a metaphor for loss and deprivation.

Points gleaned from the ḥadīth:

1 – The rest of the narration, as recorded by al-Bukhārī and Muslim, relates that Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ and ʿAbd ibn Zamʿah brought a dispute before the Prophet ﷺ concerning a boy. Saʿd said, “Messenger of Allah, this child is the son of my brother ʿUtbah; he entrusted me with the claim that the boy is his. Look at the resemblance.” ʿAbd ibn Zamʿah replied, “Messenger of Allah, he is my brother; he was born on my father’s bed from his slave-woman.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ looked at the boy and noticed an obvious likeness to ʿUtbah. He then said, “He is yours, ʿAbd ibn Zamʿah: the child belongs to the marital bed, while the fornicator receives only the stone. And veil yourself from him, Sawdah.”

2 – Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr said that this ḥadīth has come down through more than twenty Companions.

3 – The “bed” (firāsh) refers to a lawfully consummated wife or to a female slave insofar as intercourse is concerned. She is called a “bed” because the husband or master lies with her, or because she is the one who shares his bed at night.

4 – The child is attributed to the owner of the bed, provided that paternity is physically possible. Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd said: this ḥadīth is the basic proof that a child is linked to the owner of the bed even if an illicit act of intercourse has also taken place.

5 – A wife becomes a “bed” simply by the conclusion of the marriage contract, whereas a slave woman is not considered a bed unless the master has actually had intercourse with her; mere ownership is insufficient. The difference is that the purpose of a marriage contract is intercourse, while purchasing a slave woman may serve many purposes.

Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah noted that Imām Aḥmad indicated a wife is not deemed a bed unless both the contract and confirmed consummation are present—not merely a doubtful possibility. Ibn al-Qayyim said: this is the definitive, correct view, for how could a woman be regarded as a bed when the husband has neither consummated the marriage nor begun living with her?