and—in the husband’s case—the invocation of the curse upon himself, whereas the wife in her fifth oath calls down wrath upon herself. Among those differences as well: the oaths must be repeated; and although the general rule is that proof rests with the claimant while the oath is taken by the one who denies, in this ruling both the claimant and the respondent are required to swear.
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The man is sworn first, exactly as the verses are ordered.
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After consummation the husband may not reclaim any part of the dower, even when separation results from liʿān.
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Liʿān is confined to husband and wife; with any other parties, the normal ruling for slander applies.
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Delving into matters that have not actually occurred is disliked, especially when they hint at sexual immorality.
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The scholars state that the woman alone uses the word “wrath,” because, should the sin occur, it entails polluting the marital bed and the risk of attributing to the husband a child that is not his. That in turn leads to serious evils—unlawful kinship ties, wrongful guardianship over women, and illicit inheritance. Accordingly, she is singled out with “wrath,” a term harsher than “curse.”
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The hadith encourages ignoring hypothetical questions whose occurrence is only imagined, particularly when they concern repugnant matters.
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It also shows that one may swear an oath to reinforce a statement even if the listener has not demanded it.
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A person is not to accuse someone of fornication on the basis of mere indications or signs until the matter is firmly established.
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Alluding to someone’s involvement in immorality is not treated as slander unless the accusation is made explicitly.
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The narration clarifies how the Qur’an descended upon the Prophet ﷺ: it was revealed in connection with events, incidents, and questions, making its lessons easier to grasp and remember.