971 – Ruwayfiʿ ibn Thābit (may Allah be pleased with him) related that the Prophet ﷺ said: “It is not lawful for a person who believes in Allah and the Last Day to pour his water on someone else’s crop.” Recorded by Abū Dāwūd and al-Tirmidhī; Ibn Ḥibbān declared it sound, and al-Bazzār graded it ḥasan. (1)
Status of the ḥadith:
The ḥadith is ḥasan. The author notes that Ibn Ḥibbān authenticated it and al-Bazzār judged it ḥasan. Al-Talkhīṣ states: “It was narrated by Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī, and Ibn Ḥibbān through Ruwayfiʿ ibn Thābit, and by al-Ḥākim through Ibn ʿAbbās in the wording, ‘Do not pour your water on another man’s crop,’ and its original form is in al-Nasāʾī.”
Glossary of terms:
– “his water”: the man’s semen, i.e., sexual intercourse.
– “another man’s crop”: someone else’s offspring—that is, to have intercourse with a slave-girl who was purchased while already pregnant.
Points derived from the ḥadith:
- The narration proves the prohibition of having intercourse with a pregnant woman whom one did not impregnate—such as a purchased slave-girl who is already pregnant—and that doing so is incompatible with perfect faith in Allah and the Last Day. The same ruling applies to a pregnant female captive: intercourse with her is forbidden until she gives birth and completes her purification.
- It likewise indicates the prohibition of contracting marriage with a woman who is still in another man’s waiting period until that period comes to an end,