Muhammad — "If a man calls his wife to his bed, and she refuses him, and he passes the night…"

If a man calls his wife to his bed, and she refuses him, and he passes the night angry with her, the angels will curse her till morning.
Muhammad — Muhammad Medieval · Prophet of Islam

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Details

Sahih al-Bukhari 3237, regarding marital duties.

Date: c. 620s-630s CE

General

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Understanding this quote

What it means

This statement asserts that when a husband seeks intimacy and his wife declines without valid reason, causing him to sleep upset, she faces divine disapproval until dawn. It frames a wife's willingness toward her husband's advances as a religious duty, treating refusal as a spiritual failing rather than a personal choice, with cosmic consequences attached to marital friction around physical intimacy.

Relevance to Muhammad

Muhammad founded Islam in 7th-century Arabia and delivered extensive guidance on marriage, family, and gender roles through hadith literature. Married multiple times himself, he shaped domestic norms for his community, emphasizing mutual rights between spouses while assigning distinct obligations. This saying reflects his role as both spiritual leader and legislator, addressing intimate conduct as part of a broader framework governing believers' private lives.

The era

In medieval Arabian society, marriage was central to tribal stability, lineage, and social order. Pre-Islamic customs often left women with minimal protections, and Muhammad's teachings restructured marital expectations, granting wives inheritance and consent rights while codifying husbands' authority. Sayings like this emerged within a culture where household harmony was viewed as religiously significant, and communal norms heavily regulated sexuality, reproduction, and spousal cooperation.

AI-generated insights based on extensive research and information for context. Factual errors? Email [email protected].

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