Muwatta' Malik 29-39

Translation

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafic from Abdullah ibn Umar that a man cursed his wife in the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and disowned her child. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ separated them and gave the child to the woman. Malik said, "Allah the Blessed, the Exalted, said, 'The testimony of men who accuse their wives but do not have any witnesses except themselves is to testify by Allah four times that he is being truthful, and a fifth time, that the curse of Allah will be upon him, if he should be a liar. She will avoid punishment if she testifies by Allah four times that he is a liar, and a fifth time, that the wrath of Allah shall be upon her, if he should be telling the truth. ' "(Sura 24 ayat 6). Malik said, "The sunna with us is that those who curse each other are never to be remarried. If the man calls himself a liar, (i.e. takes back his accusation), he is flogged with the hadd-punishment, and the child is given to him, and his wife can never return to him. There is no doubt or dispute about this sunna among us. " Malik said, "If a man separates from his wife by an irrevocable divorce by which he cannot return to her, and then he denies the paternity of the child she is carrying, whilst she claims that he is the father, and it is possible by the timing, that he be so, he must curse her, and the child is not recognised as his." Malik said, "That is what is done among us, and it is what I have heard from the people of knowledge." Malik said that a man who accused his wife after he had divorced her trebly while she was pregnant, and he had at first accepted being the father but then claimed that he had seen her committing adultery before he separated from her, was flogged with the hadd-punishment, and did not curse her. If he denied the paternity of her child after he had divorced her trebly, and he had not previously accepted it, then he cursed her. Malik said, "This is what I have heard." Malik said, "The slave is in the same position as the free man as regards making accusations and invoking mutual curses (lian). He acts in the lian as the free man acts although there is no hadd applied for slandering a female-slave." Malik said, "The muslim slave-girl and the christian and jewish free woman also do lian when a free muslim marries one of them and has intercourse with her. That is because Allah - may He be blessed and Exalted, said in His Book, 'As for those who accuse their wives,' and they are their wives. This is what is done among us. Malik said that a man who did the lian with his wife, and then stopped and called himself a liar after one or two oaths and he had not cursed himself in the fifth one, had to be flogged with the hadd-punishment, but they did not have to be separated. Malik said that if a man divorced his wife and then after three months the woman said, "I am pregnant," and he denied paternity, then he had to do lian. Malik said that the husband of a female slave who pronounced the lian on her and then bought her, was not to have intercourse with her, even if he owned her. The sunna which had been handed down about a couple who mutually cursed each other in the lian was that they were never to return to each other. Malik said that when a man pronounced the lian against his wife before he had consummated the marriage, she only had half of the bride price.

Notes

• قَالَ مَالِكٌ: قَالَ اللهُ،: ﴿وَالَّذِين يَرْمُونَ أَزْواجَهُمْ وَلَمْ يَكَنْ لَهُمْ شُهَدَاءُ إِلَاّ أَنْفُسُهُمْ فَشَهَادَةُ أَحَدِهِمْ أَرْبَعُ شَهَادَاتٍ بِاللهِ إِنَّهُ لَمِنَ الصَّادِقِينَ، وَالخَامِسَةُ أَنَّ لَعْنَتَ اللهِ عَلَيْهِ إِن كَانَ مِنَ الكَاذِبِينَ، وَيَدْرَأُ عَنْهَا العَذَابَ أَن تَشْهَدَ أَرْبَعَ شَهَادَاتٍ بِاللهِ إِنَّهُ لَمِنَ الكَاذِبِينَ، وَالخَامِسَةَ أَنَّ غَضَبَ اللهِ عَلَيْهَا إِن كَانَ مِنَ الصَّادِقِينَ﴾ [النور ٢٤: ٦ - ٩]. قَالَ مَالِكٌ: السُّنَّةُ عِنْدَنَا أَنَّ الْمُتَلَاعِنَيْنِ لَا يَتَنَاكَحَانِ أَبَدًا. وَإِنْ أَكْذَبَ نَفْسَهُ، جُلِدَ الْحَدَّ، وَأُلْحِقَ بِهِ الْوَلَدُ. وَلَمْ تَرْجِعْ إِلَيْهِ أَبَدًا. قَالَ: وَعَلَى هذَا، السُّنَّةُ عِنْدَنَا، الَّتِي لَا شَكَّ فِيهَا، وَلَا اخْتِلَافَ. قَالَ مَالِكٌ: وَإِذَا فَارَقَ الرَّجُلُ امْرَأَتَهُ فِرَاقًا بَاتًّا. لَيْسَ لَهُ عَلَيْهَا فِيهِ رَجْعَةٌ، ثُمَّ أَنْكَرَ حَمْلَهَا، لَاعَنَهَا، إِذَا كَانَتْ حَامِلًا، وَكَانَ حَمْلُهَا يُشْبِهُ أَنْ يَكُونَ مِنْهُ، إِذَا ادَّعَتْهُ، مَا لَمْ يَأْتِ دُونَ ذلِكَ مِنَ الزَّمَانِ الَّذِي يُشَكُّ فِيهِ، فَلَا يُعْرَفُ أَنَّهُ مِنْهُ. قَالَ: فَهذَا الْأَمْرُ عِنْدَنَا، وَالَّذِي سَمِعْتُ۔ قَالَ مَالِكٌ: وَإِذَا قَذَفَ الرَّجُلُ امْرَأَتَهُ، بَعْدَ أَنْ يُطَلِّقَهَا ثَلَاثًا، وَهِيَ حَامِلٌ يُقِرُّ بِحَمْلِهَا، ثُمَّ يَزْعُمُ أَنَّهُ قَدْ رَآهَا تَزْنِي قَبْلَ أَنْ يُفَارِقَهَا، جُلِدَ الْحَدَّ، وَلَمْ يُلَاعِنْهَا، وَإِنْ أَنْكَرَ حَمْلَهَا بَعْدَ أَنْ يُطَلِّقَهَا ثَلَاثًا، لَاعَنَهَا. قَالَ: وَهذَا الَّذِي سَمِعْتُ. قَالَ مَالِكٌ: وَالْعَبْدُ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْحُرِّ فِي قَذْفِهِ، وَلِعَانِهِ، يَجْرِي مَجْرَى الْحُرِّ فِي مُلَاعَنَتِهِ، غَيْرَ أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ عَلَى مَنْ قَذَفَ مَمْلُوكَةً حَدٌّ. قَالَ مَالِكٌ: وَالْأَمَةُ الْمُسْلِمَةُ، وَالْحُرَّةُ النَّصْرَانِيَّةُ، وَالْيَهُودِيَّةُ تُلَاعِنُ الْحُرَّ الْمُسْلِمَ، إِذَا تَزَوَّجَ إِحْدَاهُنَّ، فَأَصَابَهَا، وَذلِكَ أَنَّ اللهَ، يَقُولُ فِي كِتَابِهِ: ﴿وَالَّذِينَ يَرمُونَ أَزْواجَهُمْ﴾ [النور ٢٤: ٦]. فَهُنَّ مِنَ الْأَزْوَاجِ. قَالَ مَالِكٌ: وَعَلَى هذَا، الْأَمْرُ عِنْدَنَا. قَالَ مَالِكٌ: وَالْعَبْدُ، إِذَا تَزَوَّجَ الْمَرْأَةَ الْحُرَّةَ الْمُسْلِمَةَ، أَوِ الْأَمَةَ الْمُسْلِمَةَ، أَوِ الْحُرَّةَ النَّصْرَانِيَّةَ، أَوِ الْيَهُودِيَّةَ، لَاعَنَهَا۔ قَالَ مَالِكٌ، فِي الرَّجُلِ يُلَاعِنُ امْرَأَتَهُ، فَيَنْزِعُ، وَيُكَذِّبُ نَفْسَهُ بَعْدَ يَمِينٍ أَوْ يَمِينَيْنِ، مَا لَمْ يَلْعَنْ فِي الْخَامِسَةِ: إِنَّهُ إِذَا نَزَعَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَلْتَعِنَ، جُلِدَ الْحَدَّ، وَلَمْ يُفَرَّقْ بَيْنَهُمَا۔ قَالَ مَالِكٌ، فِي الرَّجُلِ، يُطَلِّقُ امْرَأَتَهُ، فَإِذَا مَضَتِ الثَّلَاثَةُ الْأَشْهُرِ، قَالَتِ الْمَرْأَةُ: أَنَا حَامِلٌ. قَالَ: إِنْ أَنْكَرَ زَوْجُهَا حَمْلَهَا، لَاعَنَهَا. قَالَ مَالِكٌ، فِي الْأَمَةِ الْمَمْلُوكَةِ يُلَاعِنُهَا زَوْجُهَا، ثُمَّ يَشْتَرِيهَا: إِنَّهُ لَا يَطَؤُهَا، وَإِنْ مَلَكَهَا. وَذلِكَ أَنَّ السُّنَّةَ مَضَتْ، أَنَّ الْمُتَلَاعِنَيْنِ لَا يَتَرَاجَعَانِ أَبَدًا. قَالَ مَالِكٌ: إِذَا لَاعَنَ الرَّجُلُ امْرَأَتَهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَدْخُلَ بِهَا، فَلَيْسَ لَهَا إِلَاّ نِصْفُ الصَّدَاقِ۔

Grades by grader

What scholars said about it

In their own words, as Hadith Unlocked records them. They are shown, not summarised into a grade.

• Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr

  وأما قوله ففرق رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بينهما فهو عندي محفوظ من حديث ابن عمر صحيح

  in موطأ مالك, p. 1119
• Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr

  صح

  machine translationAuthentic (ṣaḥīḥ) Report a problem

  in موطأ مالك, p. 1119
• Yaḥyá b. Maʿīn

  سئل يحيى بن معين عن حديث ابن عيينة وأن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فرق بينهما فقال أخطأ ليس النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فرق بينهما هكذا

  in موطأ مالك, p. 1119
• Abū Daʾūd

  لم يتابع أحد ابن عيينة على قوله إنه فرق بين المتلاعنين

  in موطأ مالك, p. 1119

Other narrations of this report

Sahih Muslim 1493fSunan Abi Dawud 2249Sunan an-Nasa'i 3474Musnad Ahmad 23259al-Sunan al-Kubra (al-Bayhaqi) 15418al-Sunan al-Kubra (al-Nasa'i) 5644

Narrators

1. 1
   ʿAbdullāh b. ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb

   One of the Companions who narrated most often, and one of the ʿAbādilah; he was among the people most strict in following the narrations (athar).d. 72 AH, or 73 AH, or 74 AH, also said: 75 AH
   عَبْدُ اللهِ بْنُ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِأحد المكثرين من الصحابة والعبادلة ، وكان من أشد الناس اتباعا للأثر
   عن
2. 2
   Nāfiʿ mawlá Ibn ʿUmar

   trustworthy (thiqah), reliable (thabt), a well-known jurist (faqīh)d. 116 AH, or 117 AH, or 118 AH, or 119 AH, or 120 AH
   نَافِعٍثقة ثبت فقيه مشهور
   عن
3. 3
   Mālik b. Anas

   The jurist (al-faqīh), the Imam of the Abode of Migration (Imām Dār al-Hijrah), the head of the proficient masters, and the foremost among the meticulous.d. 178 AH, or 179 AH
   مَالِكٌالفقيه ، إمام دار الهجرة ، رأس المتقنين ، وكبير المتثبتين

Who each narrator was and how reliable, from hdith.com

Latin names and English verdicts with a dotted underline are machine translations, not reviewed.