has no effect, and unlawful intercourse cannot be treated like a valid marriage.
His statement, “If he marries them both in one contract, or simultaneously in two contracts, both contracts are invalid,” means: if he marries two sisters. If it is a single contract, the example is straightforward: the father says to a man, “I give you my two daughters here in marriage,” and he replies, “I accept.” In this case, marrying either one of them is not valid, because neither has any distinction over the other. Thus, the contract is valid for neither this one nor that one. The proper course is to specify one of them, saying, “I give you my daughter so-and-so in marriage,” in which case the contract for one woman is valid.
His statement, “or simultaneously in two contracts, both contracts are invalid,” means that he marries them through two contracts at the same time. This can only be envisaged through agency. For example, the guardian has two daughters and appoints someone to marry off one of them, while he himself undertakes the marriage of the other. Likewise, the husband appoints someone to accept the marriage of one of them on his behalf, while he himself undertakes the marriage of the other. If it happens that the guardian says to this husband, “I give you my daughter so-and-so in marriage,” while the guardian’s agent says to the husband’s agent, “I give your principal, so-and-so, my daughter so-and-so in marriage,” at precisely the same moment, then both contracts are invalid. This is mentioned merely as a hypothetical case; otherwise, it is difficult to occur.
If someone were to ask: Can this issue not be illustrated in an easier manner? Suppose the guardian appoints someone to marry off his daughter so-and-so, while the guardian himself concludes the marriage contract for his other daughter. Both of them make their offer of marriage to the husband, and he says, “I accept.” Can this example be valid, such that it is said to involve two contracts?
The answer is that the offer unquestionably comes from two people, but the acceptance comes from one person; therefore, it is a single contract, because in two contracts there must be