“May Allah have mercy on Abu Abd al-Rahman! Did the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, keep away from his wives for a month, then come down after twenty-nine days? And was he asked about it? He replied: ‘A month may consist of twenty-nine days.’”
I say: Its chain of transmission is good. However, Aishah’s deeming Ibn Umar mistaken is not justified, for it is authentically reported from Ibn Umar just as Aishah said.
Al-Bukhari and Muslim, as well as others, recorded it, and it is cited in Sahih Abi Dawud (2008).
- Muslim (3/125) and Ibn Hibban (3443) recorded from Jabir ibn Abd Allah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, kept away from his wives for a month. He came out to us on the morning of the twenty-ninth day, and some people said, “O Messenger of Allah, we have only reached the morning of the twenty-ninth day!” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“A month may consist of twenty-nine days.” Then the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, indicated three times with his hands: twice with all the fingers of both hands, and the third time with nine of them. *
3506 — “When Satan hears the call to prayer, he goes away until he reaches the place of al-Rawha.”
Muslim (2/5), Abu Awanah (1/333), Ibn Khuzaymah in his Sahih (1/205/393), Ibn Hibban (1662), al-Bayhaqi (1/432), al-Baghawi in Sharh al-Sunnah (2/276), Ibn Abi Shaybah (1/228–229), and Ahmad (3/316) all recorded it through al-Amash, from Abu Sufyan, from Jabir, who said: I heard the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, say: … and he mentioned it.