Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (15/163)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

slavery. It is unrestricted, and its apparent meaning is that freeing a slave suffices even if the slave is a disbeliever. This is the view of Imam Abu Hanifah, his companions, Ibn al-Mundhir, and a group of scholars. They said: because Allah, Most High, says:

“Its expiation is to feed ten poor people from the average of what you feed your own families, or to clothe them, or to free a slave.” [al-Ma'idah 5:89]

He left it unrestricted, whereas He, Glorified be He, says regarding the expiation for accidental killing:

“Whoever kills a believer by mistake must free a believing slave.” [al-Nisa' 4:92]

Thus, Allah, Most High, qualified it by faith. Yet in the expiation for an oath and for zihar, He left it unrestricted, and we have no right to qualify what Allah has left unrestricted. Just as we say that there is no feeding required in the expiation for accidental killing because it was not mentioned, likewise we say that faith is not a condition in the expiation for zihar or for oaths, because it was not mentioned.

We further say: in the verse concerning killing, Allah stipulated faith in three places. He, Glorified be He, says:

“It is not for a believer to kill a believer except by mistake. Whoever kills a believer by mistake must free a believing slave and pay blood money to the victim’s family, unless they forgo it as charity. If the victim was from a people hostile to you, yet he was a believer, then the expiation is to free a believing slave. And if he was from a people between whom and you there is a treaty, then blood money must be paid to his family and a believing slave must be freed.” [al-Nisa' 4:92]

Thus, the slave is qualified by faith three times. If we were to hold that an unrestricted expression is to be understood in light of a qualified one, it would have sufficed for it to be qualified once in the noble verse, with the other two occurrences understood accordingly. Therefore, since Allah, Most High, qualifies manumission by faith whenever He mentions it, while the cause is one and the same—namely, the killing of a life held inviolable—this indicates that faith is not a condition in the expiation for an oath, for zihar, or for intercourse during the daytime in Ramadan, especially

الرق، وهو مطلق، فظاهره أن الرقبة تجزئ ولو كانت كافرة، وهذا مذهب الإمام أبي حنيفة، وأصحابه، وابن المنذر، وجماعة من أهل العلم، قالوا: لأن الله ـ تعالى ـ قال: ﴿فَكَفَّارَتُهُ إِطْعَامُ عَشَرَةِ مَسَاكِينَ مِنْ أَوْسَطِ مَا تُطْعِمُونَ أَهْلِيكُمْ أَوْ كِسْوَتُهُمْ أَوْ تَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍ﴾ [المائدة: ٨٩] وأطلق، بينما قال ـ سبحانه ـ في كفارة قتل الخطأ: ﴿وَمَنْ قَتَلَ مُؤْمِناً خَطَأً فَتَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍ مُؤْمِنَةٍ﴾ [النساء: ٩٢]، فقيدها الله ـ تعالى ـ بالإيمان، وفي كفارة اليمين والظهار أطلق، وليس لنا أن نقيد ما أطلقه الله، وإذا كنا نقول: إنه لا إطعام في كفارة القتل؛ لأنه لم يذكر، فكذلك نقول: إنه لا يشترط الإيمان في كفارة الظهار، وكفارة الأيمان؛ لأنه لم يذكر. ثم نقول: آية القتل اشترط الله فيها الإيمان في ثلاثة مواضع، فقال سبحانه: ﴿وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ أَنْ يَقْتُلَ مُؤْمِناً إِلاَّ خَطَأً وَمَنْ قَتَلَ مُؤْمِناً خَطَأً فَتَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍ مُؤْمِنَةٍ وَدِيَةٌ مُسَلَّمَةٌ إِلَى أَهْلِهِ إِلاَّ أَنْ يَصَّدَّقُوا فَإِنْ كَانَ مِنْ قَوْمٍ عَدُوٍّ لَكُمْ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَتَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍ مُؤْمِنَةٍ وَإِنْ كَانَ مِنْ قَوْمٍ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَهُمْ مِيثَاقٌ فَدِيَةٌ مُسَلَّمَةٌ إِلَى أَهْلِهِ وَتَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍ مُؤْمِنَةٍ﴾ [النساء: ٩٢]. فقيدت الرقبة بالإيمان ثلاث مرات، مع أنه لو كنا نقول بحمل المطلق على المقيد لكان يكفي أن تقيد في الآية الكريمة مرة واحدة، ثم يحمل في الموضعين الآخرين عليها، فإذا كان الله ـ تعالى ـ كلما ذكر العتق يقيده بالإيمان، والسبب واحد وهو قتل النفس المحترمة، دل ذلك على أن الإيمان ليس شرطاً في كفارة اليمين، وكفارة الظهار، وكفارة الجماع في نهار رمضان، لا سيما