I got married, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to me, "Have you married?"I replied, "Yes."He asked, "A virgin or a previously married woman?"I said, "A previously married woman."He said, "Why not a young virgin, with whom you could play and she with you?"Shuba said, I mentioned this to Amr bin Dinar, and he said, "I have heard it from Jabir, but he only said, 'Why not a young girl whom you could play with and who could play with you?'"
تزوجت امرأة فقال لي رسول الله ﷺ: هل تزوجت؟ قلت: نعم. قال: أبكرا أم ثيبا؟ قلت: ثيبا. قال: فأين أنت من العذارى ولعابها؟ قال شعبة: فذكرته لعمرو بن دينار فقال: قد سمعته من جابر. وإنما قال: فهلا جارية تلاعبها وتلاعبك؟
Bukhari narrated it in the Book of Marriage (5080) and Muslim in the Book of Breastfeeding (1466:55), both through the route of Shubah, who said, Muharib narrated to us, saying, I heard Jabir bin Abdullah say, then he related it. The wording given here is that of Muslim.Al-adhra means a virgin (bikr), whose plural is adhara and idhar, that is, one who has not been had intercourse with.As for liabuha, with a kasrah on the lam, as found in the narration of Muslim, it comes from mulaabah (playful interaction), the verbal noun of laaba - mulaabatan, on the pattern of qatala - muqaatalatan, and this agrees with his words, "she plays with you and you play with her."In some versions of Bukhari's narration it occurs as luabuha, with a damma on the lam, meaning her saliva during kissing, but the first reading is more sahih.This hadith establishes the merit of marrying virgins, and it also shows that a man playing with his wife is a sign of good companionship.