Hadith 3272a

Regarding the statement, “Ghaylan ibn Salamah al-Thaqafi embraced Islam while he had ten wives from the pre-Islamic period”, al-Durr al-Mukhtar states: “If a non-Muslim embraces Islam while married to five or more women, or to two sisters, or to a woman and her daughter, their marriages become invalid, even if he married them through a single contract. If he married them in a particular order, the last marriage is invalid. Muhammad and Shafi‘i gave him the choice, acting upon the hadith concerning Fayruz.” We say that the choice given to him concerned marrying after separation, that is, entering into a new marriage contract. Ibn al-Humam said that the view of Muhammad is more sound. This is stated in al-Durr al-Mukhtar and al-Mirqat. There is further detail on this issue, the full discussion of which belongs in Radd al-Muhtar. In al-Urf al-Shadhi, it is stated that the schools of Shafi‘i, Ahmad, Malik and Muhammad hold that a man is given the choice to select whichever of his wives he wishes. Abu Yusuf and Abu Hanifah hold that he must select the woman whom he married first. The majority rely on the hadiths in this chapter, while the two leading scholars responded as Tahaawi did. The substance of their argument is that non-Muslims are also subject to the practical rulings of religion, including those concerning marriage. As for the issue mentioned by the two leading scholars, it applies to marriages contracted after the prohibition of having more than two, three or four wives had been revealed. Marriages contracted before the religious law established this ruling were valid. Therefore, when such a man embraces Islam, his marriages remain valid, and he may choose whichever wives he wishes. In summary, the disagreement concerns marriages contracted after the prohibition was revealed. As for marriages contracted before the religious law was established, they are not altered. This is the end of the quotation. In Nayl al-Awtar, it states that this provides evidence that the marriage contracts of non-Muslims are considered valid, even if they do not conform to Islam. When they embrace Islam, the rulings governing Muslim marriages are applied to them. This was the view of Malik, Shafi‘i, Ahmad and Dawud. The Prophet’s family and descendants, Abu Hanifah, Abu Yusuf, Thawri, Awza‘i, Zuhri and one of the two views attributed to Shafi‘i held that only those marriages of non-Muslims that conform to Islam are recognised. According to them, if a non-Muslim embraces Islam while married to two sisters, he must separate from the sister whose marriage contract was concluded later. Likewise, if he has more than four wives, he must keep those whose marriage contracts were concluded earlier and separate from those whose contracts came later, where applicable, such as the fifth wife. If the marriage contracts with two sisters, or with more than four women, were concluded simultaneously, the contracts are invalid. He may then choose which of the two sisters to keep and which to release, or select four of his wives to retain and separate from the remainder.

(۱)قوله: إن غيلان بن سلمة الثقفي أسلم وله عشر نسوة في الجاهلية إلخ : وقال في الدر المختار»: أسلم الكافر وتحته خمس نسوة فصاعدًا أو أختان أو أم وبنتها بطل نكاحهن، وإن تزوجهن بعقد واحد. فإن رتب فالآخر باطل، وخيره محمد والشافعي عملا بحديث فيروز. قلنا : كان تخييره في التزوج بعد الفرقة أي التزوج بعقد جديد. وقال ابن الهمام والأوجه قول محمد. كذا في الدر المختار» و «المرقاة»، وفي المقام تفصيل آخر، موضع بسطه هو رد المحتار». وقال في العرف الشذي مذهب الشافعي وأحمد ومالك ومحمد أن الرجل يخير يختار أيتهن شاء. وقال أبو يوسف وأبو حنيفة: إنه يختار أولهن نكاحا، تمسك الجمهور بأحاديث الباب، وأجاب الشيخان بما أجاب الطحاوي. وحاصله : أن الكفار مخاطبون بالفروع مثل النكاح. وأما المسألة التي ذكر الشيخان تكون في الأنكحة التي تنعقد بعد ورود النهي عن الزائد على مثنى وثلاث ورباع، وأما الأنكحة التي قبل ورود الشريعة بهذه المسألة فكانت صحيحة، فإذا أسلم فأنكحته صحيحة، ويختار أيتهن شاء، فالحاصل أن الخلاف في الأنكحة التي بعد ورود النهي، وأما ما مضى قبل ورود الشريعة فلا تبديل فيها، انتهى. وقال في نيل الأوطار فيه دليل على أنه يحكم لعقود الكفار بالصحة وإن لم توفق الإسلام، فإذا أسلموا أجرينا عليهم في الأنكحة أحكام المسلمين، وقد ذهب إلى هذا مالك والشافعي وأحمد وداود، وذهبت العترة وأبو حنيفة وأبو يوسف والثوري والوزاعي والزهري وأحد قولي الشافعي إلى أنه لا يقر من أنكحة الكفار إلا ما وافق الإسلام، فيقولون: إذا أسلم الكافر وتحته أختان وجب عليه إرسال من تأخر عقدها، وكذلك إذا كان تحته أكثر من خمس، أمسك من تقدم العقد عليها منهن، وأرسل من تأخر عقدها إذا كانت خامسة أو نحو ذلك، وإذا وقع العقد على الأختين أو على أكثر من أربع مرَّةً واحدةً بطل، وأمسك من شاء من الأختين وأرسل من شاء، وأمسك أربعا من الزوجات يختارهن ويرسل الباقيات.