4. An-Nisaa

How shall you take it that is by what right when each of you has been privily with the other through sexual intercourse which validates the dowry and they have taken from you a solemn covenant a binding pledge and that is what God commanded namely that they should be retained honourably or set free virtuously.

And do not marry women whom mā means man your fathers married unless it be a thing of the past which is forgiven you; surely that marrying them is obscene vile and abominable maqtan means it results in maqt ‘severe hate’ from God an evil way an evil path is this.

Forbidden to you are your mothers in marriage and this includes the paternal and maternal grandmothers; and daughters including their children if they should lower themselves to such standards; your sisters from your fathers and mothers; your paternal aunts that is the sisters of your fathers and grandfathers; and maternal aunts that is the sisters of your mothers and grandmothers; your brother’s daughters your sister’s daughters including the children of these daughters; your foster mothers who have given you milk five times within the first two years as pointed out in a hadīth; your foster sisters and according to the Sunna the daughters of these; and these foster-sisters include those suckled by a woman with whom the man has had intercourse those suckled by the man’s paternal aunts or maternal aunts or those suckled by his brother’s daughters or his sister’s daughters on account of the Prophet’s hadīth that ‘What kinship makes unlawful suckling also makes unlawful’ as reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim; your mothers-in-law your step-daughters rabā’ib plural of rabība the daughter of one’s wife from another husband who are being brought up in your care allātī fī hujūrikum is an adjectival qualifier reiterating the obvious without any additional import; being born of your wives you have been in to in sexual intercourse — but if you have not yet been in to them you are not at fault if you leave them to then marry their daughters — and the spouses of your sons who are of your loins as opposed to those whom you have adopted whose spouses in contrast you may marry; and that you should take to you in marriage two sisters together sisters by kinship or by suckling the Sunna adds that you may not marry her together with her paternal or maternal aunt; it is permissible to marry each of these separately or to own them as handmaidens together but only have sexual intercourse with one of them; unless it be a thing of the past from pre-Islamic times when you may have married in one of the ways mentioned you are not at fault. God is ever Forgiving of what you have done in the past prior to this prohibition Merciful to you in this matter.

And whoever has not the means wherewith whoever is not wealthy enough to be able to marry believing al-mu’mināt ‘believing’ is in accordance with the prevalent practice and does not add to the import free women in wedlock let him take in marriage believing maids whom your right hands own. God knows very well your faith so suffice yourself with its outward manifestation and leave the innermost matters to Him for He is the One to know her true merit many a slavegirl may be more excellent in faith than a free woman and this is meant to encourage marriage with slavegirls; the one of you is as the other being equal in religion so do not disdain to marry with them. So marry them with the permission of their folk their guardians and give them their wages their dowries honourably without procrastination or diminution as women in wedlock muhsanāt a circumstantial qualifier in decency not illicitly openly fornicating or taking lovers companions fornicating in secret. But when they are given in wedlock when they are married off a variant reading for the passive uhsinna ‘they are given in wedlock’ has the active ahsanna ‘they enter into wedlock’ if they commit lewdness such as adultery they shall be liable to half the chastisement the legal punishment of married free virgin women who commit adultery and are thus given fifty lashes and banished for half a year; male slaves by analogy are liable to the same punishment. Here God has not made wedlock the precondition for the prescribed punishment to show that stoning does not apply in their case sc. slavegirls. That marrying of slavegirls on account of insufficient means is for those of you who fear the distress of sin fornication al-‘anat originally means distress but is used to mean zinā ‘fornication’ because of the distress that it causes in the way of the punishment in this world and in the Hereafter as opposed to those of you who might not have such a fear of distress with regard to their free women and for whom it is unlawful to marry her the slavegirl; likewise for one who has sufficient means to marry a free woman it is unlawful for him to marry a slavegirl instead this is the opinion of al-Shāfi‘ī. Moreover God’s words ‘believing maids’ precludes unbelieving women whom it is unlawful to marry even if one should find no believing women and fear the distress of fornication; yet it is better for you to be patient and abstain from marrying slavegirls lest the child should become enslaved also. God is Forgiving Merciful by allowing room for manoeuvre in these matters.

God desires to make clear to you the laws of your religion and what is in your best interests and to guide you in the ways the paths of those prophets before you in the way of what is lawful and what is unlawful so that you might follow them and to turn in forgiveness towards you bringing you back from the disobedience which you practised to obedience to Him; God is Knowing of you Wise in what He has ordained for you.

And God desires to turn forgivingly towards you He repeats this in order to expand upon it but those who follow their passions the Jews and Christians or the Magians and adulterers desire that you deviate with a terrible deviation transgressing what is right by committing what has been forbidden you so that you might be like them.

God desires to lighten things for you and make the rulings of the Law easier for you; for man was created weak unable to abstain from women and passions.

O you who believe consume not your goods between you wrongly unlawfully according to the Law through usury or usurpation except it be trading tijāratan also read tijāratun so that the goods be from trade effected through mutual agreement through mutual good-will such goods you may consume. And kill not yourselves by committing what leads towards destruction on account of some affiliation be it in this world or the Hereafter. Surely God is ever Merciful to you when He forbids you such things.

And whoever does that which he has been forbidden through aggression ‘udwānan a circumstantial qualifier transgressing what is lawful and injustice zulman reiterated for emphasis him We shall certainly expose admit to a fire wherein he shall burn; and that for God is an easy matter.