933 – Abu Hurayrah (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “There are three matters whose seriousness is counted as serious and whose jesting is likewise counted as serious: marriage, divorce, and taking a wife back (after a revocable divorce).” The hadith was recorded by the Four compilers of Sunan except al-Nasa’i, and al-Hakim declared it authentic.

In another transmission, reported by Ibn ʿAdī through a weak chain, the wording is: “Divorce, emancipation, and marriage.” (1)

Grading of the hadith:
The hadith is hasan (good).
It was transmitted by Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi—who graded it hasan— Ibn Majah, al-Daraqutni, and al-Hakim—who declared it sahih. The evaluation was endorsed by the author of al-Ilmam and by Ibn Khuzaymah. All of them narrated it through the chain of ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Habib, from ʿAtaʾ ibn Abi Rabah, from Ibn Mahak, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said … and so on. Al-Tirmidhi commented, “A hasan gharib hadith.”

Al-Zaylaʿi mentioned additional narrations conveying the same meaning.

Al-Albani said: “The conclusion I have reached is that the hadith is hasan when the route of Abu Hurayrah—which al-Tirmidhi graded hasan—is considered together with the mursal route of al-Hasan al-Basri. It may be further strengthened by the hadith of ʿUbadah ibn al-Samit and by the reports from the Companions indicating that the purport of the hadith was already known to them. Allah knows best.”

Vocabulary of the hadith:
– jidd (earnestness): the jim is vocalised with kasra and the dal is doubled. Al-Misbah says: jadda fi kalamihi—“he spoke in earnest.”