Hadith 3270a

Regarding the statement, “That is, they became lawful for them”, this Hadith is cited as evidence that captive women are lawful, whether they were previously married or unmarried. As far as I know, there is no disagreement on this point, provided that the legally prescribed waiting period has elapsed. This is stated in Nayl al-Awtar. In al-Tafsirāt al-Ahmadiyyah, the meaning is explained as follows: Married women are forbidden to you for as long as they remain married, except those whom your right hands possess. This does not mean that a woman who is enslaved becomes lawful for her owner even while she remains married to another man—Allah forbid. Rather, the intended meaning is that all married women are forbidden to you except those who come into your possession because they have been taken from enemy territory without their husbands. Such women become lawful for you even if their husbands remain in enemy territory, because the separation of the two territories causes the marriage bond to be dissolved. They therefore become lawful to the captor through ownership after the required waiting period to establish that they are not pregnant. This is stated in Madarik. This interpretation is supported by the account of the occasion of revelation mentioned in al-Husayni and other works. Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri said, “One day, we captured many women, and they had husbands. We disliked having intercourse with them, so we asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) about this. Then the verse was revealed: ‘Except those whom your right hands possess’ (al-Nisa 4:24).” This is the position of our school. According to Shafi‘i, however, the meaning is that such women become lawful because they have been taken from Dar al-Harab (enemy territory), whether they were captured with their husbands or without them. This is because, according to him, captivity itself terminates the marriage, rather than separation between the two territories. This is stated in al-Baydawi. This is a well-known difference discussed in the books of Islamic jurisprudence, and the author of al-Hidayah explains it in detail.

(۱)قوله: أي فهن لهم حلال إلخ : يستدل بهذا الحديث على أن السبايا حلال من غير فرق بين ذوات الأزواج وغيرهن، وذلك مما لا خلاف فيه فيما أعلم، ولكن بعد مضي العدة المعتبرة شرعًا. قاله في نيل الأوطار». وقال في التفسيرات الأحمدية والمعنى: وحرّم عليكم ذوات الأزواج ما دامت ذوات الأزواج إلا ما ملكت أيمانكم، وليس معنى هذا الاستفسار أن ممكولة الأيمان حلال لصاحبها، وإن زوجها لرجل آخر، معاذ الله منه، بل المراد أن جميع ذوات الأزواج محرمة عليكم إلا ما ملكت أيمانكم بسبب الإخراج من دار الحرب بدون الأزواج، فهن حلال لكم وإن كان زوجها موجودًا في دار الحرب لوقوع الفرقة بتباين الدارين، فيحل للغانم بملك اليمين بعد الاستبراء، هكذا في «المدارك». ويدل على هذا المعنى ما ذكره في «الحسيني» وغيره من شأن نزوله وهو أن أبا سعيد الخدري قال: أصبنا ذات يوم السبايا الكثيرة، فكان لهن أزواج فكرهنا الجماع منهن فسألنا النبي ، فنزل قوله: ﴿إِلَّا مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَنُكُمْ (النساء: (٢٤)، وهذا عندنا. وعند الشافعي معناه إلا ما ملكت أيمانكم بسبب الإخراج من دار الحرب، سواء أخرجن مع أزواج أو بلا أزواج؛ لأن النكاح عنده يرتفع بالسبى دون بتاين الدارين. نص به في البيضاوي»، وهذا لاختلاف معروف في كتب الفقه، ذكره صاحب الهداية» بالتفصيل.