until the later of the two terms. They had not yet learned of {the sunnah of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—concerning Subayʿah al-Aslamiyyah, whom the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—ruled that her waiting period ended when she gave birth}.

He, Zayd, Ibn ʿUmar, and others also ruled that a woman whose marriage contract specified no dowry was not entitled to a dowry if her husband died. The sunnah of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—concerning Birwaʿ bint Wāshiq had not reached them.

This is a vast subject, with very numerous instances reported from the Companions of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. As for those reported from others, they cannot be comprehensively surveyed, for they number in the thousands. These Companions were the most knowledgeable members of this community, the most learned in religion, the most God-fearing, and the most virtuous. Those who came after them fall short of them, so it is all the more likely that some of the sunnah remained unknown to them. This needs no further explanation. Anyone who believes that every authentic hadith reached every imam, or any particular imam, is making a gross and grievous error.

Let no one say:

“The hadiths have been recorded and collected, so it is unlikely that they should remain unknown under these circumstances.”

For these well-known collections of the sunnah were compiled only after the imams whose teachings are followed had passed away. Even so, no one may claim that the hadiths of