Part 23

It is not allowed for a man to have more than four wives in Islam. Even for those who had more than four wives before embracing Islam, the Prophet (4) commanded them to select four of them and divorce the rest. Ibn ‘Umar (tt) reported that Ghaylan Bin Salamah had ten wives when he embraced Islam. Allah’s Messenger (8%) told him:

As long as a man is married to a particular woman, all of her sisters become temporarily prohibited for him; he may not marry any of them | unless he divorces their sister.

Abii Hurayrah (5) reported that Allah’s Messenger (@) said:

<A woman may not be simultaneously married with

1 Recorded by at-Tirmithi, Ibn Majah, and others. Verified to be authentic by alAlbani (Irwa’ul-Ghalil no. 1883).

aunt with her niece, nor a niece with her maternal aunt, nor a maternal aunt with her niece, nor an older sister with her younger Sister, nor a younger sister with her older sister. !

SIMULTANEOUSLY MARRYING AUNTS AND THEIR NIECES

We see from Aba Hurayrah’s above hadith that it is Not permissible to simultaneously marry an aunt and her niece, A man would have to divorce one of the two before he may marry the other,

To the same meaning, Abii Hurayrah, Jabir, Tbn ‘Abbas, Abii Said, Ibn ‘Umar, and ‘Alt (@) all reported ? that Allah’s Messenger ()

<One may not simultaneously have (as wives) a woman and her paternal aunt, nor a woman and her maternal aunt. *

Women MARRIED To OTHER MEN

This is clearly expressed in the above dyah of Sitrat un-Nis@ (4:24), The same applies to a woman who has been divorced a nonterminal divorce (first two times) and is still in her ‘iddah, Such a woman is considered to be still under her husband’s charge and no one may approach her for marriage before the completion of her ‘iddah,

It is prohibited to marry a woman who is known to be an adulteress or 4 prostitute — unless she had demonstratively Tepented. Allah (88)

1 Recorded by Abi Dawid, an-Nasa’i, and others, Verified to be authentic by alAlbani (Irwa*ul-Ghalil no. 1882),

2 The various narrations of this hadith are collected by al-Albani in Irwa’ul-Ghalil

3 Recorded by al-Bukhari, Muslim, and others,

says: 7 ee ee

Habib al-Mu‘allim reported that a man from al-Kiifah (in Iraq) came to ‘Amr Bin Shu‘ayb * and said, “Would it not surprise you to Jearn that al-Hasan (al-Basri) says that a whipped fornicator may not marry but a female whipped fornicator like himself?” ‘Amr replied, “What is it that surprises you? This has been reported to us from Said al-Maqbiri from Aba Hurayrah (4) that Allah’s Messenger (#8) said:

ide YY dgledl lil CS Y

In regard to this hadith, ash-Shawkani (2%) said:

“This is a general description applicable to anyone who is known to commit zind. It presents evidence that it is not permissible for a woman to marry a man who is known to commit zind. Similarly, it is not permissible for a man to marry a woman who is known to commit zina. This is further indicated by the dyah (an-Nar

2. ‘Amr Bin Shu‘ayb is the son of Shu'ayb Bin Muhammad Bin ‘Abdillah Bin ‘Amr | Bin al-‘As. He is thus the great-grandson of ‘Abdullah Bin “Amr (ti). 4 3 Recorded by Aba Dawid, Ahmad, and al-Hakim. Verified to be authentic by al-

Quest for Love & Mercy 149 Forbidden Marriages

Tbn ul-Qayyim (#8) said:

“What explains the prohibition is that this crime causes harm to the husband’s mattress (i.e., honor), and spoils the kinship relationships that Allah established among the people so that they would pursue their affairs ... Thus, one of the beauties of the sharfah is its prohibition of marrying an adulteress — until she repents and purifies her womb.” *

Ibn ul-Qayyim (8) also said:

“As for marrying an adulteress, Allah has indicated its prohibition in Sirat un-Nir, and He indicated that anyone who marries her is a fornicator or a mushrik. That is because he either believes in Allah’s commands and the obligation of following them, or does not believe. In the latter case, he would be a mushrik, and in the first he would be a fornicator because he knew Allah’s ruling and disobeyed it.” *

A mushrik woman may not be married unless she embraces Islam. The

1 Recorded by Aba Dawid, an-Nasa’i, and others. Verified to be authentic by alAlbani (Jrwa’ul-Ghalil no. 1886). Ighathat ul-Lahfan 1:66.

3 Zad ul-Ma‘ad 5:114.

subject of marrying non-Muslim women is covered in detail in a subsequent section.

A person who goes for Hajj or ‘Umrah is prohibited from courting or marrying while he is in the state of ihram '. ‘Uthman () reported that Allah’s Messenger (@) said:

<A person in a state of ihraém may not marry, be married, or propose to someone (for marriage).> m

MARRYING A PREGNANT CAPTIVE-WOMAN

Allah’s Messenger (&) prohibited having intercourse with female warcaptives (whether as concubines or regular wives) until they purify their wombs from previous relationships.

Abii Sa‘id al-Khudri (44) reported that Allah’s Messenger (&) said in regard to the war-captives of Aw tas battle:

(Gad se JP OL EY Gai be bs <One may not copulate with a pregnant woman until

she delivers, nor with a non-pregnant woman until she menstruates (one time). *

Ruwayfi’ Bin Thabit (4) reported that Allah’s Messenger (&) said: BIS pas coyab G5 SLs Gay WES salle AIL Gade WT oe

CU cia Ge coral oe Lape OG 5 pls ade

1 Ihram: A sacred temporary state for a pilgrim during which he renounces many of

the worldly pleasures such as women and perfume.

2 Recorded by Muslim and others.

3 Recorded by Abii Dawid, al-Bayhaqi, and others. Verified to be authentic by alAlbani (Sahih ul-Jami' no. 7479 & Irwa’ ul-Ghalil no. 187).

Quest for Love & Mercy 151 Forbidden Marriages

Tbn “Umar (ti) said:

“When a slave-girl who has had intercourse with men is given away or sold or freed, she should purify (her womb) with one menses, But a virgin need not purify,” ?

Prohibited Marriages of Jahiliyyah ‘Atsuan’s Hapir

‘Mishah (2) mentioned some forms of marriage that were common during Jahiliyyah times. ‘Urwah Bin az-Zubayr (#8) reported that ‘Aishah () told him that, during Jahiliyyah, marriage was of four different types:

1. The first was like the people’s marriages today, whereupon a man would ask for another man’s daughter or woman under his custory. He would give her a sadaq and marry her.

2, The second was that a man would tell his wife, after she is clean from menses, ‘Invite so and so, and get impregnated by him.’ Her husband would stay away from her and avoid touching her until it became clear if she was pregnant from the other man. If she became definitely pregnant, her husband would have intercourse with her if he wished. They only did that seeking a noble descent

_——— 1 Recorded by Abii Dawid, at-Tirmithi, and others. Verified to be authentic by al-

Albani (Sahih ul-Jami‘ no. 6507, 6508 & Irwa’ul-Ghalil no. 2137). 2 Recorded by al-Bukhart (without isnad) and al-Bayhaci from Nafi‘, Verified to be authentic by al-Albani (Ira ’ul-Ghalil no, 2139).

3. The third was that a group of men, less than ten in total, would all go to a woman and perform intercourse with her. If she became pregnant, she would wait until she delivered the child. A few nights later, she would summon all of them, and none of them may refuse to go to her. When they arrive, she would say, “You know what you have done; and I have given birth, so this child is yours, O so-and-so.” Thus she names whomever she wishes of them, and that man may not refuse annexing that child to him.

4, The fourth was that a large number of men would go to one woman, and she would not reject anyone who came to her, Those were the prostitutes who raised over their doors flags as signs for those who wished to go to them. And if one of them became pregnant, she would wait until she delivered, summon all the men who had intercourse with her, and have those who specialized in detecting likenesses determine the man whom the child resembled the most so as to append it to him; and he would not have the option to refuse that.

‘Rishah (ws) concluded: “So after Muhammad (@) came with the Truth, he revoked all forms of Jahiliyyah marriages — except for

the marriage of the people today.” |

The second, third, and fourth forms of marriage mentioned in this hadith are all clearly prohibited, and will be briefly discussed below.

PARTIALLY OPEN MARRIAGE This is the second type in the above hadith. A man would urge his wife to have intercourse with another man who is distinguished with

courage, nobleness, etc. His purpose is to have her bear a child carrying some noble qualities from that man. Needless to say, this is

1 Recorded by al-Bukhart and Abi Dawid.

Quest for Love & Mercy 153 Forbidden Marriages

outright zind, and a man who does it is clearly a dayyiith.

MARRIAGE OF A GROUP

This is the third type in the above hadith. A number of men would all be “married” to the same woman and simultaneously have intercourse with her. That represents a clear degeneracy and deviation from the pure human nature and values. It further shows how disgraced and despised women were before Islam.