while the contract with the woman who was forbidden to him is void.

The marriage of a male or female slave concluded without the permission of the master is held in suspension: if the master approves it, it stands; if he rejects it, it is null. The same rule applies when someone marries off a woman without her consent or marries off a man without his consent.

A paternal cousin may serve as guardian and contract the marriage of his female cousin to himself. Likewise, if a woman authorizes a man to marry her to himself and he contracts the marriage in the presence of two witnesses, the marriage is valid.

Should the guardian guarantee the dower, his guarantee is binding, and the woman may choose to claim it either from her husband or from her guardian.

If the judge dissolves an invalid marriage before consummation, the woman is entitled to no dower—this also applies when only seclusion has taken place. If intercourse has occurred, she is owed a dower equivalent to that of her peers, provided it does not exceed the amount originally named; she must observe the waiting period, and the child’s lineage is affirmed.

The equivalent dower is assessed by reference to her sisters, her paternal aunts, and her female cousins on the father’s side; her mother and maternal aunt are not considered if they are from a different clan.

In determining the equivalent dower, the two women compared must be alike in age, beauty, chastity, wealth, intelligence, religious commitment, home region, and era.

A bondwoman may be married off whether she is Muslim or from the People of the Book. A man already married to a free woman may not add a bondwoman to his marriage, though he may marry a free woman while already married to a bondwoman.

A free man may marry up to four women—free or enslaved—and no more. A male slave may marry no more than two women.

If a free man irrevocably divorces one of his four wives, it is not permissible for him—