The Sunnah of li'an, disowning the child, attaching him to the mother, and related matters

Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa'd al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) says that Sayyiduna Uwaymir al-Ajlani (may Allah be pleased with him) came to Sayyiduna Asim bin Adi (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "O Asim! If a man finds another man with his wife, should he kill him, and then you would kill him? Or what should he do? O Asim, ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about this for me." Sayyiduna Asim (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) disliked it and found fault with the questioner, and this weighed heavily on Sayyiduna Asim (may Allah be pleased with him) as well. When Sayyiduna Asim (may Allah be pleased with him) came home, Sayyiduna Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) came too. He said: "Asim! What did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say?" Sayyiduna Asim (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyiduna Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him): "No good is to be expected from you either; the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) disliked my asking." Sayyiduna Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I will not refrain from asking." He came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) while he (peace and blessings be upon him) was among the people. He said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! When a man finds another man with his wife, should he kill him, and then you would kill him? Or what should he do?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Qur'an has been revealed concerning you; go and bring your wife." Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The two of them performed li'an (mutual imprecation) in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and I was present with the people. After they had finished, Sayyiduna Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "If I keep her, it would be as if I had lied against her, O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)!" And he immediately pronounced three divorces, before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had commanded him. Imam Ibn Shihab (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "This is the practice for those who perform li'an."

Yahya bin Yahya said: I read (this hadith) to Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him), from Ibn Shihab, and he mentioned the hadith with similar wording.

Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) says that Sayyiduna Uwaymir al-Ajlani came to Sayyiduna Asim bin Adi (may Allah be pleased with them both) and said: O Asim bin Adi! Ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about a man who finds another man with his wife: if he kills him, will he be killed for it, or what should he do? Asim (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) found fault with it. Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) asked Asim (may Allah be pleased with him): What did you do, brother? Asim (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I did nothing; no good came to me from you. I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) found fault with the questioner. Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah! I will certainly go to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and ask him. When Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the Qur'an had already been revealed concerning them. He (peace and blessings be upon him) called them and had them perform li'an. Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: If I take her away with me, it would be as if I had lied against her. He separated from his wife before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had commanded him. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Watch her: if she gives birth to a very dark child with large buttocks, then I think Uwaymir has spoken the truth; and if the child is reddish, as though he were a wahrah, then I think Uwaymir is a liar." The woman gave birth to the child with the disliked features. Ibn Shihab (may Allah have mercy on him) says: This is the practice for two who perform li'an.

Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) says that Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) came to Asim (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: What is your view about a man who finds another man with his wife and kills him: would you kill him in return? O Asim! Ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and tell me. Asim (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) disliked the question. Asim (may Allah be pleased with him) returned to Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) and told him that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had disliked the question and found fault with it. Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah! I will go to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) myself. He came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Qur'an had already been revealed after Asim had left. Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Qur'an has been revealed concerning the two of you; come forward and perform li'an." Then the two of them performed li'an. Then Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: If I keep her as my wife, it would be as if I had lied against her. Then he separated from her before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had commanded him. This became the established practice for two who perform li'an. And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Wait and watch this woman: if she gives birth to a reddish, short child, as though he were a wahrah, then I think Uwaymir has lied; and if she gives birth to a child with kohl-dark eyes and heavy buttocks, then I think Uwaymir has spoken the truth." She gave birth to the child with the very features that confirmed Uwaymir.

Ibn Shihab (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from Sahl bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him), a man of Banu Sa'idah, that a man of the Ansar came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! If a man finds another man with his wife, should he kill him, and then you would kill him (the killer)? Or what should he do?" Then Allah, the Lord of Might, revealed in the Qur'an the ruling concerning those who perform li'an. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said (to him): "Judgment has been made concerning you and your wife." The narrator says: The two of them performed li'an, and I was present at their li'an. Then he left his wife right there in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). After that, this practice continued: the two who perform li'an are separated. The woman was pregnant, and the husband denied her pregnancy; then the son was attributed to his mother.

Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: In the hadith of Ibn Abi Dhi'b there is evidence that Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "This became the practice for the two who perform li'an," while in the hadith of Malik and Ibrahim bin Sa'd it appears to be the statement of Ibn Shihab. There may be no contradiction in this: Ibn Shihab says it once without mentioning Sahl, and another time says it mentioning Sahl. And Ibn Abi Dhi'b agreed with Ibrahim bin Sa'd in the addition at the end of the hadith beyond the hadith of Malik.
Al-Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) said: As for the hadith of Ibn Abi Dhi'b, it is as follows.

Al-Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from Sahl bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) that Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) came to Asim bin Adi (may Allah be pleased with him).

Ibn Jurayj narrates from Ibn Shihab (may Allah have mercy on them both) concerning the two who perform li'an, and, about the practice concerning them, the hadith of Sahl bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him): a man of the Ansar came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! What is your ruling about a man who finds another man with his wife: should he kill him, or what should he do?" Then Allah, the Lord of Might, revealed the Qur'an concerning the matter of the two who perform li'an. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah has passed judgment concerning you and your wife." The narrator says: They performed li'an in the mosque, and I was present. When they had finished the li'an, he said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! If I keep her as my wife, then I have lied against her." He pronounced three divorces before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had commanded him, after finishing the li'an, and he separated from his wife right there in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The narrator says: This is the practice of separation between two who perform li'an.
Ibn Jurayj and Ibn Shihab (may Allah have mercy on them both) say: After them this became the practice of separating the two who perform li'an. The woman was pregnant, and the child was attributed to his mother, and in inheritance the practice became established that this woman inherits from the child and the child from his mother, the share that Allah, the Lord of Might, has fixed for them both. In the hadith of Sahl bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) it comes that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If she gives birth to a reddish, short child like a wahrah, then I think this woman has spoken the truth and Uwaymir has lied. And if this woman gives birth to a child with kohl-dark eyes and heavy buttocks, then I think Uwaymir has spoken the truth." The woman gave birth to the child with the features that confirmed Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him).

Imam al-Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from Sahl bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) that Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) came to Asim bin Adi (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the chief of Banu al-Ajlan, and said: "What do you say about a man who finds another man with his wife: should he kill him, and then you would kill him? Or what should he do? Ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about this." The narrator says: Asim (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! A man finds another man with his wife: should he kill him, and then you would kill him? Or what should he do?" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) disliked the questioner. Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) asked him, and he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) disliked the question and found fault with it. Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I will certainly ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about it." The narrator says: Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) came and said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! A man finds another man with his wife: should he kill him, and then you would kill him? Or what should he do?" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah, the Lord of Might, has revealed the Qur'an concerning you and your wife." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded the two of them to perform li'an, which Allah, the Lord of Might, has named in His Book. The narrator says: The two of them performed li'an. Then he said: "If I keep her as my wife, I will have wronged her." The narrator says: He divorced her, and after that this remained the practice for those who perform li'an. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Wait and see: if this woman gives birth to a child who is dark, with black eyes, heavy buttocks and thick shins, then I think Uwaymir has spoken the truth about this woman; and if this woman gives birth to a reddish child, as though he were a wahrah, then I think Uwaymir has lied against the woman." The narrator says: The woman gave birth to the child with the features the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had described, confirming Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him), and so her child used to be attributed to his mother.
(b) Imam al-Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from Sahl bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) that the two of them performed li'an, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) separated them and said: "These two can never come together again."

Al-Zubaydi narrates from al-Zuhri, from Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa'd al-Sa'idi (may Allah be pleased with him), this same hadith, but he did not mention the story of the divorce in it. Among those (who narrated it from al-Zuhri) is also Yunus bin Yazid al-Ayli.

Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa'd al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) says that Sayyiduna Uwaymir al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) came to Sayyiduna Asim bin Adi (may Allah be pleased with him); he mentioned a hadith with the same meaning as the hadith of Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him). When they had finished the li'an, he said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! If I keep her as my wife, then I have lied against her." Then he pronounced three divorces before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had commanded him. The separation of the two later became the sunnah for those who perform li'an. Sayyiduna Sahl (may Allah be pleased with him) says: She was pregnant, and the son used to be attributed to his mother; then this practice became established that the mother inherits from the son and the son from the mother, according to the shares Allah has fixed for them.

Imam al-Zuhri narrates from Sahl bin Sa'd (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 (peace and blessings be upon him)! What is your view about a man who sees another man with his wife: should he kill him, and then you would kill him (in retaliation)? Or what should he do? Allah, the Lord of Might, revealed the ruling in the Qur'an concerning those who perform li'an. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah has passed judgment concerning you and your wife." Sahl (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I was present with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when the two of them performed li'an. Uwaymir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: If I keep her as my wife, then I have lied against her. He separated from her, and the sunnah too is this: the two who perform li'an are to be separated. The woman was pregnant; the husband denied the pregnancy; the child was attributed to his mother, and the mother and son will inherit from each other the shares Allah has set for them in inheritance. Abu Ya'la says: "Judgment has been made concerning you." Abu Ya'la and al-Hasan say: He said: O Messenger of Allah! If I keep her as my wife. And the two of them said: So it became a sunnah among them; and in everything else their narration is the same.

Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that he pronounced three divorces in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) enforced them. What was done in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was made a sunnah. Sayyiduna Sahl (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I was present with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) at that time; afterwards this sunnah was established for those who perform li'an: they are to be separated, and then they will never come together again. [Sahih. It has preceded.]

Imam al-Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him): I was present with the two who performed li'an in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and they were separated. He said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! If I keep her as my wife, then I have lied against her."

Abu Dawud (may Allah have mercy on him) said: No one corroborated Ibn Uyaynah (may Allah have mercy on him) in saying that he (peace and blessings be upon him) separated the two who performed li'an.
Al-Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) said: By this he means in the hadith of al-Zuhri from Sahl bin Sa'd, except for what we have narrated from al-Zubaydi from al-Zuhri. As for the hadith of Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), it is as follows.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) separated the two brothers of Banu al-Ajlan.
(b) He (peace and blessings be upon him) joined his index finger and middle finger and said: "Indeed, Allah knows that one of you is a liar; so is either of you ready to repent?"
(c) Sa'id bin Jubayr narrates from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) separated the two who performed li'an.

Sa'id bin Jubayr (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the two who performed li'an: "Your reckoning is with Allah; one of you is a liar. You have no claim over your wife." He said: O Messenger of Allah! My wealth? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You have no wealth. If you spoke the truth about her, then it is gone in exchange for the enjoyment you had of her. And if you lied against her, then that is even further from you."

Azrah narrates from Sa'id bin Jubayr (may Allah have mercy on him) that Mus'ab did not separate the two who performed li'an. Sa'id (may Allah have mercy on him) says: This was mentioned to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), and he said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) separated the two who performed li'an."

Nafi' narrates from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that a man performed li'an against his wife and disowned his child, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) separated the two of them and gave the child to the woman.
Note: In the hadith of Sahl there is the possibility of three divorces; because he knew his own truthfulness and was certain of his wife's lying and of her boldness in denying it, he pronounced three divorces out of not knowing, since li'an is in itself a separation. So he was like one who divorces a woman who has already been separated from him without his divorce, and like stipulating a warranty in a sale and a guarantee in a salaf (advance-payment) transaction, although it is binding whether one stipulates it or not. Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace and blessings be upon him) separated the two who performed li'an; so the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) separating them is something other than the husband's separating; it is a separation that he (peace and blessings be upon him) decreed as a ruling.
Ikrimah narrates from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), in the story of Hilal bin Umayyah, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ruled that the mother and the child are not to be reproached, and whoever accuses them is to be given the prescribed punishment (hadd), and that this woman is entitled to neither food nor housing, because they were separated without divorce and without death.
This narration confirms what Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said.