Oath of Condemnation

A boy was born to a man from the tribe of Fazārah, and the color of the baby's skin was different from that of his father and mother. The father thus had doubts that the boy was not his child, so he went to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) to inform him that his wife gave birth to a black child, thus implying an accusation of adultery. The Prophet understood what he meant and wanted to convince the man and remove his doubt, so he made an analogy which is familiar and known to the man. He asked him if he had camels and what their color was. He replied in the affirmative and that they were red. He then asked him if there were any grey camels among them, and he said: 'Yes.' The Prophet then asked him where that different color came from. The man replied that perhaps it came by heredity from the lineage of the animal; one of its parentages. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said that the case of his son was similar to this and that there might have been a black person in the man's ancestors, so therefore the boy inherited the color. The man was convinced with this sound analogy, and the doubts in his mind were removed.

صحيح البخاري ،عناية محمد زهير الناصر، دار طوق النجاة، الطبعة الأولى، 1422هـ. صحيح مسلم؛ حققه ورقمه محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار عالم الكتب-الرياض، الطبعة الأولى، 1417هـ. - الإلمام بشرح عمدة الأحكام للشيخ إسماعيل الأنصاري-مطبعة السعادة-الطبعة الثانية 1392ه. -تيسير العلام شرح عمدة الأحكام-عبد الله البسام-تحقيق محمد صبحي حسن حلاق- مكتبة الصحابة- الشارقة- الطبعة العاشرة- 1426ه.

Zayd ibn Hārithah was white, and his son Usāmah was black, and people used to doubt their relation to one another due to their difference in color, suspecting the validity of Usāmah’s attribution to his father. This used to annoy the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). Once, Mujazziz al-Mudliji, a lineage tracker, passed by them (Zayd and Usāmah), while their heads were covered with a piece of velvet and their legs were uncovered. On that, Mujazziz said: “Indeed, these feet are related to one another,” due to the resemblance that he saw between them. His speech was heard by the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) who was extremely happy on hearing that, to the extent that he entered upon ‘Ā'ishah with his face glittering with joy and rejoice for being reassured of the validity of Usāmah’s attribution to his father's lineage; and for the rebuttal of the speech of those who unknowingly set their tongues loose regarding the honor of others.

- صحيح البخاري –الجامع الصحيح-؛ للإمام أبي عبد الله محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري، عناية محمد زهير الناصر، دار طوق النجاة، الطبعة الأولى، 1422هـ. - صحيح مسلم؛ للإمام مسلم بن الحجاج، حققه ورقمه محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار عالم الكتب-الرياض، الطبعة الأولى، 1417هـ. - الإلمام بشرح عمدة الأحكام للشيخ إسماعيل الأنصاري-مطبعة السعادة-الطبعة الثانية 1392ه. - تيسير العلام شرح عمدة الأحكام-عبد الله البسام-تحقيق محمد صبحي حسن حلاق- مكتبة الصحابة- الشارقة- الطبعة العاشرة- 1426ه.

In this Hadīth, ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that a man accused his wife of adultery and denied his paternity of her child. She denied his claim and rejected his accusation. So, they swore the oath of condemnation against each other in this way: the husband swore by Allah four times that he is truthful in his accusation, and on the fifth time he invoked the curse of Allah upon himself (if he is a liar). Then the wife swore by Allah four times that he is a liar, and on the fifth time she invoked the anger of Allah upon herself (if he is truthful). After they had condemned one another, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) separated them permanently and let the child join the woman and be attributed to her. The child was cut off from the man and no longer attributed to him.

- صحيح البخاري -الجامع الصحيح-؛ للإمام أبي عبد الله محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري، عناية محمد زهير الناصر، دار طوق النجاة، الطبعة الأولى، 1422هـ. - صحيح مسلم؛ للإمام مسلم بن الحجاج، حققه ورقمه محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار عالم الكتب-الرياض، الطبعة الأولى، 1417هـ. - الإلمام بشرح عمدة الأحكام للشيخ إسماعيل الأنصاري-مطبعة السعادة-الطبعة الثانية 1392ه. - تيسير العلام شرح عمدة الأحكام-عبد الله البسام-تحقيق محمد صبحي حسن حلاق- مكتبة الصحابة- الشارقة- الطبعة العاشرة- 1426ه. - خلاصة الكلام شرح عمدة الأحكام- فيصل بن عبد العزيز بن فيصل ابن حمد المبارك الحريملي النجدي - الطبعة: الثانية، 1412 هـ - 1992 م.

Islam legislated the law of 'Li‘ān' (invoking the curse of Allah upon the liar among the two spouses for falsehood in the matter of witnessing adultery) as a solution to the problem of a husband witnessing another man committing adultery with his wife without four other witnesses (or visa versa). The husband cannot just be in suspicion about the matter: he must clearly witness the actual act of penetration of the adultery. The punishment for any false accusation and lying in this matter is extremely grievous (torment in Hellfire). The man in this story was feeling doubtful about the conduct of his wife and was worried that she might commit adultery. He was confused about what to do, for if he accused her (without the four witnesses) then he would undergo the relevant legal punishment (of whipping, etc), and if he remained silent about it then he would be considered a cuckold and suffer disgrace. He went to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and mentioned these things to him. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent as he did not like to answer questions about issues which had not yet occurred, because this leads to evil and could possibly open the doors for evil to occur. In addition to that no verses were yet revealed to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) regarding this issue. After some time the same man who questioned the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) saw the monstrosity (adultery) he had asked about previously and about which he had worries. Thereupon Allah revealed some rulings regarding this issue in Sūrat An-Nūr, as He says (what means) {Those who accuse their wives} [Qur'an 24:6]. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) recited these verses to the man, admonished him and reminded him that if he was lying in accusing his wife, then the worldly punishment of false accusations is less severe than the punishment of the Hereafter. The man swore the sacred oath by Allah that he was not lying about witnessing and accusing his wife of adultery. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) called the wife and admonished her and told her that the punishment of this life is less severe than the punishment of the Hereafter. Then she swore also that her husband was a liar. Then, the Prophet may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, started by the one with whom Allah has started with (i.e. in the Qur'anic verses mentioned above), the husband. The man testified four times by Allah that he was truthful in what he accused his wife with, and upon the fifth time he invoked the curse of Allah upon himself if he was a liar. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) summoned his wife, and she testifies four times by Allah that her husband was a liar, and she also upon the fifth time invoked the anger of Allah upon herself if her husband was truthful. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) separated between them permanently (and irrevocably). Given that one of them was definitely a liar, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) urged them to repent. Then the husband requested his dowry back and the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "you have no right to claim the dowry: if you were truthful about her committing adultery then the dowry you gave her was in exchange for your sexual relations with her during your marriage. And if you were lying about her, then it is even less rightful that you would receive anything because you accused her of such a terrible lie and great falsehood.

- صحيح البخاري –الجامع الصحيح-؛ للإمام أبي عبد الله محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري، عناية محمد زهير الناصر، دار طوق النجاة، الطبعة الأولى، 1422هـ. - صحيح مسلم؛ للإمام مسلم بن الحجاج، حققه ورقمه محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار عالم الكتب-الرياض، الطبعة الأولى، 1417هـ. - الإلمام بشرح عمدة الأحكام للشيخ إسماعيل الأنصاري-مطبعة السعادة-الطبعة الثانية 1392ه. - تيسير العلام شرح عمدة الأحكام-عبد الله البسام-تحقيق محمد صبحي حسن حلاق- مكتبة الصحابة- الشارقة- الطبعة العاشرة- 1426ه. - خلاصة الكلام شرح عمدة الأحكام- فيصل بن عبد العزيز بن فيصل ابن حمد المبارك الحريملي النجدي (المتوفى: 1376هـ)- الطبعة: الثانية، 1412 هـ - 1992 م.

In the pre-Islamic era of ignorance, they used to impose taxes upon the slave girls, which they earned from practicing immorality, then they would attribute the child to the man who committed adultery with the slave girl if he claimed him. So ‘Utbah ibn Abi Waqqās had unlawful sexual intercourse with a slave girl belonging to Zam‘ah ibn al-Aswad, and he entrusted his brother Sa‘d to attribute the child to his lineage (‘Utbah's lineage). After the Conquest of Makkah, Sa‘d saw the boy and recognized him by his resemblance to his brother. So, he wanted to attribute him to his brother's lineage. On that, Sa‘d and ‘Abd ibn Zam‘ah disputed over the boy. Sa‘d supported his claim by the fact that his brother admitted that the boy was his child, and that there was a resemblance between them. Whereas ‘Abd ibn Zam‘ah said that he was his brother, born from the slave girl of his father, for his father was the master of the slave girl who gave birth to the boy, therefore he is the legitimate owner of the bed. Thereupon, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) looked at the boy and saw in him a clear resemblance to ‘Utbah. Yet, he ruled that the child belonged to Zam‘ah; saying that the child belongs to the owner of the bed in which he was born, and that the one who commits unlawful sexual intercourse gets nothing but failure and loss, for he has no link with the child. That is because, in principle, the child is to be attributed to the slave girl's owner who is entitled to have sexual intercourse with rightfully. However, when he saw the boys resemblance to ‘Utbah, he was cautious to let the boy look freely at his sister Sawdah bint Zam‘ah, on the basis that they were siblings. So, he ordered her to cover hereself from him as a precautionary measure. Hence, resemblance and supplementary proofs are not considered valid in the presence of owner of the bed.

تيسير العلام شرح عمدة الأحكام، عبد الله بن عبد الرحمن البسام، تحقيق: محمد صبحي حلاق، مكتبة الصحابة، الإمارات، مكتبة التابعين، القاهرة، الطبعة: العاشرة 1426هـ. الإلمام بشرح عمدة الأحكام، إسماعيل بن محمد الأنصاري، دار الفكر، دمشق، الطبعة: الأولى 1381هـ. عمدة الأحكام من كلام خير الأنام -صلى الله عليه وسلم- لعبد الغني المقدسي، دراسة وتحقيق: محمود الأرناؤوط، مراجعة وتقديم: عبد القادر الأرناؤوط، دار الثقافة العربية، دمشق، بيروت، مؤسسة قرطبة، الطبعة: الثانية 1408هـ. صحيح البخاري، محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري الجعفي، تحقيق: محمد زهير الناصر، دار طوق النجاة (مصورة عن السلطانية بإضافة ترقيم: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي)، الطبعة: الأولى 1422هـ. صحيح مسلم، مسلم بن الحجاج القشيري النيسابوري، تحقيق محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار إحياء التراث العربي، بيروت، الطبعة: 1423هـ.

This Hadīth warns against one of the practices done by people in the pre-Islamic era. It was attributing oneself to other than one's real father. Man has to be attributed to one's real family, i.e. the father, the grandfather, up to all levels. It is not permissible for the Muslim to attribute oneself to other than his father, knowing that such a man is not one's real father. For example, if one's father belongs to a certain tribe that has some inferiority, and he thus claims to belong to a superior tribe, this person is forbidden to enter Paradise.

صحيح البخاري -أبو عبد الله محمد بن إسماعيل بن إبراهيم بن المغيرة الجعفي البخاري - تحقيق محمد زهير بن ناصر الناصر -الناشر : دار طوق النجاة -الطبعة: الأولى 1422هـ. صحيح مسلم المحقق: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي - الناشر: دار إحياء التراث العربي – بيروت. نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، تأليف د/ مصطفى الخن، د/ مصطفى البغا، محيي الدين مستو، علي الشربجي، محمد أمين لطفي، مؤسسة الرسالة، ط: الرابعة عشر1407. دليل الفالحين لطرق رياض الصالحين، تأليف محمد علي بن محمد علان. كنوز رياض الصالحين، تأليف حمد بن ناصر العمار، دار كنوز إشبيليا، ط1-1430ه. بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، تأليف سليم بن عيد الهلالي، دار ابن الجوزي. رياض الصالحين، تأليف محيي الدين النووي، تحقيق عصام موسى هادي، ط: وزارة الأوقاف والشؤون الإسلامية بدولة قطر.

Disowning one's father willingly is forbidden. This practice is similar to an act of disbelief. Actually, it is not the kind of disbelief that takes one to Hell forever. Rather, it is minor disbelief.

صحيح البخاري -أبو عبد الله محمد بن إسماعيل بن إبراهيم بن المغيرة الجعفي البخاري - تحقيق محمد زهير بن ناصر الناصر -الناشر : دار طوق النجاة -الطبعة: الأولى 1422هـ. صحيح مسلم المحقق: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي - الناشر: دار إحياء التراث العربي – بيروت. نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، تأليف د/ مصطفى الخن، د/ مصطفى البغا، محيي الدين مستو، علي الشربجي، محمد أمين لطفي، مؤسسة الرسالة، ط: الرابعة عشر1407. دليل الفالحين لطرق رياض الصالحين، تأليف محمد علي بن محمد علان. كنوز رياض الصالحين، تأليف حمد بن ناصر العمار، دار كنوز إشبيليا، ط1-1430ه. بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، تأليف سليم بن عيد الهلالي، دار ابن الجوزي. رياض الصالحين، تأليف محيي الدين النووي، تحقيق عصام موسى هادي، ط: وزارة الأوقاف والشؤون الإسلامية بدولة قطر.

This Hadīth indicates that the Companion Hilāl ibn Umayyah (may Allah be pleased with him) accused his wife of committing adultery with Sharīk ibn Sahmā', and she was pregnant. Hilāl wanted to deny his fatherhood of the child through Li‘ān. In this process, the husband and wife make testimonies, which they confirm with an oath and curse invoked on the one of them who is not saying the truth. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned signs whereby the child would be identified to belong to the husband or the adulterer. He said that if the child was in a perfect form and with straight hair, then he would belong to the husband, owing to the genetic similarity between them. And if the child had very dark eye lashes and curly hair, then he was the son of the adulterer, Sharīk ibn Sahmā'. The point of this Hadīth is that it is permissible to make Li‘ān against a pregnant wife.

صحيح مسلم؛ للإمام مسلم بن الحجاج، حققه ورقمه محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار عالم الكتب، الرياض، الطبعة الأولى، 1417هـ. منحة العلام في شرح بلوغ المرام: تأليف عبد الله الفوزان، طبعة دار ابن الجوزي، الطبعة الأولى 1428. توضيح الأحكام شرح بلوغ المرام: تأليف عبد الله البسام، مكتبة الأسدي، مكة المكرمة، الطبعة: الخامِسَة، 1423 هـ - 2003 م. تسهيل الإلمام بفقه الأحاديث من بلوغ المرام: تأليف الشيخ صالح الفوزان، عناية عبد السلام السليمان، مؤسسة الرسالة الطبعة الأولى. فتح ذي الجلال والإكرام بشرح بلوغ المرام، للشيخ ابن عثيمين، المكتبة الإسلامية القاهرة، تحقيق صبحي رمضان وأم إسراء بيومي، الطبعة الأولى 1427. سبل السلام، محمد بن إسماعيل الصنعاني، دار الحديث.