The Bid'ah (Innovation) Of Superstition About Getting Married In Month Of Shawwaal
Islamic Rulings -
Living Shariah Verdicts
Islamic Questions & AnswersIs what people say about avoiding getting
married in Shawwaal correct?
Praise be to Allaah.
Ibn Mandhour said: "Shawwaal is one of the well known
names of months, the name of the month which follows
Ramadaan and is the first of the months of Hajj."
It was said that it was called after the drying up of
the camels' milk (tashweel), when it becomes scanty.
This is what happens to the camels when the heat
becomes intense and there are no longer any dates on
the palm trees… The Arabs were superstitious about
getting married at that time, and they would say that
the bride would keep away from her groom like the
female camel when she has been impregnated and lifted
(shaalat) her tail. The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) declared their superstition to
be false. ‘Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her)
said: "The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) married me in Shawwaal and
consummated the marriage with me in Shawwaal, and
which of his wives was more favoured by him than me?"
(Narrated by Ahmad in al-Musnad, 6/54; this version
narrated by him. Also narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh,
2/1039, Kitaab al-Nikaah, hadeeth no. 1423. Also
narrated al-Tirmidhi in his Sunan, 2/277, Abwaab al-Nikaah,
hadeeth no. 1099; he said it is a saheeh hasan hadeeth.
Also narrated by al-Nasaa'i in his Sunan, 6/70, Kitaab
al-Nikaah, Baab al-Tazweej fi Shawwaal. Also narrated
by Ibn Maajah in his Sunan, 1/641, Kitaab al-Nikaah,
hadeeth no. 1990. (Lisaan al-‘Arab, 11/277, heading
Shawwaal).
The reason why the Arabs of the Jaahiliyyah were so
superstitious about marrying during Shawwaal was that
they believed that a woman would keep away from her
husband like the she-camel that has lifted (shawwalat)
its tail after being impregnated keeps away from the
he-camel.
Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: "The
fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) consummated his marriage with ‘Aa'ishah
(may Allaah be pleased with her) during Shawwaal was a
refutation of the notions that some people held, that
it was disliked to consummate a marriage between the
two Eids, lest that lead to separation of the spouses.
But that was a false notion." (al-Bidaayah
wa'l-Nihaayah, 3/253)
Being superstitious about getting married in Shawwaal
is the matter of falsehood, because superstition in
general is part of the "evil omen" (tiyarah) that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
forbade when he said, "There is no contagion and no
evil omen." (Sharh Saheeh Muslim li'l-Nawawi, 14/219,
218). And he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him)
Said, "Tiyarah (believing in evil omens) is shirk."
(Narrated by Imaam Ahmad in his Musnad, 1/440. Also
narrated by Abu Dawood in his Sunan, 4/230, Kitaab al-Tibb,
hadeeth no. 3910). Also narrated by al-Tirmidhi in his
Sunan, 3/84, 85, Abwaab al-Siyar, hadeeth no. 1663; he
said, it is a saheeh hasan hadeeth. Also narrated by
Ibn Maajah in his Sunan, 2/1170, Kitaab al-Tibb,
hadeeth no. 3538. Also narrated by al-Haakim in al-Mustadrak,
1/17, 18, Kitaab al-Eemaan; he said it is a hadeeth
whose isnaad is saheeh and its narrators are thiqah,
although they [al-Bukhaari and Muslim] did not narrate
it; al-Dhahabi agreed with him in his Talkhees).
Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his
commentary on the hadeeth of ‘Aa'ishah (may Allaah be
pleased with her): "This indicates that it is
mustahabb to get married and to consummate the
marriage in Shawwaal. Our companions [fellow-scholars]
have stated that this is mustahabb, quoting this
hadeeth as evidence for that."
By saying this, ‘Aa'ishah was aiming to refute the
ignorant belief of the Jaahiliyyah, and what some of
the common folk still believe today, that it is
makrooh to get married or to consummate the marriage
in Shawwaal. This is false and there is no basis for
this belief. It is one of the leftovers of the
Jaahiliyyah, when they used to be superstitious about
that because of the connations of the name of Shawwaal
which related to the drying up of the camel's milk and
the lifting of its tail…"
(Sharh Saheeh Muslim li'l-Nawawi, 9/209)
al-Bida' al-Hawliyyah by Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Abd
al-‘Azeez ibn Ahmad al-Tuwayjri, p. 348-349
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