repeated with all four qualities in Muslim’s recension. In al-Bukhārī’s Ṣaḥīḥ, however, the preposition lam is absent before “her beauty.” The repetition shows that each of the four stands as a separate motive.

– “So win the woman of religion”: this is the apodosis of an omitted conditional clause; that is, if what I have just explained in clear detail is realised, then win the religious woman. “Win” here means: secure the woman of religion, attain her, and outstrip others in reaching her first.

– “May your hands be dust-covered”: i.e. may your hands cling to dust through poverty. The phrase is simply a common figure of speech; the Prophet ﷺ did not intend an actual supplication by it.

Al-Miṣbāḥ states: The expression “may your hands be dust-covered” occurs in Arabic in the form of a supplication, yet no supplication is meant; rather, it serves for urging and encouragement. It can also be used for rebuke, censure, amazement, or to magnify the matter. Here it is meant as an exhortation.

What is drawn from the ḥadith:
1- The Prophet ﷺ tells us that the factor which prompts a man to choose a woman as a wife is one of four things:
(a) Some men seek ḥasab (lineage and lasting honour) for the woman herself and for her forefathers; ḥasab denotes the fine deeds of a man and his ancestors.
(b) Some men desire wealth and gain; their outlook is purely material.
(c) Some men look for beauty, become infatuated with outward appearance, and pay no attention to anything else.
(d) Some men search for religion and piety; that is their goal and intent. This final trait is the one the Prophet ﷺ commended when he said, “So win the woman of religion; may your hands be dust-covered”—an expression uttered to spur someone on, to take hold of the matter, and not to neglect it. It befits people of honour and the righteous that religion be the ultimate aspiration