is forbidden to have intercourse with her. It is known that if the owner were female, we would not say, “Intercourse with her is forbidden to you.” Thus, the phrase, “from a minor,” is connected to his statement, “comes into possession”; that is, he acquires her from a minor by purchasing her from him. For example, a man purchases from a minor who has not reached puberty a slave girl with whom intercourse is possible. The purchaser must then establish that her uterus is free from pregnancy, even though such a minor cannot have intercourse with someone like her.

The second view is that establishing the uterus’s freedom from pregnancy is not required in this case, because its purpose is to ascertain that the womb is free of a child, whereas here she cannot give birth, even if that minor had intercourse with her. If it is said, “Could someone not have committed fornication with her?” the answer is: Yes, but the basic presumption is that this has not occurred.

His statement, “and an adult male,” is clear.

His statement, “or the opposite of either”: the opposite of a minor is an adult, and the opposite of a male is a female. Thus, this means that he acquires her from a minor or an adult, male or female.

His statement, “intercourse with her is forbidden to him,” means that intercourse with her is forbidden to the owner.

His statement, “and its preliminaries,” means the acts leading to intercourse, such as kissing, touching, intercourse short of penetration, and the like. This is in order to block the means, for he may not be able to restrain himself from intercourse. The sound view to the contrary will be mentioned later.

His statement, “before establishing that her uterus is free from pregnancy”: he will explain, Allah willing, how this is established. The evidence is the Prophet’s saying: “It is not lawful for a man who believes in Allah and the Last Day to water another man’s crop with his own water” (1)—that is,