Zād al-Maʿād - Ibn al-Qayyim - (1/103)

Zād al-MaʿādIbn al-Qayyim

what he could lawfully grant of those requests. And Allah knows best.

He, peace and blessings be upon him, also married Safiyyah bint Huyayy ibn Akhtab, chief of Banū al-Nadīr. She was descended from Aaron son of ʿImrān, the brother of Moses, and was thus a prophet’s descendant and a prophet’s wife. She was among the most beautiful women in the world. She had come into his possession as a slave woman among the spoils he selected for himself. He freed her and made her freedom her dowry. This thereby became an established practice for the Muslim community until the Day of Resurrection: a man may free his slave woman and make her freedom her dowry, thereby making her his wife. If he says, “I have freed my slave woman and made her freedom her dowry,” or, “I have made my slave woman’s freedom her dowry” (1), both the emancipation and the marriage are valid, and she becomes his wife without any need for a new marriage contract or a marriage guardian. This is the apparent position of Ahmad’s school and of many hadith scholars. Another group held that this was exclusive to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and was among (2) the privileges in marriage that Allah granted him alone, not the rest of the community. This is the position of the three imams and those who agree with them.

The correct view is the first, because the basic presumption is that a ruling is not exclusive to him unless evidence establishes otherwise. When Allah, Glorified is He, granted him the exclusive right to marry a woman who offered herself to him, He said concerning her:

“Exclusively for you, not for the other believers.” [al-Ahzāb: 50]

He did not say this concerning a freed slave woman, nor did the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say anything to prevent the community from following his example in this matter. Allah, Glorified is He, permitted him to marry the wife of his adopted son so that members of the community would face no restriction in marrying the wives of their adopted sons. This indicates that whenever he entered into a marriage, his community could follow his example in that regard, unless an explicit text from Allah and His Messenger established that it was exclusive to him and precluded following his example. This is clear.

(1) The passage fatasīru zawjatahu … sadāqahā (“she becomes his wife … her dowry”) is omitted from ك and ع owing to a scribal eye-skip; it was later restored in the margin of ع. The passage fa-idhā qāla … sadāqahā (“if he says … her dowry”) is omitted from مب. (2) ص, ج: mā (“what”).

ما يجوز إعطاؤه مما سأل. والله أعلم. وتزوَّج ﷺ صفية بنت حُيَيِّ بن أخطَب سيِّد بني النضير، من ولد هارون بن عمران أخي موسى، فهي ابنة نبي، وزوجة نبي. وكانت من أجمل نساء العالمين، وكانت قد صارت له من الصَّفيِّ أمةً، فأعتقها، وجعل عتقها صَداقها، فصار ذلك سنَّةً للأمَّة إلى يوم القيامة: أن يُعتِق الرجل أمَتَه، ويجعل عتقَها صَداقَها، فتصير زوجته بذلك. فإذا قال: أعتقتُ أمتي، وجعلتُ عتقها صَداقها؛ أو قال: جعلتُ عتق أمتي صَداقها (١) = صحَّ العتق والنكاح، وصارت زوجته من غير احتياج إلى تجديد عقد ولا ولي. وهذا ظاهر مذهب أحمد، وكثير من أهل الحديث. وقالت طائفة: هذا خاصٌّ بالنبي ﷺ، وهو مما (٢) خصَّه الله به في النكاح دون الأمَّة. وهذا قول الأئمة الثلاثة ومن وافقهم. والصحيح: القول الأول لأن الأصل عدم الاختصاص حتى يقوم عليه دليل. والله سبحانه لما خصَّه بنكاح الموهوبة قال فيها: ﴿خَالِصَةً لَكَ مِنْ دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ﴾ [الأحزاب: ٥٠] ولم يقل هذا في المعتَقة، ولا قاله رسولُ الله ﷺ ليقطع تأسِّيَ الأمَّة به في ذلك. والله سبحانه أباح له نكاح امرأةِ مَن تبنَّاه لئلا يكون على الأمَّة حرج في نكاح أزواج من تبنَّوه، فدلَّ على أنه إذا نكح نكاحًا فلأمَّته التأسِّي به فيه، ما لم يأتِ عن الله ورسوله نصٌّ بالاختصاص وقطعِ التَّأسِّي. وهذا ظاهر.

(١) العبارة «فتصير زوجته ... صداقها» ساقطة من ك، ع لانتقال النظر، وقد استدركت في حاشية ع فيما بعد. والعبارة «فإذا قال ... صداقها» ساقطة من مب. (٢) ص، ج: «ما».