I would have stoned this woman'?" Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) replied: "No, she used to commit indecent acts openly."

It is narrated from Sahl bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him), and he, while relating the hadith of those who engaged in li’an (mutual cursing), said that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Look at her! If she gives birth to a child who is dark-skinned, with black eyes, and large buttocks, then I will think that her husband has spoken the truth about her. And if she gives birth to a red (fair-skinned), short-statured child like a lizard, then I will think that her husband has falsely accused her. The woman gave birth to a child resembling that man who had a bad attribute.”

It is narrated from Sa'id bin al-Musayyib and 'Ubaydullah bin 'Abdullah that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "If she gives birth to a red, straight-haired child, then he belongs to her husband, and if she gives birth to a black and curly-haired child, then he belongs to the one upon whom the accusation was made." She gave birth to a black child.

It is narrated from Hisham bin Urwah that Uwaymir Al-‘Ajlani came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and he was a man of red complexion, straight hair, and a weak body. He said, “O Messenger of Allah! What do you think about my partner, Sharik bin Sahma’, that is, my cousin? He was a man with large buttocks, black eyes, strong limbs, and much flesh. He approached such-and-such woman, that is, my wife, and now she is pregnant, and I have not gone near her since that day.” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) called Sharik, but he denied it, and then he called the woman, but she also denied it. So the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) performed li’an (mutual cursing) between the woman and her husband, while the woman was pregnant. Then he said: “Watch, if she gives birth to a black child with large buttocks, then I will consider that her husband has spoken the truth, and if she gives birth to a red child like a lizard, then I will consider that he (the husband) has accused her falsely.” Then she gave birth to a black child with large buttocks. What has reached us is that then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “If Allah’s decree had not been passed, the matter would have been clear.” That is, this child is from the one with whom she committed adultery, if it were not for Allah’s command that the decision is made by confession or self-admission, therefore, the decision is not valid on the accusation of either one against the other, even if the matter is clear. And if Allah’s decree had not been passed, I would have made another decision (i.e., stoning). Afterwards, neither did you say anything to Sharik nor to the woman, and better knowledge is with Allah. And the implementation of Allah’s command is better, even though you knew that one of the two was lying. Then later it became known that the husband was truthful in his claim.

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah! By Allah, since the date palms were grafted, I have not been with my family." Ibn Abbas said, "‘Ifar’ means that after grafting the date palm tree, they would leave it for forty days and would not water it after grafting." The man said, "(The incident is that) I found a man with my wife." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Her husband was of yellow complexion, thin-legged, and had straight hair, while the one whom he accused of adultery was stout, dark-skinned, and had very curly hair." So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed: "O Allah! Make this matter clear." Then he made them both perform li'an (mutual cursing), and then the woman gave birth to a child resembling the man whom she was accused of committing adultery with.

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) conducted the li'an between two people, he ordered a man to place his hand over the mouth of the one taking the oath at the time of the fifth oath, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This (fifth oath) brings about destruction and ruin."

Sahl bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that I saw a husband and wife who invoked mutual cursing (li’an) before the Prophet (peace be upon him), and at that time I was fifteen years old. Then he narrated a long hadith, but did not preserve it as accurately as the others.