Scholarly Defense of the Umm Ḥabībah (RA) Hadith in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim

➤ 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