838 – Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to command us to marry and forbade lifelong celibacy with a stern prohibition. He would say, ‘Marry women who are loving and fertile, for I shall boast of your great numbers before the other prophets on the Day of Resurrection.’” Narrated by Aḥmad, and Ibn Ḥibbān declared it authentic (1). It also has a corroborating narration in Abū Dāwūd, al-Nasāʾī, and likewise Ibn Ḥibbān, from the ḥadith of Maʿqil ibn Yasār (may Allah be pleased with him) (2).

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Degree of the ḥadith:
The ḥadith is ṣaḥīḥ (sound). It was recorded by Ibn Ḥibbān, Aḥmad, al-Ṭabarānī, Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr, and al-Bayhaqī through the chain of Khalaf ibn Khalīfah, from Ḥafṣ, from Anas ibn Mālik, who said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to command marriage and strongly prohibit celibacy.” Owing to its many supporting chains, the report is authentic, as al-Albānī affirmed.
Al-Haythamī said: “Its isnād is ḥasan (good).”
Among its corroborations is the narration of Maʿqil ibn Yasār, which al-Ḥākim authenticated with al-Dhahabī concurring, as well as the report of Ibn ʿUmar preserved by al-Khaṭīb in his Tārīkh; its chain is sound, and al-Suyūṭī graded it authentic in al-Jāmiʿ al-Kabīr.

Vocabulary of the ḥadith:
– al-tabattul: from batala yabtilu (to cut off, sever). Its root sense is separation; here it means abstaining from marriage and from what Allah has made lawful.