Hadith No: 14
Ibn Abd al-Barr - Al-Istidhkar - Book of Bequests
Chapter on What Has Been Narrated Regarding the Effeminate Among Men and Who Is Most Deserving of the Child
Volume: (7) - Page Number: (286 / 288)
- Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya narrated to me, who said: Muhammad ibn Ahmad narrated to me, who said: Yahya ibn Muhammad ibn Ziyad narrated to me, who said: Ahmad ibn Abd al-Jabbar narrated to me, who said: Yunus ibn Bakir narrated to me, from Hisham ibn Urwah, from his father, from Zaynab bint Umm Salamah, from Umm Salamah, who said: "I had an effeminate person (mukhannath) with me who said to my brother Abdullah: 'If Allah opens Ta'if for you tomorrow, I will guide you to the daughter of Ghaylan, for she comes with four and goes with eight.'" When the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) heard this, he said: "These should not enter upon you." And he narrated from Yunus ibn Bakir, from Ibn Ishaq, who said: There was also with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) a freedman of his aunt, Fikhteh bint Amr ibn Uday, an effeminate person (mukhannath) named Mat'i, who would enter upon the women of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) and be in his house, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) did not think he would perceive anything of the women's affairs that men could perceive, nor did he think he had any notion in that regard. He heard him say to Khalid ibn al-Walid: "O Khalid, if the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) opens Ta'if, do not let a daughter of Ghaylan ibn Salamah escape from you, for she comes with four and goes with eight." When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) heard this from him, he said: "I do not think this vile one perceives what I am hearing." Then he said to his wives: "Do not let them enter upon you," and he barred them from the houses of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny). Thus, Ibn Ishaq said about this effeminate person (mukhannath) that his name was Mat'i, and no one else mentioned it to my knowledge. Most, however, held that his name was Heyt. Likewise, Habib mentioned it as Malik did. Ibn Uyaynah
narrated from Ibn Jurayj that the name of that effeminate person (mukhannath) was Hayth, and this is also the view of al-Waqidi and Ibn al-Kalbi. Ibn Ishaq said: "There was with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) a freedman of his aunt, Fikhteh bint Amr ibn Uday ibn Imran ibn Makhzum al-Makhzum,"
and Ibn al-Kalbi said that Heyt, the effeminate person (mukhannath), was a freedman of Abdullah ibn Umayyah, the brother of Umm Salamah. He said that Tawis was also a freedman of Abdullah ibn Abi Umayyah.
- In the narration of Ibn al-Kalbi and al-Waqidi:
this effeminate person (mukhannath), Heyt, said to Abdullah ibn Abi Umayyah, who was Umm Salamah's brother from their father's side and a slave woman from the family of Atikah: "O Abdullah" - while he was with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) in the house of Umm Salamah - "if you open Ta'if, you should pay attention to the daughter of Ghaylan ibn Salamah al-Thaqafi, for she comes with four and goes with eight, with a face like a chamomile flower. If she sits, she will sway, and if she speaks, she will sing, between her legs like a covered vessel." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) heard this, and he said: "I believe this enemy of Allah has scrutinized her closely." Then he sent her away from the city to the mountainous area. He said: "When Ta'if was opened, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf married her, and she bore him a child named Bariah." This is the statement of Ibn al-Kalbi.
Heyt remained in that place until the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) passed away. When Abu Bakr became the caliph, he was interceded for, but he refused to return him. When Umar became the caliph, he was interceded for again, and it was said: "He has grown old and weak and is in need," so he was allowed to enter every Friday, ask people, and then return to his place. As for the statement that she comes with four and goes with eight, Habib explained it as Malik did, and others mentioned it in greater detail, meaning that a woman, described by the effeminate person (mukhannath), is one who has four swellings in her abdomen that reach her waist, giving her four limbs at each waist, making a total of eight: four from here and four from there. Thus, when she approaches you and you face her, you will see four swellings in her abdomen, and when she turns away, you will see eight from the limbs in her waists." This is how everyone who spoke about this narrative interpreted it, and some referenced the words of al-Nabigha in the legs of his she-camel as evidence:
"On hilltops, while they were four, * they knelt for a night halt and became eight."
The story of this effeminate person (mukhannath) has been narrated in full from the Hadith of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, and we have mentioned it in Al-Tamhid. In this hadith, there is a legal ruling that it is not permissible for any of the effeminate persons, who are those we call the "effeminate" (mukhannathin), to enter upon women, and they are not among those of whom Allah said: {Those who are not possessed of physical strength among men} (Quran 24:31). This characteristic is that of a foolish, simple-minded, impotent person who has no desire in women and is unaware of anything concerning their flaws or virtues. So, anyone with such characteristics may enter upon people without cause
because the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) suspected that Heyt, the effeminate person (mukhannath), was one who had these qualities. When he heard from him what he heard, he commanded that he not enter upon women and then expelled him from the city, banishing him from it. This is a principle for anyone who is disturbed by someone and cannot guard against them, to be removed to a place where they will be safe from harm. Abu Umar said: "Some narrators have mistakenly transcribed the name of the daughter of Ghaylan as 'Badiyah,' but the correct form is 'Badiyah' with a 'b' and a 'y,' taken from 'bada yabdu,' meaning 'to appear,' as if she were named 'the Appearing One.'" This is the meaning of what al-Zubayr and others mentioned. And Allah is the Grantor of success.