his Hadith collection (2/121/2), and Ibn ʿAsākir (19/82/1), through Ṣafwān ibn ʿAmr, from Abū ʿUbayd al-Ḥaḍramī—that is, Shurayḥ—that when Abū Mālik al-Ashʿarī was on his deathbed, he said: “O assembly of Ashʿarīs, let those of you who are present convey it to those who are absent. I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say…” He then cited it.

Al-Ḥākim said: “Its chain of transmission is authentic.” Al-Dhahabī agreed with him, and it is as they both said.

1818 — “When a menstruating woman or a woman experiencing postnatal bleeding reaches the appointed station, they are to bathe and enter ihram, and perform all the rites except circumambulation of the House.”

It was narrated by Abū Dāwūd (1744) and Aḥmad (1/364), through Khusayf, from ʿIkrimah, Mujāhid, and ʿAṭāʾ, from Ibn ʿAbbās, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said this.

I say: This chain contains some weakness. Its narrators are reliable, except for Khusayf—who is Khusayf ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Jazarī—who had poor retention. However, the hadith is authentic, as it is supported by the hadith of Jābir concerning Asmāʾ bint ʿUmays: when she gave birth at Dhū al-Ḥulayfah, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, instructed her to bathe and enter ihram. It was reported by Muslim and others (see my book The Prophet’s Hajj as Narrated by Jābir).

Also supporting it is the hadith of ʿĀʾishah: when she menstruated while in ihram, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to her: “Do what the pilgrim does, except that you must not circumambulate or pray.” Reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim. Perhaps it was for this reason that the eminent scholar Aḥmad Shākir declared the hadith authentic in his commentary on al-Musnad. And Allah knows best.

(Appointed station): the miqāt; here, it is the place designated for ʿumrah or Hajj, at which one enters ihram for either of them.

1819 — “The black seed is a cure for every illness except death.”