the longer of the two prescribed periods. Abū al-Sanābil ibn Ba‘kak had already issued this same ruling during the lifetime of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—whereupon the Prophet—may Allah Most High bless him and grant him peace—said:
“Abū al-Sanābil was mistaken.” (1)
There are many similar examples. In any event, however, he may not adjudicate on the strength of his testimony alone, just as he may not adjudicate in his own favor.
The Seventh Point:
What he has related about Fātimah is unbecoming of her. Only an ignorant man would cite it as evidence, imagining that he is praising her when in fact he is impugning her. Nothing in what he has related (2) provides any grounds for anger against him, for—even if the report were authentic—he ruled only in accordance with the truth, contrary to which no Muslim may rule. Anyone who sought a judgment in his favor contrary to the judgment of Allah and His Messenger, then became angry (3) and swore not to speak to the judge or the judge’s companion, would not deserve praise for that (4), nor would the judge deserve censure for it. Rather, this would be closer to an indictment than to praise. We know that what is related about Fātimah
(1) I could not find this wording. Subay‘a bint al-Hārith al-Aslamiyya was pregnant when her husband, Sa‘d ibn Khawla, died. After she gave birth and her postpartum bleeding ended, she adorned herself to receive suitors. Abū al-Sanābil ibn Ba‘kak, however, advised her that she could not marry until four months and ten days had elapsed. She therefore asked the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—who ruled that she had become eligible for marriage upon delivering her child and instructed her to marry if she wished. This hadith is narrated with various wordings from ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Arqam, from Subay‘a al-Aslamiyya—may Allah be pleased with her—in al-Bukhārī, 5/80 (Book of Military Campaigns, chapter “Abd Allāh ibn Muhammad al-Ju‘fī Narrated to Me,” chapter no. 10); Muslim, 2/1122 (Book of Divorce, chapter on the waiting period of a widow ending upon delivery of her child); and Sunan al-Tirmidhī, 2/332 (Book of Divorce, chapter on the pregnant widow who gives birth). In his biographical entry on Abū al-Sanābil ibn Ba‘kak in al-Isāba, 4/96, Ibn Hajar states that when Subay‘a came to the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—he told her: “Yes, even if Abū al-Sanābil’s nose be rubbed in the dust.”
(2) A, B, and W: “and he mentioned.”
(3) B only: “and His Messenger; but [the judge] refused, so he [the claimant] became angry…” The meaning is: “the judge refused, so he became angry…,” etc.
(4) N, M: “something for which one would praise him.”