that its immediate dissolution when the apostasy occurs after consummation is the position of Mālik and Abū Ḥanīfah, whereas suspending the matter until the waiting-period ends is the view of al-Shāfiʿī.

This shows that the four Imams concur that the marriage bond is severed by the apostasy of either spouse. If the apostasy takes place before consummation, the contract is annulled at once; if it occurs after consummation, Mālik and Abū Ḥanīfah again hold that dissolution is immediate, while al-Shāfiʿī requires waiting until the ʿidda expires. From Aḥmad there are two reports, each aligning with one of these two positions.

On p. 640 he continues: ‘If both spouses apostatize together, they are treated the same as when only one of them apostatizes: if that happens before consummation, separation is effected immediately; if it is after consummation, whether the separation is immediate or deferred until the waiting-period ends is the subject of two reports. This is the position of al-Shāfiʿī.’ He then cites Abū Ḥanīfah, who, by way of istihsān (juristic preference), held that the marriage is not annulled, because their religion has not diverged, making the case analogous to both of them entering Islam. The author of al-Mughnī then refutes this analogy, both directly and in reverse.

Now that it is evident that a Muslim may not enter into a valid marriage with an apostate—male or female—and that this is required by the evidences of the Qurʾān and the Sunnah; and now that it is clear, on the same evidences and on the consensus of the Companions, that one who abandons the prayer is a disbeliever, it follows that if a man does not pray yet marries a Muslim woman, that marriage is invalid, the woman is not lawful to him by virtue of that contract, and that if he