two months. So, does the period begin from the twenty-seventh of Rabi al-Awwal, completing four months and thus making six months from the oath, or does he complete only two months? The answer is that he completes only two months, because from the twenty-seventh of Muharram this man became one who had sworn an oath of abstinence, and Allah, Exalted is He, says:

“Those who swear abstinence from their wives have a waiting period of four months.”

His words, “four months,” are based on the view that a man is not required to have intercourse with his wife more than once every four months. According to this view, then, he would only be obliged to have intercourse with his wife three times a year—even if he is a young man and she is a young woman. They say that she has no right to it except once every four months. But this view is extremely weak, for Allah, Exalted is He, says:

“Live with them honorably.” [al-Nisa 4:19]

It is by no means honorable conduct for a husband to remain with his young wife when they have only recently married, to have intercourse with her on the first night, and then, when she adorns herself for him and desires from him what a woman desires from her husband, to say, “Be patient; four months remain.” Is this living with her honorably? No, this is not honorable marital conduct. Hence, the sounder view in this matter is that he must have intercourse with his wife in a customary and reasonable manner, unless there is some reason, such as his weakness, illness, something about the wife that makes him reluctant, or the like.

His words, “even if he is an enslaved man,” indicate a point of disagreement, because some scholars maintain that an enslaved man is assigned half the period, just as an enslaved woman’s waiting period is half that of a free woman. The correct view, however, is that the enslaved man and the free man are the same in this respect.

His words, “then, if he has intercourse, even if only the glans is inserted,” mean even if he does not ejaculate, because