Hadith No: 3
Al-Qurtubi - Tafsir al-Qurtubi - al-Jami' li-Ahkami al-Quran - Surah ar-Ra'd (13): 8
His statement, exalted be Allah: {Allah knows what every female carries, and what the wombs decrease and what they increase.}
Volume: (9) - Page Number: (251)
[The text is lengthy, so only the relevant excerpt is provided here]
- Scholars differed on the maximum duration of pregnancy. Ibn Jurayj narrated from Jamila bint Sa'd
from Aisha, who said: "A pregnancy can last more than two years," the time it takes for the shadow of a spindle to change, as mentioned by al-Daraqutni.
- And Jamila bint Sa'd said - sister of Ubayd ibn Sa'd
- and from al-Layth ibn Sa'd: "Its maximum is three years."-
Al-Shafi'i stated: "Four years."-
It was narrated from Malik in one of his reports, and it is well-known from him, that the maximum is five years, and it was also reported from him that there is no limit, even if it exceeds ten years; this is the third narration attributed to him.
-
From al-Zuhri: "Six or seven years."-
Abu Umar said: "Some of the Companions considered it could extend to seven."-
Al-Shafi'i stated: "The maximum duration is four years."-
The Kufans maintain: "Two years at most."- Muhammad ibn Abd al-Hakam says:
"One year, not more."-
Abu Umar said: "This is a matter with no foundation except ijtihad," referring back to what is known about women's matters, and Allah grants success.
- Al-Daraqutni narrated from al-Walid ibn Muslim, who said: I said to Malik ibn Anas: "I heard
from Aisha that she said a woman does not increase in her pregnancy beyond two years, the time it takes for the shadow of a spindle to change." Malik replied: "Glory be to Allah! Who says this?
Our neighbor, the wife of Muhammad ibn 'Ujaylan, carries and gives birth in four years. She is a woman of truth, and her husband is a man of truth. She became pregnant three times within twelve years, each time carrying for four years."- He mentioned
that al-Mubarak ibn Mujahid said: "It is well-known to us that the wife of Muhammad ibn 'Ujaylan would carry and give birth in four years," and she was called the Holder of the Elephant.
- He also narrated
that while Malik ibn Dinar was sitting one day, a man came to him and said: "O Abu Yahya, pray for a woman who has been pregnant for four years and is now in great distress." Malik became angry, closed the Quran, and said: "What do these people think, that we are prophets?" Then he recited, prayed, and said: "O Allah, this woman, if there is a spirit in her womb, remove it from her at once, and if there is a child, replace it with a boy." For You erase what You will and confirm, and You have knowledge of the Mother of the Book." Malik raised his hand, and the people raised their hands, and a messenger came to the man and said: "Hurry to your wife." The man went, and Malik did not lower his hands until the man appeared at the mosque door, carrying a curly-haired boy of four years on his back, with his teeth fully grown and his umbilical cords not cut.-
It is also reported that a man came to Umar ibn al-Khattab and said: "O Commander of the Faithful, I was away from my wife for two years, and I returned to find her pregnant." Umar consulted the people about stoning her, and Mu'adh ibn Jabal said: "O Commander of the Faithful, if you have a way with her, you have no way with what is in her womb. Let her be until she gives birth." So he left her, and she gave birth to a boy whose two front teeth had emerged. The man recognized the resemblance and said: "My son, by the Lord of the Ka'bah!" Umar replied: "Women have become incapable of giving birth to the like of Mu'adh; were it not for Mu'adh, Umar would be ruined."
-
Al-Duhak said: "My mother bore me, and I was in her womb for two years, and she gave birth to me with my teeth already out." It is mentioned from Malik that he was carried in his mother's womb for two years, and some say three years.-
It is said that Muhammad ibn 'Ujaylan remained in his mother's womb for three years, and she died giving birth to him while he was thrashing about violently, so her abdomen was opened, and he was taken out with his teeth grown.-
Hamad ibn Salamah said: "He was named Hirm ibn Hayyan because he remained in his mother's womb for four years."- Al-Ghaznawi mentioned that al-Duhak was born after two years, with his teeth already emerged, so he was named al-Duhak.
Ibad ibn al-'Awwam said: "A neighbor of ours gave birth to a boy after four years, his hair reaching his shoulders. When a bird passed by, he said: 'Kash!'"- Ibn Khuyz mandat said: The minimum and maximum of menstruation and postpartum bleeding, as well as the minimum and maximum of pregnancy, are derived from the path of ijtihad, because knowledge of this is with Allah alone. Thus, it is not permissible to make a judgment on any of it except to the extent that He has revealed to us and is found evident in women, whether rarely or commonly.
And when we find a woman who has been pregnant for four or five years, we will rule accordingly, while in matters of postpartum bleeding and menstruation, since we do not find a stable situation, we revert to what is observed in rare cases among them.
-
Ibn al-Arabi said: "Some lenient individuals among the Malikis transmitted that the maximum pregnancy duration is nine months, but this has never been stated except by one who is doomed." They are the naturalists who claim that the controllers of pregnancy in the womb are the seven celestial bodies, which take a month each, and the fourth month among them is for the Sun, which is why it moves and stirs. When the cycle is complete among the seven celestial bodies over seven months, it returns in the eighth month to Saturn, which will finalize it with its cold.
I wish I could have the opportunity to dispute or confront them! What is this reference after the completion of the cycles, being to Saturn and not to another? Does Allah inform you of this, or do you attribute falsehood to Allah? And if it is possible for it to return to two of them, why can it not return to three, four, or all of them twice or thrice? What is this control over false assumptions regarding hidden matters?