dislikes the husband, he may force her. Thus, in times such as these, it is more appropriate to close the door in cases of this kind and to say: whenever he stipulates that the other man must marry his daughter to him, the marriage must be annulled, in order to avert harm. As for the underlying meaning and legal reasoning, however, the apparent import of the evidence indicates that, if the customary bridal gift, consent, and suitability of the match are present, there is no impediment.

“If a bridal gift is specified for both of them, it is valid. But if he marries her on the condition that, once he has made her lawful again for the first husband, he will divorce her; or if he intends this without stipulating it...”

His statement, “If a bridal gift is specified for both of them, it is valid,” means that both marriages are valid. They relied on the wording in the hadith: “Shighar is when a man marries his daughter to another man on the condition that the latter marries his daughter to him, with no bridal gift between them” (1). They said: This explanation resolves the difficulty and shows that, if there is a bridal gift between them, the marriage is valid. The derivation of the word likewise supports this, for it comes from a place being vacant. What matters in expressions is their meanings. Thus, shighar involves no bridal gift; if a bridal gift is specified, there is no vacancy. This has already been explained.

The word “bridal gift” is indefinite in the context of a condition, and its apparent meaning includes even a small amount. However, this is contrary to the established Hanbali position. According to that position, it must not be a trifling amount used as a legal device; if it is a trifling amount used as a legal device, then the marriage is not valid even according to the school.

His statement, “But if he marries her on the condition that, once he has made her lawful again for the first husband, he will divorce her,” is likewise an invalid condition that invalidates the marriage. This is called a taḥlīl marriage. For example, a woman who has been divorced three times: when a man divorces his wife three times, she is not lawful for him again until she marries another husband, as Allah the Exalted says:

“Divorce is twice.” Then He says: “And if he divorces her, she is not lawful to him afterward until she marries another husband” [al-Baqarah 2:230].

Then a man comes and marries her, but the woman’s family stipulate to him that, once he has made her lawful again for the first husband, he must divorce her; and he agrees.