Zad al-Ma'ad (Ibn al-Qayyim): The Prophet's Guidance on Marriage and Married Life

Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah's (may Allah have mercy on him) Zad al-Ma'ad is a special work of seerah literature. Its distinction is that it does not merely narrate the events of the Prophet's life; rather it draws out fiqh and life-related lessons from each event.

Zad al-Ma'ad fi Hadyi Khayr al-'Ibad — (provision for the Hereafter in the guidance of the best of servants)

Note: This is our own summary; reading the original book is recommended.

The structure of the book

In the book the guidance of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is arranged by topic — including worship, dealings, medicine, travel, war and treaties and family life. In the section on marriage, the matters briefly discussed are:

1. Encouragement of marriage and the yardstick of choice — priority of religiosity (Choosing a bride).
2. Seeing and consultation before the proposal (Proposals and meeting).
3. The marriage khutbah and du'a (The khutbah and the du'a for the newlyweds).
4. Ease in mahr and walimah (Mahr, Walimah).
5. Conduct with wives — kindness, patience and justice in dividing time (Justice).
6. Talaq and its fiqh rulings (Talaq and khula).

Lessons from the Prophet's family life

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) shows that the Prophet ﷺ was kind, humorous and patient with his wives; careful about justice in dividing turns, and calm in misunderstandings. These events come in various narrations in the authentic books (The marriages of the Prophet ﷺ and their wisdom, Handling co-wife jealousy).

Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3895

How to benefit

• Understand the events in the context of the seerah and verify the authentic chains.
• For fiqh rulings, take the help of the reliable book of your own madhhab and a mufti (Al-Hidaya and Radd al-Muhtar).
• When imitating the Prophet's conduct, keep in mind the time, environment and Bangladesh's legal framework as well.

About the author

Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) (691–751 AH) was a famous scholar of Damascus, a student of Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him). His writings include discussions of fiqh, creed, tazkiyah and medicine. Zad al-Ma'ad is one of his most widely read books.

Why the book is valuable for understanding family life

The book takes specific events from the life of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and draws out their fiqh and life-related lessons. As a result the reader learns not just "what happened" but also "what we should learn from it". In the matter of marriage and married life it presents the Prophet's conduct in a framework suited to practice.

What to note while reading

• The chain of events: check how authentic the narration of the events is against the relevant authentic books and commentaries.
• The Prophet's specificity versus the Ummah's ruling: understand separately which event is specific to the Prophet ﷺ (such as 33:50) (The marriages of the Prophet ﷺ).
• The modern context: apply taking into account legal and social reality.

Three practical points from family teaching

1. Gratitude and remembrance: not forgetting the contribution of the earlier companion (Relationship with the first wife).
2. Patience: staying calm in misunderstandings (Handling co-wife jealousy).
3. Justice: equality in time, conduct and spending (Justice).

Comparison with other summaries

Zad al-Ma'ad is seerah-centred, Fiqh as-Sunnah is a topic-based fiqh summary (Fiqh as-Sunnah), the Ihya is self-building-centred (Ihya), and Sahih al-Bukhari is a compilation of hadith (Sahih al-Bukhari). Reading all four together gives a complete picture of knowledge about marriage.

Read more

The marriage chapter of Ihya Ulum ad-Din, Kitab an-Nikah of Sahih al-Bukhari. For advice, contact us.