Adab al-Zifaf fi al-Sunnah al-Mutahharah
- Author died
- 1420 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Salam
Adab al-Zifaf fi al-Sunnah al-Mutahharah (The Etiquettes of Marriage in the Purified Sunnah) is a legal and hadith treatise by the Syrian-Albanian scholar Nasir al-Din al-Albani (d. 1420 AH / 1999 CE), outlining the rulings, manners, and prophetic traditions governing marriage, wedding celebrations, and marital consummation .
Background and Purpose
Al-Albani composed the treatise on the occasion of the wedding of a close friend, observing that many Muslims—including religious practitioners—had either forgotten or remained unaware of the authentic Islamic etiquettes associated with marriage and the consummation of the wedding night . His stated aim was to compile the sunnahs established through rigorously authenticated narrations, providing practical guidance for married couples while warning against prevalent customs and religious violations .
Content and Structure
The book arranges the etiquettes of marriage chronologically from the wedding night onward, establishing each ruling with hadith analysis:
- Entering upon the Bride and Initial Supplications: Treating the bride with kindness upon entering, offering her refreshment, and placing one's hand upon her forelock while invoking Allah's blessing and reciting the transmitted supplication: اللهم إني أسألك من خيرها وخير ما جبلتها عليه، وأعوذ بك من شرها وشر ما جبلتها عليه ("O Allah, I ask You for her good and the good of what You created her upon, and I seek refuge in You from her evil and the evil of what You created her upon") . It also covers the recommendation of both spouses offering a two-rak'ah prayer together .
- The Wedding Feast (Walimah): The legal status of hosting the feast, which al-Albani determined to be obligatory based on the Prophet's explicit commands and practice .
- Announcing the Marriage: Permissibility for women to sing lawful songs without illicit descriptions and strike the tambourine (duff) to announce the marriage publicly .
- Morning after the Wedding: Visiting relatives who attended, greeting them, and exchanging supplications, following the prophetic precedent .
- Prohibited Innovations and Customs: Detailed discussion of un-Islamic wedding innovations, including wedding rings (diblah), which he critiqued due to their Christian origins and imitation of non-Muslims, as well as the explicit prohibition of gold rings for men .
Methodology and Revisions
Al-Albani's methodology in the work relies strictly on hadith criticism, sifting authentic (sahih and hasan) reports from weak (da'if) narrations to construct legal positions . The treatise also reflects shifts in his legal determinations over time; for instance, he revised his earlier position regarding marital relations with a woman after her menstrual bleeding stops before taking a ritual bath (ghusl), clarifying his revised stance in later editions of Adab al-Zifaf .
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