Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (12/307)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

for we have already explained that seclusion, looking at her private parts, touching her, and kissing her with desire render the dowry binding. Had the author said, “If he divorces her before the dowry becomes binding,” or, “before anything that renders the dowry binding has occurred,” that would have been better and more comprehensive.

His statement, “Then she is entitled to a compensatory gift according to her husband’s means or lack thereof,” is based on Allah’s saying:

“There is no blame upon you if you divorce women before consummating the marriage or specifying for them a dowry. But provide for them—a provision according to the means of the wealthy and according to the means of the poor.” [al-Baqarah 2:236]

Thus, he is obligatorily required to give her a compensatory gift. Allah, Exalted is He, has determined the compensatory gift according to the husband’s circumstances: the well-off man who is wealthy and the constrained man who is poor and insolvent.

The jurists said: its maximum is a servant—that is, that he buys for her a female slave to serve her—and its minimum is clothing that covers her nakedness in prayer. What they mentioned may have accorded with the circumstances of their time, but Allah, Glorified is He, did not set its amount in the Quran in this manner. It is well known that there is a vast difference between a servant and clothing that covers her nakedness: a servant may be worth three or four times more than the customary dowry, whereas clothing for prayer is of little value. In any case, Allah’s saying, “according to the means of the wealthy and according to the means of the poor,” is applied in every time and place according to what is appropriate. The wealthy man is told: you are required to give something commensurate with your means; and the poor man is told: you are required to give something commensurate with your means.

His statement, “The customary dowry becomes binding upon consummation,” mentions one of the matters by which the dowry becomes binding. It has already been mentioned that it becomes binding upon death; here he mentions consummation, which is sexual intercourse. It likewise becomes binding through seclusion. The evidence is Allah’s saying:

“And if you divorce them before consummating the marriage, but after having specified a dowry for them, then half of what you have specified is due to them.” [al-Baqarah 2:237]

لأنه تقدم لنا أن الخلوة، والنظر إلى فرجها، ومسها، وتقبيلها بشهوة يثبت المهر، ولو قال المؤلف: وإن طلقها قبل استقرار المهر، أو قبل وجود ما يستقر به المهر لكان أحسن وأشمل. قوله: «فلها المتعة بقدر يسر زوجها وعسره»، لقوله تعالى: ﴿لَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِنْ طَلَّقْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ مَا لَمْ تَمَسُّوهُنَّ أَوْ تَفْرِضُوا لَهُنَّ فَرِيضَةً وَمَتِّعُوهُنَّ عَلَى الْمُوسِعِ قَدَرُهُ وَعَلَى الْمُقْتِرِ﴾ [البقرة: ٢٣٦]، فيجب أن يمتِّعها وجوباً، والله ـ تعالى ـ قدر المتعة بحسب حال الزوج، الموسع الغني، والمقتر الفقير المعسر. قال الفقهاء: أعلاها خادم، يعني يشتري لها مملوكة تخدمها، وأدناها كسوة تستر عورتها في الصلاة، وهذا الذي ذكروه قد يكون موافقاً لواقعهم، لكن الله ـ سبحانه ـ في القرآن ما قدرها بهذا، ومعلوم أن هناك فرقاً عظيماً بين الخادم والكسوة التي تستر عورتها، فالخادم ربما يساوي أكثر من مهر المثل ثلاث مرات، أو أربعة، والكسوة في الصلاة ليست بشيء، وعلى كل حال فقوله تعالى: ﴿عَلَى الْمُوسِعِ قَدَرُهُ وَعَلَى الْمُقْتِرِ قَدَرُهُ﴾ تنبني في كل زمان ومكان على حسب ما يليق، يقال للغني: يفرض عليك شيء بقدرك، ويقال للفقير: يفرض عليك شيء بقدرك. قوله: «ويستقر مهر المثل بالدخول» هذا ذِكرٌ لما يستقر به المهر، وتقدم أنه يستقر بالموت، وهنا ذكر الدخول وهو الجماع، وكذلك بالخلوة، والدليل قوله تعالى: ﴿وَإِنْ طَلَّقْتُمُوهُنَّ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ تَمَسُّوهُنَّ وَقَدْ فَرَضْتُمْ لَهُنَّ فَرِيضَةً فَنِصْفُ مَا فَرَضْتُمْ﴾ [البقرة: ٢٣٧]