Surat An-Nisa' (21-30)

{وَكَيْفَ تَأْخُذُونَهُ وَقَدْ أَفْضَى بَعْضُكُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ وَأَخَذْنَ مِنْكُمْ مِيثَاقًا غَلِيظًا} [النساء: 21]

21- How do you take the dowry from them and you had privacy and sexual intercourse with them. That is the covenant you gave them; the covenant of good companionship and intimacy. Allah (Exalted be He) says in their regard: "Either you retain her on reasonable terms or release her with kindness." {Surat Al Baqarah: 229} or the meaning of the covenant is the covenant of marriage.

{وَلَا تَنْكِحُوا مَا نَكَحَ آَبَاؤُكُمْ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ إِلَّا مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَاحِشَةً وَمَقْتًا وَسَاءَ سَبِيلًا} [النساء: 22]

22- It is not permissible for you to marry the ex-wives of your fathers as was done in the Period of Ignorance as a matter of honor and respect for the fathers that their ex-wives be the wives of their sons. As for what happened in the Pre-Islamic Period, it is overlooked and forgiven because that action is detested, disliked and a bad action. That action was detested even in the Pre-Islamic Period.
 

{حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمْ أُمَّهَاتُكُمْ وَبَنَاتُكُمْ وَأَخَوَاتُكُمْ وَعَمَّاتُكُمْ وَخَالَاتُكُمْ وَبَنَاتُ الأَخِ وَبَنَاتُ الأُخْتِ وَأُمَّهَاتُكُمُ اللَّاتِي أَرْضَعْنَكُمْ وَأَخَوَاتُكُمْ مِنَ الرَّضَاعَةِ وَأُمَّهَاتُ نِسَائِكُمْ وَرَبَائِبُكُمُ اللَّاتِي فِي حُجُورِكُمْ مِنْ نِسَائِكُمُ اللَّاتِي دَخَلْتُمْ بِهِنَّ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُونُوا دَخَلْتُمْ بِهِنَّ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَحَلَائِلُ أَبْنَائِكُمُ الَّذِينَ مِنْ أَصْلَابِكُمْ وَأَنْ تَجْمَعُوا بَيْنَ الأُخْتَيْنِ إِلَّا مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ إِنَّ اللهَ كَانَ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا} [النساء: 23]

23- It is forbidden for you to marry your mothers, daughters, sisters, paternal aunts, maternal aunts, your nieces.

The same ruling goes for your foster mothers and your foster siblings.

It also forbidden for you to marry the mothers of your wives (your mother-in-law), directly after contracting their daughters as well as the daughters of your wives as soon as you have sex with their mothers. However, if you had not sexual intercourse with their mothers, there is no harm to marry their daughters, whether those daughters live in your houses or elsewhere.

It is not permissible for you to marry the wives of your sons whom you begot, unlike the adopted children whose wives may be married by you.
It is forbidden for you to marry two sisters. As for those actions that happened in the Pre-Islamic Period ignorance, Allah overlooked them and forgave you as a mercy for you.

{وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ النِّسَاء إِلاَّ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ كِتَابَ اللّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأُحِلَّ لَكُم مَّا وَرَاء ذَلِكُمْ أَن تَبْتَغُواْ بِأَمْوَالِكُم مُّحْصِنِينَ غَيْرَ مُسَافِحِينَ فَمَا اسْتَمْتَعْتُم بِهِ مِنْهُنَّ فَآتُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ فَرِيضَةً وَلاَ جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِيمَا تَرَاضَيْتُم بِهِ مِن بَعْدِ الْفَرِيضَةِ إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ عَلِيماً حَكِيماً} [النساء: 24]

24- It is prohibited for you to marry married women except those whom you enslaved. It is allowed to have sex with such by ownership or possession even if they have husbands in their homeland after you wait for a proper period (3 months) to check that they are not pregnant. The reason for making them lawful to you is slavery which cancels marriage. This prohibition was prescribed on you, so adhere to and abide by the Shari`ah of Allah.

Allah made lawful for you all women except those abovementioned.

The author of Rawh Al Ma`any said: The meaning of using the demonstrative article is that the same ruling goes for women who have the same description.

The meaning is: it is forbidden for you the things that Allah prohibited on the tongue of His Prophet, such as combining between a woman and her paternal or maternal aunt in marriage.

Al Fakhr Ar-Razy said in his Tafsir: It is written in the science of Islamic Jurisprudence that stating the ruling of a case with its proper description indicates that the ruling is only limited to that case with that certain description. Therefore, Allah’s Saying: “Forbidden to you (for marriage) are: … and two sisters in wedlock at the same time...” denotes that the close kin relationship prohibits marriage. This ruling goes for a woman and her paternal and maternal aunt. So, the ruling of the prohibition goes for the paternal and maternal aunt by indication. That is because the paternal and maternal aunt takes the same ruling of a mother and the harm that may take place when a person combines between two sisters will take place in the matter of the paternal and maternal aunt. Therefore, the Ayah “Forbidden to you (for marriage) are: … and two sisters in wedlock at the same time...” prohibits combining between a woman and her maternal or maternal aunt.

Then Allah says which means: if you realized that, then the meaning of Allah’s Saying: “All others are lawful.” is all women are lawful to marry other than those mentioned whether those women were mentioned explicitly, with a clear reference, or with an implicit one. If this is the case, the paternal and the maternal aunts are included in the mentioned types of women.

I said: Perhaps the words of Ar-Razy indicate that the Ayah is inclusive and the Hadith is an explanation to it as Ibn Al Jawzy said, and the result is the same.

Ibn Al Jawzy said in “Nawasikh Al Qur’an”: According to scholars, this is a general word that was limited by the Prophet’s prohibition that a woman is to be married along with her paternal or maternal aunt.

Ar-Razy mentioned other proofs in this regard along with some forms of the prohibited marriages… see his Tafsir and see also Al Qurtuby’s Tafsir.

So, seek marriage with your money up to four women or as much slave girls as you want by the legal way in order to protect yourselves and keep away from adultery.

If you marry and your wives overlooked their dower or part of it, there is no harm on you or on them.

Verily, Allah is All Acquainted with things that fix the marriage and He is All Wise in all that He legislated for you, whether lawful or prohibited.

{وَمَن لَّمْ يَسْتَطِعْ مِنكُمْ طَوْلاً أَن يَنكِحَ الْمُحْصَنَاتِ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ فَمِن مِّا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُم مِّن فَتَيَاتِكُمُ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَاللّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِإِيمَانِكُمْ بَعْضُكُم مِّن بَعْضٍ فَانكِحُوهُنَّ بِإِذْنِ أَهْلِهِنَّ وَآتُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ مُحْصَنَاتٍ غَيْرَ مُسَافِحَاتٍ وَلاَ مُتَّخِذَاتِ أَخْدَانٍ فَإِذَا أُحْصِنَّ فَإِنْ أَتَيْنَ بِفَاحِشَةٍ فَعَلَيْهِنَّ نِصْفُ مَا عَلَى الْمُحْصَنَاتِ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ خَشِيَ الْعَنَتَ مِنْكُمْ وَأَن تَصْبِرُواْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ وَاللّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ} [النساء : 25]

25- Those who have no money to marry the free believing women, they may marry the believing slave girls who are owned by them. Allah is All Acquainted with the degree of your faith, so let faith be your target, perhaps slave girls may have more faith than the free women. You and your women are part from one another either in religion or by kinship, so marry them by the permission of their Awliya’ guardians (i.e., those who have the authority to conclude their marriage) after you pay their dowries without taking anything of them. Do not belittle them because they are slave girls and choose them chaste; not adulteress or having boyfriends. If they married you then they committed adultery, they shall have half of the punishment that was laid against the free virgin women and there will be no stoning for them because stoning cannot be divided.

The meaning is: their punishment does not increase by marriage, the prescribed punishment for them will be fifty lashes whether they are unmarried or married; this is a controversial issue among the scholars.

Marrying the believing slave girls with the previous conditions is for those who fear to fall into adultery because of the overwhelming desire, but if they can wait, it will be better for them because if you marry them then they beget children they will be slaves too. They are not dedicated for their husbands all the time like the free women because they travel with their masters and serve in cities and towns. Their masters can sell them for Bedouins as well as for townsmen and that is so difficult for their husband. Moreover, they are trite because they come and go and no jealous man can endure this.

May Allah forgive those who cannot observe patience and want to marry them! Being so Merciful, He gave men the concession to marry them.

The majority of scholars hold the view that it is not permissible for a Muslim to marry slave girls as long as he is capable of marrying free girls and can observe patience; this is unlike the view of the Hanafy school of Fiqh. However, they agreed that anyone marries a free girl it is not permissible for him to marry a slave girl.

{يُرِيدُ اللّهُ لِيُبَيِّنَ لَكُمْ وَيَهْدِيَكُمْ سُنَنَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ وَيَتُوبَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَاللّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ} [النساء : 26]

26- Allah wants to explain to you what has been made lawful for you and what was prohibited and guide you to the ways of the guided prophets and pious people who were before you. He also accepts your repentance if you repent to Him of your negligence and shortcomings in fulfilling the teachings of Shari`ah. Verily, Allah is Well Acquainted with your conditions and with what you need and He is Wise in what He has ordained for you, taking into consideration your best interests.

{وَاللّهُ يُرِيدُ أَن يَتُوبَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَيُرِيدُ الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الشَّهَوَاتِ أَن تَمِيلُواْ مَيْلاً عَظِيماً} [النساء : 27]

27- Allah wants to accept your repentance, so repent to Him so that He may accept your repentance and be pleased with you. The dissolute and the followers of Satan of the infidels and the polytheists want to see you avert from the truth to falsehood in order to become like them.

{يُرِيدُ اللّهُ أَن يُخَفِّفَ عَنكُمْ وَخُلِقَ الإِنسَانُ ضَعِيفاً} [النساء : 28]

28- Allah wants to facilitate the legislation and the ordinances in regard of marriage and other matters, therefore, He permitted you to marry slave girls. That is to suit the weakness of human souls in terms of women because men cannot observe patience or stay away from them forever.

{يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ لاَ تَأْكُلُواْ أَمْوَالَكُمْ بَيْنَكُمْ بِالْبَاطِلِ إِلاَّ أَن تَكُونَ تِجَارَةً عَن تَرَاضٍ مِّنكُمْ وَلاَ تَقْتُلُواْ أَنفُسَكُمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيماً} [النساء : 29]

29- O believers, beware not to eat the monies of one another by unlawful ways such as usury, gambling, and all kinds of illegal ways, but resort to the lawful ways such as commerce in dealing with your monies and let it be out by your consent.

Do not perish or jeopardize yourselves to risk by committing sins and faults such as eating up monies without a legal right or anything that demands punishment. Verily, Allah was so Merciful with you when He prohibited you to eat the monies that do not belong to you or to destroy yourselves.

{وَمَن يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ عُدْوَاناً وَظُلْماً فَسَوْفَ نُصْلِيهِ نَاراً وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللّهِ يَسِيراً} {النساء : 30]

30- Anyone commits the abovementioned things which Allah has prohibited, transgresses the limits of Allah, and dares to violate them he will enter a blazing Fire and that is easy for Allah (Exalted be He). So, nothing will stop Him from sending down His Punishment.