Divorce Section · 16 – The Situation of Someone Who Calls Their Wife Their Sister
According to the narration of Abu Tameem al-Hujaymi, may Allah be pleased with him, he said:
A man addressed his wife, “O sister of mine.”
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "Is she your sister?”
He disliked it and forbade the man from addressing his wife as his sister.
From Abu Tumeima, from a man among his people: He heard that the Messenger of God forbade a man addressing a woman as "my sister" in this manner.
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Indeed, Ibrahim (peace be upon him) never told a lie except in three instances, two of which were concerning the Essence of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. He said, ‘I am sick,’ and he said, ‘It was their biggest idol that broke it.’ The third instance occurred when Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was walking past the land of a tyrannical ruler. They arrived at the palace of the unjust ruler, and they said, ‘An Arab man has come down with the most beautiful woman among women.’ The ruler sent for Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and asked about the identity of the woman who was with him. Ibrahim (peace be upon him) replied, ‘She is my sister.’ When he returned to his wife, the unjust ruler asked her, ‘Who are you?’ She said, ‘My brother,’ and [Ibrahim (peace be upon him) added], ‘The truth is that there is no one on earth who is a Muslim besides me and you. In Allah’s Book, you are my sister, so do not make me a liar.’ Then the narrator related the rest of the hadith.”
COMMENTARY:
The ruling understood from this hadith is that if someone says to his wife, intending zihar (a form of divorce), “You are my sister,” then he has committed zihar. He cannot approach her until he pays its expiation. If there was no intention of zihar, it is not considered zihar, but it is also not a good statement. The words that Ibrahim (peace be upon him) spoke were not lies.
1 – On an Eid day, his father, Ibrahim (peace be upon him), invited him to a feast for the idols. While on the way, he was saddened by his people abandoning Allah and worshipping stones. He then collapsed and said, “I am sick,” and did not attend the feasts held for the idols.
2 – Upon returning, he broke the idols in the temple with an axe and placed the axe on the shoulder of the largest idol. When they saw this in the late afternoon, they said, "You have done this." Ibrahim (peace be upon him) then said to them, so that they would acknowledge that the idols had no power, “It was their biggest idol that broke them.”
3 – If Ibrahim (peace be upon him) had told the unjust ruler that the woman with him was his wife, he could have been killed. Furthermore, at that time, there were no people of true faith in that area except for Ibrahim and his wife Sarah. Some say that the unjust ruler was Amr bin Imru’l-Kays, the ruler of Egypt, or Sadik, the King of Jordan, or Sinan bin Uhvan.