Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (13/288)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

His statement, “through li'an”: the preposition bi- may indicate causation—that is, on account of li'an—or transitivity, meaning that he averts it by means of such-and-such.

The evidence for this is the saying of Allah, Exalted is He:

“And those who accuse their wives but have no witnesses except themselves, then the testimony of one of them shall be four testimonies by Allah.” [Quran 24:6]

The wisdom in its being four testimonies by Allah is clear, for they take the place of four witnesses. His saying, “by Allah,” indicates that this testimony is coupled with an oath, because he says, “I testify by Allah”—as though he had said, “I testify, swearing by Allah.” This is why Allah, Exalted is He, called it testimony, while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called it oaths, saying, “Were it not for the oaths, I would have had a matter to settle with her.” (1)

Accordingly, we say that this testimony includes an oath. His saying, “but have no witnesses except themselves”: “themselves” is a substitute for “witnesses,” because the sentence is a complete negation, and the predicate of “have” is “for them.” It is also possible for “have” to be complete in meaning—that is, no witnesses are found for them. Some have said that, in “except themselves,” “except” is an adjective meaning “other than,” as in the saying of Allah, Exalted is He:

“Had there been within them gods other than Allah, they both would have been ruined.” [Quran 21:22]

That is, other than Allah. They said that “except” can carry the meaning of “other than,” but its grammatical inflection is transferred to the word following it. Thus, “except” is an adjective for [omitted in the source text], but its inflection has been transferred to what follows it, where it becomes apparent. This grammatical disagreement does not result in any disagreement regarding the ruling.

The fourth condition is that both spouses be legally accountable; that is, the spouses must be

(1) Narrated with this wording by Ahmad (1:238) and Abu Dawud, in al-Talaq (Divorce), chapter: “Concerning li'an” (2256), on the authority of Ibn Abbas. Al-Bukhari also narrated it in al-Tafsir (Quranic Exegesis), chapter: “And He averts from her the punishment” (4747), with the wording: “Were it not for what has already been decreed in Allah’s Book, there would have been a matter between me and her.”

وقوله: «باللعان» «الباء» يحتمل أن تكون للسببية، أي: بسبب اللعان، وأن تكون للتعدية يعني يسقطه بكذا. والدليل على ذلك قوله تعالى: ﴿وَالَّذِينَ يَرْمُونَ أَزْوَاجَهُمْ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُمْ شُهَدَاءُ إِلاَّ أَنْفُسُهُمْ فَشَهَادَةُ أَحَدِهِمْ أَرْبَعُ شَهَادَاتٍ بِاللَّهِ﴾ [النور: ٦]، وكونها أربع شهادات بالله، الحكمة فيها واضحة؛ لأنها مقابل أربعة شهود، وقوله: ﴿بِاللَّهِ﴾ أفادت الآية الكريمة أن هذه الشهادة مقرونة بقسم؛ لأنه يقول: أشهد بالله، كأنما قال: أشهد مقسماً بالله، ولهذا سمَّاها الله ـ تعالى ـ شهادة، وسمَّاها النبي ﷺ أيماناً؛ لقوله: «لولا الأيمان لكان لي ولها شأن» (١). وعلى هذا فنقول: هذه الشهادة متضمنة للقسم، وقوله: ﴿وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُمْ شُهَدَاءُ إِلاَّ أَنْفُسُهُمْ﴾ ﴿أَنْفُسُهُمْ﴾ بدل من شهداء؛ لأن الجملة تامة منفية، وخبر ﴿يَكُنْ﴾ ﴿لَهُمْ﴾، ويصلح أن تكون ﴿يَكُنْ﴾ تامة يعني، ولم يوجد لهم شهداء، وبعضهم قال: ﴿إِلاَّ أَنْفُسُهُمْ﴾ ﴿إِلاَّ﴾ صفة بمعنى «غير» كقوله تعالى: ﴿لَوْ كَانَ فِيهِمَا آلِهَةٌ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ لَفَسَدَتَا﴾ [الأنبياء: ٢٢] أي: غير الله، وقالوا: إن ﴿إِلاَّ﴾ تأتي بمعنى «غير» لكن ينقل إعرابها إلى ما بعدها، فتكون ﴿إِلاَّ﴾ صفة لـ ﴿﴾ لكن نقل إعرابها إلى ما بعدها، فظهر عليه، وهذا الخلاف في الإعراب لا يترتب عليه خلاف في الحكم. والشرط الرابع: تكليف الزوجين، أي: أن يكون الزوجان

(١) أخرجه بهذا اللفظ أحمد (١/ ٢٣٨)، وأبو داود في الطلاق/ باب في اللعان (٢٢٥٦) عن ابن عباس ﵄ وأخرجه البخاري في التفسير/ باب ﴿وَيَدْرَأُ عَنْهَا الْعَذَابَ﴾ (٤٧٤٧) بلفظ: «لولا ما مضى من كتاب الله لكان لي ولها شأن».