Dalīl al-Ṭālib - Marʿi al-Karmi - (273)

Book of ẓihār
Book of ẓihār
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Book of ẓihār

Ẓihār is for a man to liken his wife—or any part of her—to someone permanently forbidden to him, male or female, or to a limb of such a person.

Thus, whoever says to his wife, “You (or: your hand) are to me like the back (or: the hand) of my mother,” or “like the back or hand of Zayd,” or “You are to me like So-and-so, the unrelated woman,” or “You are forbidden to me,” or says, “What is lawful for me is forbidden,” or “Whatever Allah has made lawful to me [is forbidden],” becomes a muẓāhir1.

If he says, “You are to me like my mother,” or “the same as my mother,” and leaves it unqualified, it is ẓihār; but if he intends only honor or respect and the like, then it is not.

The statements, “You are my mother,” “You are like my mother,” “I am liable for ẓihār,” or “It is incumbent upon me,” do not amount to ẓihār unless accompanied by an intention or a contextual clue.

If he declares, “You are to me like carrion, blood, or swine,” the legal consequence follows whatever he intended—divorce,2 ẓihār, or an oath; and if he had no specific intention, it counts as ẓihār.

(1) Because Allah has likened this formula to those women who are permanently unlawful through zihar, an explicit declaration of prohibition is even more blameworthy. This is confirmed by the fact that Allah alone has the authority to declare things lawful or unlawful. Thus, when a husband says to his wife, “You are to me like my mother’s back,” or “You are forbidden to me,” he has uttered a grave falsehood about Allah, and the harsher of the two expiations—namely the expiation for zihar—becomes obligatory for him (Hashiyat al-Rawd 7/6). (2) In manuscript M, the conjunction here and in the next occurrence reads aw (“or”) instead of wa (“and”).

كتاب الظهار كتاب الظهار ... كتاب الظهار وهو: أن يشبه امرأته أو عضوا منها بمن تحرم عليه من رجل أو امرأة أو بعضو منه. فمن قال لزوجته: أنت أو: يدك علي كظهر أو: كيد أمي أو: كظهر أو يد زيد أو: أنت علي كفلانة الأجنبية أو أنت علي حرام أو قال: الحل علي حرام أو ما أحل الله لي صار مظاهرا١. وإن قال: أنت علي كأمي أو مثل أمي وأطلق فظهار وإن نوى في الكرامة ونحوها فلا. وأنت أمي أو مثل أمي أو: علي الظهار أو: يلزمني ليس بظهار إلا مع نية أو قرينة. وأنت علي كالميتة أو الدم أو الخنزير يقع ما نواه من طلاق و٢ ظهار أو يمين فإن لم ينو شيئا فظهار.

١ وذلك لأن الله جعل التشبيه بمن تحرم عليه ظهارا فالتصريح بالتحريم منه أولى يؤيده الله لم يجعل التحريم والتحليل إليه فإذا قال: "أنت علي كظهر أمي أو: أنت علي حرام" فقد قال منكر من الزور وكذب على الله وقد أوجب أغلظ الكفارتين عليه وهي كفارة الظهار. حاشية الروض "٧/٦". ٢ في "م" "أو" هنا وفي الذي بعده بدل الواو.