that money becomes his master’s. Because marriage is a contract that brings with it financial obligations—such as the dowry and maintenance—the authority to arrange the slave’s marriage therefore lies with the master.

2 – If the slave marries without his master’s permission, the marriage is invalid and the contract is deemed defective (fāsid). We label it fāsid rather than null and void (bāṭil) only because of a weak dissenting view on its validity, related from Dāwūd al-Ẓāhirī.

3 – Since the contract is fāsid, it must be annulled and the spouses separated. Ibn Ḥibbān narrated, in a mawqūf report, that ‘Abd Allāh ibn ʿUmar found one of his slaves had married without his consent; he separated them, canceled the contract, and carried out the prescribed punishment on the slave, because the hadith describes him as an ʿāhir, and an ʿāhir is a fornicator.

4 – The majority of scholars waive the ḥadd from a slave who was unaware of the prohibition, and they still attribute any resulting child to him, because the intercourse took place under a dubious contract.

5 – Sharḥ al-Iqnāʿ states: A master may compel his minor slave to marry, for his guardianship over him is complete. He may not compel an intelligent adult slave, for the latter is legally accountable and owns the right to divorce; thus he is not forced into marriage, just like a free man. Moreover, marriage is his exclusive right and benefit, so he cannot be coerced into it. The instruction to arrange his marriage applies only when he himself requests it.