that this ḥadith was aimed at the deliberate muhallil—the man who marries a thrice-divorced woman solely to make her lawful for her former husband—even when that intention is not explicitly stipulated (1).
Likewise, specific threats—curses, the Fire, and the like—appear verbatim in certain texts even though jurists differ over the rulings to which they apply. For example, in the ḥadith of Ibn ʿAbbās the Prophet ﷺ said, “May Allah curse women who make frequent visits to graves, and those who erect places of worship and set up lanterns over them.” Al-Tirmidhī judged it “a good (ḥasan) ḥadith” (2). Concerning women visiting graves, some scholars granted permission, while others considered it disliked without declaring it forbidden.
Another example is the ḥadith of ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir in which the Prophet ﷺ said, “May Allah curse those who approach women through their back passages” (3).
(1) In his valuable book Iqamat al-Dalil ‘ala Ibtal al-Tahlil (Establishing the Proof for the Invalidity of the Tahlil-marriage), published in volume 3 of the Fatawa.
(1) The hadith is also reported by Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, and Ibn Hibban in his Sahih through the chain of Abu Salih Bazhan, the freedman of Umm Hani, from Ibn Abbas. Al-Tirmidhi’s grading of the report as hasan (fair) is contested, for this Abu Salih is weak according to the hadith critics. Ibn ‘Adi said, “I know of no early scholar who deemed him reliable,” and al-Mundhiri remarked, “All the leading authorities spoke against him.” As for the opening clause of the hadith—“Allah curses the women who habitually visit graves”—it is narrated by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, and al-Hakim from Hassan ibn Thabit; al-Zawaid judges its chain sound and its narrators trustworthy. The same wording is also transmitted by Ahmad, al-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah from Abu Hurayrah, and al-Tirmidhi declares it “hasan sahih.”
(2) Al-mahâsh (pl. of mahsha) denotes the anus. The hadith is recorded by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, and al-Nasa’i with the wording, “Cursed is the one who approaches a woman through her anus.” It is likewise narrated by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah…