Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (13/453)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

her belief, it is not lawful for her to marry anyone else, because she believes that she is still married to her husband. She cannot therefore be released from him except through a divorce. He must consequently be compelled to divorce her; and if he refuses, the judge will pronounce a divorce on his behalf, lest the woman remain trapped.

His statement, “If she says this and he declares her to be lying, then she is legally his wife,” means: if the woman says that she is her husband’s sister through breastfeeding, does the marriage become invalid or not? If the husband confirms her claim, its invalidity becomes clear, and she is entitled to no dowry, whether this occurred before or after consummation, because she has acknowledged that the marriage is invalid—unless she only discovered this after consummation. In that case, she is entitled to the full dowry, because the intercourse then took place under a mistaken belief, and she is therefore entitled to the dowry.

But if he declares her to be lying, she is legally his wife—that is, outwardly. Yet how can she be his wife when she believes herself unlawful for him? We say: he does not believe this. In such a case, she must seek to ransom herself from her husband by whatever means she can: she may give him money in exchange for divorcing her, because it is not lawful for her to make herself available to him while believing that he is not her husband.

What, then, is the husband to do? We say: in that case, she is regarded as a recalcitrant wife; she is not entitled to maintenance or to an allotted share of his nights, if he has another wife. At that point, the judiciary intervenes and requires the husband to divorce her, while he is given back his dowry, as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, did with the wife of Thabit ibn Qays, may Allah be pleased with him. She said, “I cannot bear him.” He said, “Will you return his garden to him?” She replied, “Yes.” He said: “Accept the garden and divorce her.” (1)

His statement, “then she is legally his wife,” means: legally, not in actual reality, because she believes that she is

(1) Narrated by al-Bukhari in The Book of Divorce, chapter: “Khul' (divorce initiated by the wife) and how divorce occurs therein,” no. 5273, on the authority of Ibn Abbas.

اعتقادها لا يحل لها أن تتزوج أحداً؛ لأنها تعتقد أنها مع زوجها، فلا يمكن أن تنفك منك إلا بطلاق، وحينئذٍ يجبر على أن يطلق، فإن أبى أن يطلق طلق عليه القاضي؛ لئلا تبقى المرأة محبوسة. قوله: «وَإِنْ قَالَتْ هِيَ ذلِكَ وَأَكْذَبَهَا فَهِيَ زَوْجَتُهُ حُكْماً» أي: أن المرأة قالت: إنها أخت زوجها من الرضاع، فهل ينفسخ النكاح أو لا؟ إن صدق الزوج تبين بطلانه، وليس لها مهر، سواء قبل الدخول أو بعده؛ لأنها أقرت بأن النكاح باطل، إلا إذا كان لم يتبين لها إلا بعد الدخول فلها المهر كاملاً؛ لأن الوطء حينئذٍ كان بشبهة فتستحق المهر؛ وإن كَذَّبَ فهي زوجته حكماً، أي: ظاهراً، لكن كيف تكون زوجته وهي تعتقد أنها حرام عليه؟ نقول: لكن هو لا يعتقد ذلك، وفي مثل هذه الحال يجب عليها أن تفتدي من زوجها بكل ما تستطيع، فتعطيه دراهم ليطلقها؛ لأنه لا يحل لها أن تمكنه من نفسها، وهي تعتقد أنه ليس بزوج، وماذا يصنع الزوج؟ فنقول: هي حينئذٍ في حكم الناشز، ليس لها نفقة ولا قسم إن كان معه زوجة، وفي هذه الحال يتدخل القضاء، فيلزم الزوج بأن يطلق، ولكن يعطى مهره، كما فعل النبي ﷺ مع امرأة ثابت بن قيس ﵁ التي قالت: أنا لا أطيقه، فقال: أتردين عليه حديقته؟ قالت: نعم، قال: «اقبل الحديقة وطلقها» (١). وقوله: «فهي زوجته حكماً» أي: لا حقيقة؛ لأنها تعتقد أنها

(١) أخرجه البخاري في الطلاق/ باب الخلع وكيف الطلاق فيه؟ (٥٢٧٣) عن ابن عباس ﵄.