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مسند اسحاق بن راهويه
Musnad Ishaq
كتاب النكاح و الطلاقBook of Marriage and Divorce
Exchange marriage (Shighar) is not permissible in Islam
Hadith 603
اُردوEn
أَخْبَرَنَا كُلْثُومٌ، نا عَطَاءٌ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: " لَا شِغَارَ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ وَهُوَ أَنْ تُنْكَحَ الْمَرْأَةُ بِصَدَاقِ الْأُخْرَى يَقُولُ: أَنْكِحْنِي وَأُنْكِحُكَ بِغَيْرِ صَدَاقٍ فَذَاكَ الشَّغَارُ ".
Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he (peace be upon him) said: "There is no Shighar (a type of marriage) in Islam." And that is when a woman is married in exchange for the dowry of another woman, he says: Marry her to me and I will marry her to you, and there will be no dowry; this is called Shighar.
Explanation & Benefits
Hafiz Abdush Shakoor Tirmidhi
Benefits:
From the aforementioned hadith, it is understood that the exchange marriage (shighar) is not permissible in Islam. Its form is such that a person marries his sister or daughter to another person on the condition that the latter also marries his own sister or daughter to the former, and the dowry (mahr) of one is considered the marriage of the other, with no separate dowry being given.
The majority of scholars—Imam Malik, Imam Shafi’i, and Imam Ahmad (rahimahumullah)—have declared this marriage invalid. However, Imam Abu Hanifah (rahimahullah) has said: If an appropriate dowry (mahr mithl) is given, then this marriage is valid. (Fath al-Bari: 190/204; Nayl al-Awtar: 4/221)
It is narrated in Sunan Abi Dawud that Abdur Rahman bin Hurmuz al-A’raj reports: Abbas bin Abdullah bin Abbas married his daughter to Abdur Rahman bin Hakam, and Abdur Rahman married his own daughter to him, and both considered this marriage as the dowry. So, Sayyiduna Mu’awiyah (radi Allahu anhu) wrote to Marwan ordering him to separate them. In his letter, he said: This is the very shighar from which the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) forbade. (Sahih Abi Dawud, No: 1826)
Although in the above narration it is mentioned that the dowry is not given, in the present era, even if the dowry is given, this type of marriage still leads to problems, such that if there is a divorce on one side, the other, who is innocent, also ends up being divorced. Many other issues also arise. Therefore, it is better to avoid this practice.
From the aforementioned hadith, it is understood that the exchange marriage (shighar) is not permissible in Islam. Its form is such that a person marries his sister or daughter to another person on the condition that the latter also marries his own sister or daughter to the former, and the dowry (mahr) of one is considered the marriage of the other, with no separate dowry being given.
The majority of scholars—Imam Malik, Imam Shafi’i, and Imam Ahmad (rahimahumullah)—have declared this marriage invalid. However, Imam Abu Hanifah (rahimahullah) has said: If an appropriate dowry (mahr mithl) is given, then this marriage is valid. (Fath al-Bari: 190/204; Nayl al-Awtar: 4/221)
It is narrated in Sunan Abi Dawud that Abdur Rahman bin Hurmuz al-A’raj reports: Abbas bin Abdullah bin Abbas married his daughter to Abdur Rahman bin Hakam, and Abdur Rahman married his own daughter to him, and both considered this marriage as the dowry. So, Sayyiduna Mu’awiyah (radi Allahu anhu) wrote to Marwan ordering him to separate them. In his letter, he said: This is the very shighar from which the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) forbade. (Sahih Abi Dawud, No: 1826)
Although in the above narration it is mentioned that the dowry is not given, in the present era, even if the dowry is given, this type of marriage still leads to problems, such that if there is a divorce on one side, the other, who is innocent, also ends up being divorced. Many other issues also arise. Therefore, it is better to avoid this practice.
Source: Musnad Ishaq bin Rahwayh, Page: 603
