The Sufficient (Vol 5) · Hadith 1227 (#Ḥadīth #3)

3- عِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِنَا عَنْ سَهْلِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ وَأَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ جَمِيعاً عَنِ ابْنِ مَحْبُوبٍ عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْكَرْخِيِّ قَالَ قُلْتُ لأبِي عَبْدِ اللهِ إِنَّ صَاحِبَتِي هَلَكَتْ وَكَانَتْ لِي مُوَافِقَةً وَقَدْ هَمَمْتُ أَنْ أَتَزَوَّجَ فَقَالَ لِيَ انْظُرْ أَيْنَ تَضَعُ نَفْسَكَ وَمَنْ تُشْرِكُهُ فِي مَالِكَ وَتُطْلِعُهُ عَلَى دِينِكَ وَسِرِّكَ فَإِنْ كُنْتَ لا بُدَّ فَاعِلا فَبِكْراً تُنْسَبُ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَإِلَى حُسْنِ الْخُلُقِ وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُنَّ كَمَا قَالَ. أَلا إِنَّ النِّسَاءَ خُلِقْنَ شَتَّى***فَمِنْهُنَّ الْغَنِيمَةُ وَالْغَرَامُ وَ مِنْهُنَّ الْهِلالُ إِذَا تَجَلَّى***لِصَاحِبِهِ وَمِنْهُنَّ الظَّلامُ فَمَنْ يَظْفَرْ بِصَالِحِهِنَّ يَسْعَدْ***وَمَنْ يُغْبَنْ فَلَيْسَ لَهُ انْتِقَامُ وَهُنَّ ثَلاثٌ فَامْرَأَةٌ وَلُودٌ وَدُودٌ تُعِينُ زَوْجَهَا عَلَى دَهْرِهِ لِدُنْيَاهُ وَآخِرَتِهِ وَلا تُعِينُ الدَّهْرَ عَلَيْهِ وَامْرَأَةٌ عَقِيمَةٌ لا ذَاتُ جَمَالٍ وَلا خُلُقٍ وَلا تُعِينُ زَوْجَهَا عَلَى خَيْرٍ وَامْرَأَةٌ صَخَّابَةٌ وَلاجَةٌ هَمَّازَةٌ تَسْتَقِلُّ الْكَثِيرَ وَلا تَقْبَلُ الْيَسِيرَ.

3. A number of our people have narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad Ahmad ibn Muhammad from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from all ibn Mahbub from Ibrahim al-Karkhiy who has said the following: “I once said to abu ‘Abd Allah , ‘My wife who lived in complete harmony with me has died and I want to marry.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Think where you want to place yourself and whom you are making your partner in your assets, inform of your religion and secrets. If you must marry find a virgin who is spoken of with goodness and of good moral discipline. You must take notice that women are as it is said: ‘Women are of various moral manners; among them are gains and losses. Among them are lawful when she shines for her companion and among them is darkness. Whoever succeeds in finding the righteous among them is a sure fortunate but one who is cheated cannot revenge. ‘They are of three kinds; one kind is a child bearing and loving who helps her husband all the time in the worldly as well as the matters of the hereafter and the world does not work against her. The other kind is woman who is barren without beauty and moral manners and does not help her husband in anything good, she is loud and noisy, roaming around and faultfinding who considers a great deal very little and does not accept things of lesser amount.’”

Gradings are classical jarḥ-wa-taʿdīl, name-matched to a rijāl index (not individually re-verified).