Interpreting the Sunnah Correctly
A Response to a Question on Prostrating to Other Than Allāh
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Aug 7
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I was recently asked a question by a student who was attending another study session in which the teacher quoted a ḥadīth of the Prophet ﷺ in which he stated ﷺ,
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“Had I been commanded to order anyone to prostrate to another, I would have ordered women to prostrate to their husbands — because of the right Allah has given them over their wives.”
لَوْ كُنْتُ آمِرًا أَحَدًا أَنْ يَسْجُدَ لأَحَدٍ لأَمَرْتُ النِّسَاءَ أَنْ يَسْجُدْنَ لأَزْوَاجِهِنَّ لِمَا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنَ الْحَقِّ
This ḥadīth is collected by many scholars and can be found in many collections. For the purposes of my response I will be referring to al-Imām Abū Dāwūd’s_Sunan_, ḥadīth no. 2140. Below is my response. It is critical we interpret the_Sunnah_correctly as the consequences of not doing so can cause confusion and even doubt. May Allāh guide us.
Assalamualaikum Shaikh Marc Manley
With respect, I want to ask the following question, if you don’t mind answering me:
Have you heard the_ḥadīth_that ourProphet ﷺ said that_“if Allāh had allowed a sajda to any human being , it would be her husband”_?
When I asked to quote the_ḥadīth_source and the number, she ( the teacher) said that she knows that_ḥadīth_and will give me its number later.
I’m so eager to know because many times cultural things get mixed up with religion.
Thank you so much for allowing me to ask you the question. Jazāka Allāhu khayran.
Wa ‘alaykum al-Salām sister. I will do my best to answer your question regarding this_ḥadīth_.
First, yes, it is an actual_ḥadīth_and its grading is roughly between_ḥasan_, meaning “good/adequate” and_ṣaḥīḥ_meaning “highly authentic”.
This_ḥadīth_is collected in many_ḥadīth_collections and by many scholars of ḥadīth. For sake of brevity, let’s look at the recording in_Sunan_of Abū Dāwūd.
It is collected under the chapter_The Book of Marriage_(كتاب النكاح), in the section,Concerning a Man Who Stipulates That A Woman Stays At Home(باب في الرجل يشترط لها دارها).
Its transmitters are: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn (عمرو بن عون), Isḥāq ibn Yūsuf (إسحاق بن يوسف), Shurayk ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Nakhaʿī (شريك), Ḥuṣayn ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān (حصين), ʿĀmir al-Shaʿbī (الشعبي), Qays ibn Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah (قيس بن سعد).
ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn (عمرو بن عون) was a_tābiʿī_, meaning he was from the first generation of Muslims after the_Ṣaḥābah_.
Qays ibn Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah (قيس بن سعد) was from the_Ṣaḥābah_and actually met the Prophet ﷺ.
The other transmitters are all solid and reliable (ثقة/thiqah)
Let’s look at the actual text of the_ḥadīth_first:
I went to_al-Ḥīrah_(a historical town near Kūfah, in present-day Iraq) and saw its people prostrating to one of their_marzubāns_(a Persian noble/governor).
So I thought to myself:“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ is more deserving of being prostrated to than anyone!”
Then I came to the Prophet ﷺ and said:
“I went to al-Ḥīrah and saw them prostrating to one of their marzubāns. You, O Messenger of Allah, are more deserving that we should prostrate to you.”
He said:
“Do you think that if you passed by my grave, you would prostrate to it?”
I said:“No!”
He ﷺ said:
“Then do not do so. Had I been commanded to order anyone to prostrate to another, I would have ordered women to prostrate to their husbands — because of the right Allah has given them over their wives.”
أَتَيْتُ الْحِيرَةَ فَرَأَيْتُهُمْ يَسْجُدُونَ لِمَرْزُبَانٍ لَهُمْ.
فَقُلْتُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ أَحَقُّ أَنْ يُسْجَدَ لَهُ
قَالَ فَأَتَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ فَقُلْتُ
إِنِّي أَتَيْتُ الْحِيرَةَ فَرَأَيْتُهُمْ يَسْجُدُونَ لِمَرْزُبَانٍ لَهُمْ فَأَنْتَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَحَقُّ أَنْ نَسْجُدَ لَكَ.
قَالَ أَرَأَيْتَ لَوْ مَرَرْتَ بِقَبْرِي أَكُنْتَ تَسْجُدُ لَهُ.
قَالَ قُلْتُ لاَ.
قَالَ فَلاَ تَفْعَلُوا لَوْ كُنْتُ آمِرًا أَحَدًا أَنْ يَسْجُدَ لأَحَدٍ لأَمَرْتُ النِّسَاءَ أَنْ يَسْجُدْنَ لأَزْوَاجِهِنَّ لِمَا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنَ الْحَقِّ
In relation to your question and concern about culture and the misapplication of such a_ḥadīth_, it should be understood:
The Prophet ﷺis making a hypothetical statement.
His exact wording is_“HadI been commanded…(لو كنت آمرا/law kuntu āmiran)”, meaninghe absolutelywas__not****commanded_to make any person prostrate to another. This obviously includes a woman prostrating to her husband.
A hypothetical statement,_even by the Prophet_ﷺcannot be used to make something necessarily or obligatory. In fact, the Prophet ﷺ is not even recommending it.
This style of speaking,“Had I been commanded…(لو كنت آمرا/law kuntu āmiran)”, is a form of_balāghah_, or exaggerated speech, accord to the grammar and literary aesthetics of classical Arabic language. Its purpose is to draw the listener to the opposite conclusion (in this case,notto prostrate to another) by way of comparison and exaggeration.
The Prophet is also teaching that an act such as_sajdah_, which is a quintessential part of_ṣalāh_/prayer, is connected to_Tawḥīd*, the Oneness of Allāh, that it is_ʿibādah*/worship, and such an act should be done for the sake of Allāh alone. He ﷺ is showing the ignorance of the people of_al-Ḥīrah_. His statement is not intended in anyway to give support or credence to the idea that a woman should bow/make_sajdah_to another human being, man, woman, or otherwise.
_In shā’ Allāh_this helps to put the_ḥadīth_in perspective.
Imam Marc Manley
11th of_Ṣafr_, 1446AH.
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