Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (12/223)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

a merciful Shariah. With some defects, we may say that their occurrence causes no harm. Thus, a defect of this kind that has no effect should not give rise to an option of annulment if it occurs after the contract. The defects that do have an effect are as the author has stated.

“Or if the other spouse has a similar defect …”

His statement, “Or if the other spouse has a similar defect,” means that annulment remains established. If a man discovers that his wife has vitiligo and says, “You have a defect,” and she replies, “You too have the defect of vitiligo,” then each of them has the option of annulment. If he says, “You have no such option, because you have the same defect that I have,” what is the answer? The answer is what the jurists, may Allah have mercy on them, have explained: a person is repulsed by another person’s defect but not by his own. Thus, you find that a person is disgusted when he sees a wound on someone else, whereas he is not disgusted by a wound on his own body.

Some of the scholars of our school, however, made an exception where the man is emasculated and the woman has vaginal obstruction: neither of them has an option of annulment. This is because, in such a case, if he finds that she has vaginal obstruction, annulment would only be established for him due to the loss of sexual intercourse; and if she finds that he is emasculated, annulment would only be established for her due to the loss of sexual intercourse. Yet there is no benefit here: even if he were free of defects, she would not be able to benefit from him; and even if she were free of defects, he would not be able to benefit from her. Accordingly, neither of them has an option of annulment. This is a sound view.

His statement, “a similar defect,” means that the same ruling applies by analogy when the other defect is different. Thus, if the other spouse has a defect of a different type—for example, if the woman has fecal incontinence and the man has vitiligo—then she has even greater right to annul the marriage. For if a spouse may annul it on account of a defect similar to his or her own, then this case is all the more deserving.

الشريعة الرحيمة، فبعض العيوب قد نقول: إنه لا يضر حدوثه، فالشيء الذي لا يؤثر من هذه العيوب لا ينبغي أن يكون فيه خيار إذا حدث بعد العقد، والمؤثر كما قال المؤلف. أَوْ كَانَ بِالآخَرِ عَيْبٌ مِثْلُهُ، ........ قوله: «أو كان بالآخر عيب مثله» فإنه يثبت الفسخ، لما اطلع الرجل على برص في زوجته قال: بك عيب، فقالت: وأنت بك عيب البرص، فلكل منهما الخيار، فإذا قال: لا خيار لك؛ لأن فيك مثل هذا العيب الذي فيّ، فما الجواب؟ الجواب: أن يقال كما علله الفقهاء ﵏: إن الإنسان ينفر من عيب غيره ولا ينفر من عيب نفسه، ولهذا تجد الإنسان يتقزز إذا رأى في إنسان جرحاً، لكن جرحه الذي فيه لا يتقزز منه. إلا أن بعض الأصحاب استثنوا من ذلك ما لو كان مجبوباً وهي رتقاء، فإنه لا خيار لأحدهما؛ لأنه في هذه الحال إذا وجدها رتقاء إنما يثبت له الفسخ لفوات الاستمتاع بالجماع، وإذا وجدته مجبوباً فإنما يثبت لها الفسخ لفوات الاستمتاع بالجماع، وهنا لا فائدة، حتى لو كان هو غير معيب فإنها لن تستفيد منه، ولو كانت هي غير معيبة فإنه لن يستفيد منها، وعلى هذا فلا خيار لهما، وهذا وجيه. وقوله: «مثله» أي: يقاس عليه ما إذا كان العيب مغايراً له، فلو كان في الآخر عيب من غير جنسه، مثل أن يكون في المرأة استطلاق النجو، وفي الرجل برص مثلاً، فلها أن تفسخ من باب أولى؛ لأنه إذا كان العيب المماثل لصاحبه أن يفسخ، فهذا من باب أولى.