➤ A Scholarly Defense of the Hadith from Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim Regarding the Marriage of Sayyidah Umm Ḥabībah (RA)
Source: Fatāwā ‘Ilmiyyah, Vol. 3 – Principles, Verification of Narrations, and Their Rulings, Page 190
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
❖ The Question:
In Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, a narration reported by Ibn ‘Abbās (رضي الله عنه) states:
“The Muslims neither looked favorably at Abū Sufyān nor allowed him to sit near them. So he came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: Grant me three things. The Prophet ﷺ said: Okay. He said: I have the most beautiful woman of the Arabs, Umm Ḥabībah (رضي الله عنها); I want to give her in marriage to you.”
This has led to objections from some, since historically:
- Umm Ḥabībah (RA) was already married to the Prophet ﷺ before the conversion of her father Abū Sufyān (RA).
- Their marriage took place in Abyssinia, conducted by Najāshī, the Christian king.
- She had also migrated to Madinah prior to Abū Sufyān’s Islam.
So why does this narration suggest that Abū Sufyān offered his daughter in marriage to the Prophet ﷺ after the conquest of Makkah?
Some scholars — including Ibn Ḥazm (رحمه الله) and Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) — deemed this narration confused or fabricated. But is this judgment valid?
❖ The Chain of Narration in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim:
النَّضْرُ، وَهُوَ ابْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ الْيَمَامِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عِكْرِمَةُ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو زُمَيْلٍ، حَدَّثَنِي ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ…
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2501 | Dār as-Salām: 6409)
❖ Detailed Verification of the Narrators:
① Naḍr ibn Muḥammad al-Yamāmī al-Jurashī
- Narrator in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Tirmidhī, and Ibn Mājah
- Declared trustworthy (thiqah) by:
- Imām al-‘Ajlī
- Imām Muslim
- Ibn Ḥibbān: “Rubbamā tafarrada” (He sometimes narrates uniquely)
- al-Dhahabī: “Thiqah” (al-Kāshif 3/219)
- Ibn Ḥajar: “Thiqah lahu ifrād” (Taqrīb at-Tahdhīb: 7148)
✅ Conclusion: Reliable. His unique narrations are accepted, unless they conflict with stronger reports — which is not the case here.
② ‘Ikrimah ibn ‘Ammār
- Graded ṣadūq and ḥasan al-ḥadīth by:
- Yaḥyá ibn Ma‘īn
- ‘Alī ibn al-Madīnī
- al-‘Ajlī
- Though criticized for tadlīs from Yaḥyá ibn Abī Kathīr, that issue is irrelevant here because the narration is not from him.
✅ Conclusion: Reliable in this context. His explicit transmission strengthens the chain.
③ Abū Zumayl (Simāk ibn al-Walīd al-Yamāmī al-Kūfī)
- Considered thiqah by:
- Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal
- Ibn Ma‘īn
- al-‘Ajlī
- Ibn Ḥibbān
- Abū Ḥātim: “Ṣadūq lā ba’sa bih”
✅ Conclusion: Reliable. He directly narrates from Ibn ‘Abbās (RA).
⭐ Hadith Grade:
The chain is ḥasan li-dhātihi (reliable in itself) and is ḥujjah (authoritative).
This narration is also supported by other Hadith collections, including:
- Ibn Abī ‘Āṣim: al-Āḥād wa’l-Mathānī (1/364, 5/418)
- Ibn Ḥibbān: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān (7166 / 7210)
- al-Ṭabarānī: al-Mu‘jam al-Kabīr (23/404; 12/199/12885)
- al-Bayhaqī: al-Sunan al-Kubrā (7/140)
- ʿAbd al-Ghanī al-Maqdisī: al-Miṣbāḥ fī ‘Uyūn aṣ-Ṣiḥāḥ
- al-Jawraqānī: al-Abāṭīl wa’l-Manākīr (1/189, Ḥadīth 180) — stated: “Hadith ṣaḥīḥ”
❖ Addressing the Content-Related Objection:
The claim is:
How could Abū Sufyān (RA) offer Umm Ḥabībah (RA) in marriage when she was already married to the Prophet ﷺ?
✦ Response by Imām al-Bayhaqī (رحمه الله):
“وَإِنْ كَانَتْ مَسْأَلَتُهُ الْأُولَى … وَهُوَ كَافِرٌ … وَالْمَسْأَلَةُ الثَّانِيَةُ وَالثَّالِثَةُ وَقَعَتَا بَعْدَ إِسْلَامِهِ …”
(al-Sunan al-Kubrā 7/140)
🟢 This means:
- The first request (about Umm Ḥabībah) may have been made before his Islam, when he was still seeking closeness with the Prophet ﷺ.
- The second and third requests were made after he accepted Islam.
This reconciles the historical facts with the hadith.
✦ Further Explanation by Ibn Kathīr (رحمه الله):
(al-Fuṣūl fī Ikhtiṣār Sīrat ar-Rasūl ﷺ, p. 254)
- Abū Sufyān took pride in offering his daughter to the Prophet ﷺ as a gesture of alliance.
- There are narrations in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim where Umm Ḥabībah (RA) herself says:
“O Messenger of Allah! Marry my sister.”
He ﷺ asked: “Would you like that?”
She said: “Yes.”
This shows that familial suggestions for marriage were a normal gesture of goodwill and honor.
Some scholars even suggest the name confusion: “ʿUzzá” may have been a kunya/nickname or a mistaken attribution, which is common in oral traditions.
❖ Position of Ahl al-Ḥadīth on Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Muslim:
- All connected, marfū‘ narrations in Ṣaḥīḥayn are definitively authentic (قطعي الثبوت).
- Early criticism may have existed, but the Ummah has accepted both collections by consensus.
Statements of Scholars:
- Ibn Kathīr (رحمه الله):
“The Ummah has unanimously accepted the two Ṣaḥīḥs. Minor criticisms do not harm the established consensus.”
(Ikhtiṣār ‘Ulūm al-Ḥadīth 1/124–125) - Shāh Walīullāh ad-Dehlawī (رحمه الله):
“All marfū‘, connected narrations in the two Ṣaḥīḥs are definitively authentic. Rejecting them is an innovation.”
(Ḥujjatullāh al-Bālighah 1/134 Arabic | 1/242 Urdu, tr. Abdul Ḥaqq Ḥaqqānī) - Other scholars affirming this include:
Abū Isḥāq al-Isfarā’īnī, Imām al-Ḥaramayn al-Juwaynī, Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ, Ibn Taymiyyah, and others.
❖ Conclusion:
✅ The narration in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim is ḥasan li-dhātihi and fully acceptable.
✅ All narrators are trustworthy, and the chain is connected.
✅ Apparent historical confusion is resolved through context, as clarified by Imām al-Bayhaqī and Ibn Kathīr.
✅ Denying this narration due to misunderstanding contradicts the methodology of Ahl al-Ḥadīth and the Ijmā‘ of the Ummah on the authenticity of Ṣaḥīḥayn.
📅 2 February 2013
وما علينا إلا البلاغ
ھذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
