as accosting a slave woman—there is no difference. For this and similar reasons, no statement made after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is to be accepted unless it is soundly traced back to him.¹
The report from Anas does not contradict what has preceded. He narrated:
"When the Prophet ﷺ chose Ṣafiyyah bint Huyayy for himself from the captives of Khaybar, the Companions said, ‘We do not know whether he will marry her or take her as a concubine.’ They added, ‘If he veils her, she is his wife; if he does not veil her, she is a concubine.’ When he wished to mount, he veiled her until she had seated herself behind him on the camel, and they understood that he had married her."
Another wording states: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ screened her, seated her behind him, spread his cloak over her back and face, fastened it beneath her leg, rode off with her, and treated her as one of his wives."²
(1) The author is alluding to the reports in which ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab distinguished between a free woman and a slave woman with regard to the khimar (head-cover). These reports were collected by al-Zaylaʿi in Nasb al-Raya 1/300 and transmitted by Ibn Abi Shayba 2/28 (nos. 1–2) and al-Bayhaqi 2/226–27 through several chains, after which al-Bayhaqi concluded: “The traditions from ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab on this matter are sound.” Ibn Hazm later acknowledged their existence (3/221) but added, “Yet the statement of no one carries probative force beside that of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.” In support of Ibn Hazm’s position is the hadith of ʿAʾisha: “The Prophet ﷺ entered upon her, and a maidservant of theirs tried to hide herself. The Prophet ﷺ asked, ‘Has she begun to menstruate?’ They replied, ‘Yes.’ He then tore off part of his turban and said, ‘Veil your head with this.’ ” The report is found in Ibn Abi Shayba 2/27 (no. 2) and in Ibn Majah with a weak chain.
(2) This hadith is recorded by al-Bukhari 7/387 and 9/105; Muslim 4/146–147; Ahmad 3/123, 246, 264; Ibn Saʿd 8/87 (and another wording in 8/86). Ibn al-Qayyim relied on it in Zad al-Maʿad 2/192, and al-Bayhaqi also transmitted it, 7/259.