Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (15/152)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

A purely conditional statement is one in which the person has no particular intention, such as saying, “If the sun rises, then my wife is forbidden to me.”

A conditional statement functioning as an oath is one by which he intends to reinforce a prohibition, such as saying, “If I speak to so-and-so, then my wife is forbidden to me.” This is not like saying, “If the sun rises, then my wife is forbidden to me,” because in this case his intention is not to speak to that man. Thus, this conditional statement functions as an oath.

As for declaring her forbidden without any condition, it is for him to say, “You are forbidden to me.” According to the school, all three categories carry the ruling of zihār.

The sound view is that declaring one’s wife forbidden is like declaring anything else forbidden, and its ruling is that of an oath, due to the generality of Allah’s saying: “Prophet, why do you prohibit what Allah has made lawful for you?”

If someone asks, “Did the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, not merely prohibit honey?” the response is that what matters is the generality of the wording, not the particularity of the reason. Allah, may He be exalted, did not say to the Prophet, “Prophet, why do you prohibit honey?” Rather, He said: “Why do you prohibit what Allah has made lawful for you?” The word “what” is a general expression, and it includes even one’s wife.

Thus, if he says to his wife, “You are forbidden to me,” it is an oath. If he has intercourse with her, he is only required to offer the expiation for an oath. He may perform the expiation beforehand, in which case it releases him from his oath, or afterward, in which case it serves as expiation.

This is further supported by Allah’s saying: “Those who swear abstinence from their wives must wait for four months. If they return, then Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful. But if they resolve upon divorce, then Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.” [Surah al-Baqarah 2:226] In reality, īlāʾ is for a man to swear that he will not have intercourse with his wife, and this has the same meaning as declaring her forbidden. Yet he is still required to offer expiation.

If he says, “By saying, ‘She is forbidden to me,’ I intended divorce,” we say:

فالشرط المحض هو الشرط الذي لا قصد للإنسان فيه، مثل أن يقول: إذا طلعت الشمس فزوجتي عليَّ حرام. والجاري مجرى اليمين أن يقصد بذلك توكيد المنع، مثل أن يقول: إن كلمتُ فلاناً فزوجتي عليَّ حرام، فهذا ليس كقوله: إن طلعت الشمس فزوجتي عليَّ حرام؛ لأن قصده هنا ألاَّ يكلم هذا الرجل، فهذا التعليق جارٍ مجرى اليمين. أما التحريم بلا شرط فأن يقول: أنت عليَّ حرام، والأقسام الثلاثة كلها على المذهب حكمها حكم الظهار. والصحيح أن تحريم الزوجة كغيرها، وحكمه كحكم اليمين؛ لعموم قوله تعالى: ﴿يَاأَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ لِمَ تُحَرِّمُ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ لَكَ﴾. فإذا قال قائل: النبي ﷺ إنما حرم العسل؟ فالجواب: العبرة بعموم اللفظ لا بخصوص السبب، فالله ﷿ لم يقل للنبي: «يا أيها النبي لِم تحرم العسل؟»، وإنما قال: ﴿لِمَ تُحَرِّمُ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ لَكَ﴾ و (ما) من صيغ العموم فتشمل حتى الزوجة. فإذا قال لزوجته: أنت علي حرام فهو يمين، إذا جامعها وجب عليه كفارة يمين فقط، وله أن يفعل الكفارة قبل وتكون تحلة، أو بعدُ وتكون كفارة. ويؤيد ذلك قوله تعالى: ﴿لِلَّذِينَ يُؤْلُونَ مِنْ نِسَائِهِمْ تَرَبُّصُ أَرْبَعَةِ أَشْهُرٍ فَإِنْ فَاءُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ *وَإِنْ عَزَمُوا الطَّلَاقَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ﴾ [البقرة:٢٢٦]، والإيلاء في الواقع أن يحلف أن لا يطأ زوجته، وهذا في معنى التحريم، ومع ذلك فإن عليه الكفارة. فإن قال: أنا أردت بقولي: إنها علي حرام، الطلاقَ، قلنا: