ONE HADITH A DAY
Ibn Khuzaymah in At-Tawheed - Narrated by Ibn Majah - Narrated by Abu Daoud - Narrated by Ahmad · Authentic hadith
عن ابن عباس قال: «رَدَّ النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ابنته زينب على أبي العاص بن الرَّبِيع بَعْدَ سِتّ سِنين بالنكاح الأول، ولم يُحْدِث نكاحًا».
“Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) returned his daughter Zaynab to Abu al-‘Ās ibn Ar-Rabī‘ in marriage after six years without renewing the contract.”
Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her) was the oldest daughter of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). She was married to Abu al-‘Ās ibn Ar-Rabī‘. She had converted to Islam and emigrated before her husband embraced Islam and emigrated. When her husband entered Islam and emigrated, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) returned Zaynab to him after six years (according to this narration), without concluding a new marriage contract for her. Some scholars deduced from this Hadīth that if a disbelieving husband does not become a Muslim during his wife's waiting period, which then expires, then the marriage is not dissolved. Still, the woman has the choice of going back to him or marrying another man. The majority of Muslim jurists, however, believe that this form of marriage is dissolved. They used other Hadīths to support their opinion. They remarked that when Zaynab embraced Islam and her husband remained a disbeliever, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) did not separate between them, for it was not yet revealed that a Muslim woman is forbidden to marry a disbeliever. When this was revealed {They are not lawful [wives] for them, nor are they lawful [husbands] for them} [Sūrat al-Mumtahanah: 10], the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) commanded Zaynab to observe her waiting period. Abu al-‘Ās arrived as a Muslim before the waiting period expired, and thus the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) kept the spouses in their marriage. By this understanding, the Hadīth i…