Toggle above to switch between keyword search and direct hadith lookup
سنن دارمي
Darimi
من كتاب النكاحFrom the Book of Marriage
باب في اللِّعَانِ:Chapter: Li’an (Mutual Cursing)
Hadith 2266
اُردوEn
حَدَّثَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْمَجِيدِ، حَدَّثَنَا مَالِكٌ، عَنْ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ سَهْلِ بْنِ سَعْدٍ: أَنَّ عُوَيْمِرًا الْعَجْلَانِيَّ، قَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّه، أَرَأَيْتَ رَجُلًا وَجَدَ مَعَ امْرَأَتِهِ رَجُلًا، أَيَقْتُلُهُ فَيَقْتُلُونَهُ، أَمْ كَيْفَ يَفْعَلُ؟ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: "قَدْ أَنْزَلَ اللَّه فِيكَ وَفِي صَاحِبَتِكَ، فَاذْهَبْ فَأْتِ بِهَا" . قَالَ سَهْلٌ: فَتَلَاعَنَا، وَأَنَا مَعَ النَّاسِ عِنْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَلَمَّا فَرَغَا مِنْ تَلَاعُنِهِمَا، قَالَ: كَذَبْتُ عَلَيْهَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنْ أَمْسَكْتُهَا، فَطَلَّقَهَا ثَلَاثًا قَبْلَ أَنْ يَأْمُرَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ . قَالَ ابْنُ شِهَابٍ: وَكَانَتْ تِلْكَ بَعْدُ سُنَّةَ الْمُتَلَاعِنَيْنِ.
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna ‘Uwaymir ‘Ajlani (may Allah be pleased with him) submitted: “O Messenger of Allah! If a person finds another man with his wife, what do you think he should do? Should he kill him? In that case, people (in retaliation) will also kill him, so what should he do?” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Allah Almighty has revealed guidance regarding you and your wife. Go and bring your wife with you.” Sayyiduna Sahl (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Then both husband and wife performed li‘an (mutual cursing). I was also present with the people at the time with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). When both of them finished the li‘an, Sayyiduna ‘Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) submitted: “O Messenger of Allah! If after this I keep her with me, it would mean that I am a liar.” Then, before the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) could say anything, he pronounced three divorces upon her. Ibn Shihab Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Then this became the established procedure for those who perform li‘an.
Brief Explanation
(Commentary on Hadith 2265)
When a man accuses his wife of adultery and the woman does not confess to adultery, nor does the man bring witnesses, nor does he retract his accusation, then in such a situation, li‘an (mutual cursing) becomes obligatory so that no one’s life is made miserable by doubts, suspicions, hatred, or enmity.
Its procedure is mentioned at the beginning of Surah al-Nur in the eighteenth juz’ of the Noble Qur’an: first, the man, invoking Allah’s name, testifies four times that he is truthful, and the fifth time he says that if he is lying, then may Allah’s curse be upon him. Then the woman, invoking Allah’s name, testifies that her husband is lying, and the fifth time she says: if her husband is truthful, then may Allah’s wrath descend upon her. When both have given such testimonies, the judge will separate the husband and wife, and after this, they can never reunite.
If a child is born, he will be attributed to the mother, and if anyone calls this child illegitimate, the punishment for false accusation (hadd al-qadhf) will be applied to him. If the woman testifies that her husband is lying, then adultery will not be established against her, nor will the punishment for false accusation be applied to her husband. And if the woman refuses to take the oath, then the man will be considered truthful and the punishment of stoning (hadd al-rajm) will be carried out upon the woman.
It is called li‘an because both husband and wife invoke curses upon themselves, even if the other is truthful. The use of the word “wrath” (ghadab) by the woman means that this act entails a curse. Thus, the sin attributed to the woman is adultery (zina), and during this process, the man’s sin is false accusation (qadhf).
In this hadith, it is mentioned «فَطَلَّقَهَا ثَلَاثًا» that Sayyiduna ‘Uwaymir radi Allahu anhu gave his wife three divorces. This hadith cannot be used as evidence for the validity of issuing three divorces at once and their occurrence, because as mentioned in the hadith, he gave the divorce before the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam had spoken. Secondly, separation and divorce occur automatically through li‘an, so there is no need to issue a divorce.
It may be that Sayyiduna ‘Uwaymir radi Allahu anhu was not aware of this ruling, and in some other narrations, there is no mention of divorce at all.
The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did not object to the giving of three divorces because the woman had already exited the marital bond; now, whether three or even a thousand divorces were given, they would be meaningless. If li‘an had not taken place, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would certainly have objected, as Mahmood ibn Labid narrated that a man gave his wife three divorces at once, so the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam became angry and said: “Are you playing with the Book of Allah while I am still among you?”
(This was narrated by Imam al-Nasa’i, and its narrators are trustworthy.)
When a man accuses his wife of adultery and the woman does not confess to adultery, nor does the man bring witnesses, nor does he retract his accusation, then in such a situation, li‘an (mutual cursing) becomes obligatory so that no one’s life is made miserable by doubts, suspicions, hatred, or enmity.
Its procedure is mentioned at the beginning of Surah al-Nur in the eighteenth juz’ of the Noble Qur’an: first, the man, invoking Allah’s name, testifies four times that he is truthful, and the fifth time he says that if he is lying, then may Allah’s curse be upon him. Then the woman, invoking Allah’s name, testifies that her husband is lying, and the fifth time she says: if her husband is truthful, then may Allah’s wrath descend upon her. When both have given such testimonies, the judge will separate the husband and wife, and after this, they can never reunite.
If a child is born, he will be attributed to the mother, and if anyone calls this child illegitimate, the punishment for false accusation (hadd al-qadhf) will be applied to him. If the woman testifies that her husband is lying, then adultery will not be established against her, nor will the punishment for false accusation be applied to her husband. And if the woman refuses to take the oath, then the man will be considered truthful and the punishment of stoning (hadd al-rajm) will be carried out upon the woman.
It is called li‘an because both husband and wife invoke curses upon themselves, even if the other is truthful. The use of the word “wrath” (ghadab) by the woman means that this act entails a curse. Thus, the sin attributed to the woman is adultery (zina), and during this process, the man’s sin is false accusation (qadhf).
In this hadith, it is mentioned «فَطَلَّقَهَا ثَلَاثًا» that Sayyiduna ‘Uwaymir radi Allahu anhu gave his wife three divorces. This hadith cannot be used as evidence for the validity of issuing three divorces at once and their occurrence, because as mentioned in the hadith, he gave the divorce before the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam had spoken. Secondly, separation and divorce occur automatically through li‘an, so there is no need to issue a divorce.
It may be that Sayyiduna ‘Uwaymir radi Allahu anhu was not aware of this ruling, and in some other narrations, there is no mention of divorce at all.
The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did not object to the giving of three divorces because the woman had already exited the marital bond; now, whether three or even a thousand divorces were given, they would be meaningless. If li‘an had not taken place, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would certainly have objected, as Mahmood ibn Labid narrated that a man gave his wife three divorces at once, so the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam became angry and said: “Are you playing with the Book of Allah while I am still among you?”
(This was narrated by Imam al-Nasa’i, and its narrators are trustworthy.)
