Question

What is the reference for this narration?

Hasan Basri (rahimahullah) said:

“The people of Jahiliyyah (before Islam), when a man proposed to a woman, would say: “What is his lineage, and what is her lineage?” Then, when Islam came, they said: “What is his religion, and what is her religion?” And you today say: “How much money does he have, and how much money does she have?!”

Answer

Imam Ibn ‘Abdil Barr (rahimahullah) -d: 463 A.H.- has cited this statement of Hasan Basri (rahimahullah).

Hasan Basri (rahimahullah) said: In the pre-Islamic era, when a man proposed for a woman, they would ask “What is his lineage, and what is her lineage?” When Islam came, they began to ask: “What is his religion, and what is her religion?” Whereas, today, you ask: “How much wealth does he have, and how much wealth does she have?”

(Bahjatul Majalis, vol. 2, pg. 38)

See here for Hadiths of Nabi (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) on this topic.

And Allah Ta’ala Knows best.

Answered by: Mawlana Suhail Motala

Approved by: Mawlana Muhammad Abasoomar

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التخريج من المصادر العربية:

بهجة المجالس وأنس المجالس: (٣٨/٢)
قال الأصمعي، قال الحسن: كان أهل الجاهلية إذا خطب الرجل المرأة تقول: ما حسبه، وما حسبها؟ فلما جاء الإسلام، قالوا: ما دينه، وما دينها؟ وأنتم اليوم تقولون: ما ماله، وما مالها؟.