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the words of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—“Seek something, even if only an iron ring”(1)—that he said this merely by way of hyperbole. If those who fix its minimum interpret a statement such as this figuratively, then the one who fixes its maximum may likewise interpret such a statement figuratively.
If this involved depriving a woman of what was rightfully hers, he likewise denied a woman married without a specified dower the dower(2) to which she was entitled under the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—especially since a woman married without a dower being specified had not sought an excessive dower. Yet despite this, Umar did not persist in that position, but returned to the truth.
It is thus evident that Allah’s support and guidance of him were greater than His support and guidance of others, and that the weak positions he retracted and did not persist in were better than the weak positions of others that they did not retract.
(1) This phrase occurs in a lengthy hadith narrated by Sahl ibn Sa‘d al-Sā‘idī—may Allah be pleased with him—in *Sahīh al-Bukhārī*, 7:6–7, Book of Marriage, chapter “The Marriage of an Indigent Man.” It begins: “A woman came to the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I have come to offer myself to you.’ The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—looked her up and down, then lowered his head. When the woman saw that he had made no decision concerning her, she sat down. One of his Companions stood and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, if you have no need of her, then marry her to me.’ He asked, ‘Do you possess anything?’ The man replied, ‘No, by Allah, O Messenger of Allah.’ He said, ‘Go to your family and see whether you can find anything.’ He went and then returned, saying, ‘No, by Allah, I found nothing.’ The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said, ‘Look, even if only for an iron ring…’” The hadith also appears in several other places in the Book of Marriage, as well as in the Book of the Virtues of the Quran and the Book of Clothing. Some narrations read: “Go and seek something, even if only an iron ring.” See some of its narrations in Dr. al-Bughā’s edition, nos. 2186, 4799, 4833, 4842, 4847, 4854, and 4855. The hadith is also found in *Sahīh Muslim*, 2:1040–41, Book of Marriage, chapter “The Dower and the Permissibility of Its Consisting of Teaching the Quran or an Iron Ring,” and in the four *Sunan* collections, al-Dārimī, *al-Muwattaʾ*, and *al-Musnad*.
(2) The word *al-mahr* (“the dower”) is omitted from (ر); (ن) and (م) read *al-mumayyaz*, which is a textual corruption.
قَوْلِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ -:
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«الْتَمِسْ وَلَوْ خَاتَمًا مِنْ حَدِيدٍ»
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(١)
، أَنَّهُ قَالَهُ عَلَى سَبِيلِ الْمُبَالَغَةِ، فَإِذَا كَانَ الْمُقَدِّرُونَ لِأَدْنَاهُ يَتَأَوَّلُونَ مِثْلَ هَذَا، جَازَ أَنْ يَكُونَ الْمُقَدَّرُ لِأَعْلَاهُ يَتَأَوَّلُ مِثْلَ هَذَا.
وَإِذَا كَانَ فِي هَذَا مَنْعٌ لِلْمَرْأَةِ الْمُسْتَحِقَّةِ، فَكَذَلِكَ مَنَعَ الْمُفَوَّضَةَ الْمَهْرَ
(٢)
الَّذِي اسْتَحَقَّتْهُ بِسُنَّةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ -، لَا سِيَّمَا وَالْمُزَوَّجَةُ بِلَا تَسْمِيَةٍ لَمْ تُغَالِ فِي الصَّدَاقِ، وَعُمَرُ مَعَ هَذَا لَمْ يُصِرَّ عَلَى ذَلِكَ، بَلْ رَجَعَ إِلَى الْحَقِّ.
فَعَلِمَ أَنَّ تَأْيِيدَ اللَّهِ لَهُ وَهِدَايَتَهُ إِيَّاهُ أَعْظَمُ مِنْ تَأْيِيدِهِ لِغَيْرِهِ وَهِدَايَتِهِ إِيَّاهُ، وَأَنَّ أَقْوَالَهُ الضَّعِيفَةَ الَّتِي رَجَعَ عَنْهَا وَلَمْ يُصِرَّ عَلَيْهَا خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَقْوَالِ غَيْرِهِ الضَّعِيفَةِ الَّتِي لَمْ يَرْجِعْ عَنْهَا.
(١) هَذِهِ الْعِبَارَةُ وَرَدَتْ فِي حَدِيثٍ طَوِيلٍ عَنْ سَهْلِ بْنِ سَعْدٍ السَّاعِدِيِّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فِي الْبُخَارِيِّ ٧/٦ - ٧ كِتَابِ النِّكَاحِ بَابِ تَزْوِيجِ الْمُعْسِرِ، وَأَوَّلُهُ: جَاءَتِ امْرَأَةٌ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَتْ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، جِئْتُ أَهَبُ لَكَ نَفْسِي، قَالَ: فَنَظَرَ إِلَيْهَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَصَعِدَ النَّظَرَ فِيهَا وَصَوَّبَهُ، ثُمَّ طَأْطَأَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ رَأْسَهُ، فَلَمَّا رَأَتِ الْمَرْأَةُ أَنَّهُ لَمْ يَقْضِ فِيهَا شَيْئًا جَلَسَتْ، فَقَامَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِهِ فَقَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، إِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَكَ بِهَا حَاجَةً فَزَوِّجْنِيهَا، فَقَالَ: وَهَلْ عِنْدَكَ مِنْ شَيْءٍ؟ قَالَ: لَا وَاللَّهِ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ. فَقَالَ: اذْهَبْ إِلَى أَهْلِكَ فَانْظُرْ هَلْ تَجِدُ شَيْئًا؟ فَذَهَبَ ثُمَّ رَجَعَ فَقَالَ: لَا وَاللَّهِ مَا وَجَدْتُ شَيْئًا، فَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: انْظُرْ وَلَوْ خَاتَمًا مِنْ حَدِيدٍ. . . . الْحَدِيثَ، وَجَاءَ الْحَدِيثُ فِي عِدَّةِ مَوَاضِعَ أُخْرَى مِنْ كِتَابِ النِّكَاحِ وَفِي كِتَابِ فَضَائِلِ الْقُرْآنِ وَكِتَابِ اللِّبَاسِ وَفِي بَعْضِ الرِّوَايَاتِ: اذْهَبْ فَالْتَمِسْ وَلَوْ خَاتَمًا مِنْ حَدِيدٍ، انْظُرْ بَعْضَ رِوَايَاتِهِ فِي طَبْعَةِ د. الْبَغَا الْأَرْقَامَ ٢١٨٦، ٤٧٩٩، ٤٨٣٣، ٤٨٤٢، ٤٨٤٧، ٤٨٥٤، ٤٨٥٥ وَالْحَدِيثُ فِي: مُسْلِمٍ ٢/١٠٤٠ - ١٠٤١ كِتَابِ النِّكَاحِ، بَابِ الصَّدَاقِ، وَجَوَازُ كَوْنِهِ تَعْلِيمَ قُرْآنٍ وَخَاتَمَ حَدِيدٍ، وَالْحَدِيثُ فِي السُّنَنِ الْأَرْبَعَةِ وَالدَّارِمِيِّ وَالْمُوَطَّأِ وَالْمُسْنَدِ.
(٢) الْمَهْرَ: سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (ر) ، وَفِي (ن) ، (م) : الْمُمَيَّزَ، وَهُوَ تَحْرِيفٌ.