Issues:

First: Does the Prophet’s statement, “A person in ihram may neither marry nor arrange a marriage” (1), indicate that it is permissible to conclude a marriage contract after the first stage of release from ihram—as stated in the second narration from Ahmad and preferred by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah—because, after the first release, one is no longer described as being fully in ihram?

This issue will come before us, Allah willing, in connection with his statement, peace and blessings be upon him: “Everything becomes lawful for him except women” (2). Does “women” mean women themselves and matters connected to them, such as proposing marriage and concluding a marriage contract, or does it mean intimacy with women? There are two views on the matter. In practice, however, we say: Do not conclude a marriage contract until you have fully exited ihram. Yet if a contract were concluded after the first release, then, due to the great hardship involved, we may perhaps adopt the view of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, which is also a narration from Imam Ahmad.

Upon reflection, we find that the view that concluding a marriage contract after the first release is prohibited is open to question in terms of the evidence. This is because the Prophet’s words, “except women,” strongly admit the possibility that what is intended is intimacy with them, through intercourse or otherwise—especially since one who has undergone the first release is not described as being fully in ihram.

Second: The correct view is that proposing marriage is prohibited, because the prohibition concerning it is the same as that concerning the marriage contract. The general wording of the hadith, “nor may he propose marriage,” means that he may not propose either indirectly or explicitly.