her anus for a year, this is not īlāʾ, because he has merely sworn regarding something that he is obligated to refrain from; for it is forbidden for a man to have intercourse with his wife in her anus.
His statement, “more than four months”: the apparent sense of the author’s words is that if he makes an oath of īlāʾ not to have intercourse with her for four months, this is not īlāʾ; nor is it īlāʾ if it is for three months. The correct view, however, is that it is īlāʾ, because Allah says:
“For those who swear abstinence from their wives is a waiting period of four months.” [al-Baqarah 2:226]
Thus, Allah affirmed īlāʾ, but set four months as the period for which they are given respite. So, if he says, “By Allah, I will not have intercourse with my wife for three months,” he has made an oath of īlāʾ, because he has sworn not to have intercourse with her. Yet we do not require anything of him at that point, because once the period has elapsed, the oath is dissolved.
For example, a man says to his wife, “By Allah, I will not have intercourse with you for three months.” In this case, we say: he has made an oath of īlāʾ, but we do not impose upon him the ruling of īlāʾ. Rather, we give him respite until the three months have ended; once they end, the ruling of the oath ceases.
Īlāʾ is valid from a disbeliever, a wholly owned slave, a discerning child, an angry person, an intoxicated person, a sick person whose recovery is hoped for, and one who has not consummated the marriage with her; but not from an insane person or one who is unconscious, ............
His statement, “is valid”: the pronoun refers to īlāʾ.
His statement, “from a disbeliever”: that is, it is valid from a disbeliever, and from a Muslim all the more so. If a Jew or a Christian swears not to have intercourse with his wife for six months, and she brings the case before us, we rule that he has made an oath of īlāʾ. How can it be valid from a disbeliever? Do we have authority over a disbeliever such that we may bind him to the rulings of Islam? Yes: he may make an oath of īlāʾ from his wife while he is a disbeliever, then they both accept Islam. Do we then say that the īlāʾ made while they were disbelievers is void, or does its ruling remain? The answer is that its ruling remains after Islam.
His statement, “a wholly owned slave”: this is a slave who is entirely owned. Īlāʾ is valid from such a slave. Can a wholly owned slave have a wife? Yes. Thus, if he makes an oath of īlāʾ, it is valid, due to the general meaning of the verse.
His statement, “a discerning child”: namely, one who is seven years old. If he makes an oath of īlāʾ from his wife, his īlāʾ is valid. The reason it is valid from a discerning child is that his divorce is valid, and