Tasliyat Nufus al-Nisa wal-Rijal inda Faqd al-Atfal 1

Author died
795 AH
Editions
al-Fārūq al-Ḥadīthah lil-Ṭibā'ah wal-Nashr

Tasliyat Nufus al-Nisa wal-Rijal inda Faqd al-Atfal (Consolation for the Souls of Women and Men upon the Loss of Children) is a treatise by the Hanbali traditionist and jurist Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (736–795 AH / 1335–1395 CE) dedicated to expounding prophetic traditions on bereavement, patience, and the divine rewards promised to parents who lose young children.

Content and Theme

The treatise centers on the exposition of a well-known hadith reported by Abu Sa'id al-Khudri in the canonical collections of al-Bukhari and Muslim. In the narration, women approached the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and said: غَلَبَنَا عَلَيْكَ الرِّجَالُ، فَاجْعَلْ لَنَا يَوْمًا مِنْ نَفْسِكَ ("The men have outnumbered us regarding access to you, so appoint for us a day from yourself"). When the Prophet ﷺ met them to instruct and admonish them, he stated: مَا مِنْكُنَّ امْرَأَةٌ تُقَدِّمُ ثَلاَثَةً مِنْ وَلَدِهَا، إِلَّا كَانَ لَهَا حِجَابًا مِنَ النَّارِ ("There is no woman among you who loses three of her children except that they will be a shield for her against the Fire"). A woman asked, "And two?" to which he replied, "And two."

Ibn Rajab begins by explaining the contextual background of the report, noting that women did not share educational gatherings with men during the prophetic era, but attended communal prayers at the rear of mosques and departed promptly afterwards. Citing the early authority al-Hasan al-Basri, he comments on the separation of men and women in religious gatherings and the Prophet's dedicated instruction to both genders. He then elaborates upon the legal and spiritual dimensions of patient endurance (sabr) when bereaved of children, the virtue of anticipating God's reward (ihtisab), and the theological reassurance the tradition offers to grieving parents.

Manuscript and Publication History

The work survived in a single manuscript preserved within a collective volume at the Fatih Library in Istanbul (MS 5318). That copy, comprising six folios with 19 lines per page, was transcribed in 893 AH by the scribe 'Isa ibn 'Ali al-Hawrani in a clear naskh hand.

The treatise was edited by al-Walid ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Faryan and published in issue 23 of Majallat al-Buhuth al-Islamiyyah (1408–1409 AH / 1988–1989 CE), after which it was issued in standalone print editions.

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