Question:
She says that the Prophet ﷺ commanded that if a husband has sexual relations with his wife while she is in her menstrual period, he must give one dinar or half a dinar in charity. She mentions that this hadith is recorded in Sunan an-Nasa’i al-Kubra.
So, she asks: Is this hadith authentic? Because in some hadith books it is classified as sahih (authentic), while in some other hadith books it is described as da‘if (weak). What exactly is the correct position regarding this hadith?
Answer:
Regarding this hadith, it is not found only in an-Nasa’i. It is also found in Musnad Ahmad, in Tirmidhi, in Abu Dawud, and in Darimi, and in several other collections as well. So, this hadith appears in many hadith books.
However, concerning this hadith, scholars say there is a subtle defect in it. In hadith terminology this is referred to as an ‘illah, meaning a subtle hidden flaw.
What does that mean? When scholars gather together all the different chains of narration of this hadith and analyze them collectively, they find that the hadith appears in several different forms. When some narrators transmit it, they attribute the statement to the Prophet ﷺ through Ibn Abbas. But when many other narrations are examined, the wording appears only as the personal statement of Ibn Abbas himself, not as a statement of the Prophet ﷺ.
If we gather all the narrations and analyze them together, the discussion becomes very detailed and complex. Instead of presenting all the narrations in full detail, I will explain only the essence of the conclusion.
The scholars who specialize in identifying subtle defects in hadith — those who gather all the narrations together and analyze them carefully — concluded that attributing this statement to the Prophet ﷺ is not correct. Rather, the correct report is that Ibn Abbas himself said this.
Yes, Ibn Abbas did say this. That is correct. But that does not make it binding evidence for us, because it is not the statement of the Prophet ﷺ. Therefore, the correct conclusion reached by many scholars after examining numerous chains of narration is that this is the opinion of Ibn Abbas and attributing it to the Prophet ﷺ is not supported by a reliable narration.
When we examine the scholars who held the opinion that a dinar should be given as charity, only Imam Ahmad and Imam Ishaq (Ishaq ibn Rahawayh) used this hadith as evidence for that ruling.
But even about Imam Ahmad, some reports say that he later changed his opinion regarding this matter. Therefore the only scholar who firmly held this ruling based on the belief that it was a prophetic statement was Ishaq.
Imam Tirmidhi mentions this matter. He says that Ishaq held this opinion. However, many other great scholars held the opposite view.
Among those scholars were:
- Ibn al-Mubarak
- Ata
- Sa‘id ibn Jubayr
- Ibrahim al-Nakha‘i
- Ibn Abi Mulaika
- Mak’hul
- Zuhri
- Rabi‘a
- Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman
- Qasim ibn Muhammad
- Ibn Sirin
- Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani
- Sufyan al-Thawri
- al-Layth ibn Sa‘d
- Malik
- Imam Abu Hanifa
- Imam Shafi‘i
And many more early scholars among the Salaf. What did all these scholars say?
They said: “There is no kaffarah (expiation) for this act.”
Allah has commanded that one must not approach a wife during her menstrual period. If someone violates that command, then what should he do? He should say: “O Allah, forgive me,” and make tawbah (repentance) and seek forgiveness.
That alone is the expiation.
Because such a large number of scholars did not accept this narration as the statement of the Prophet ﷺ, they concluded that giving a dinar in charity is not required.
Only Ishaq held the opinion that charity must be given. He believed that the hadith was indeed the statement of the Prophet ﷺ. As for Imam Ahmad, some narrations indicate that he expressed two different views on the matter.
But the other imams and the scholars who lived in that early period all agreed on one thing: there is no kaffarah required.
Why?
Because the statement about giving a dinar appears only as the statement of Ibn Abbas, not as an authentic statement of the Prophet ﷺ. Since the prophetic attribution is not authentic, we cannot establish a legal ruling based on it.
Therefore, the ruling is that there is no mandatory charity required as expiation.
However, it is true that Ibn Abbas said this. But his statement alone cannot be taken as binding proof.
That is what must be understood.