the fifth wife, in which case she is entitled to nothing, or one of the others, in which case she is entitled to her full dowry. Since the full dowry is due to her in one case but not in the other, she is awarded half of it.

Another view is that each woman receives four-fifths of her stipulated dowry, or four-fifths of a dowry if the dowries were equal, or four-fifths of one-fifth of their total if they differed and it was not known which amount belonged to each woman. This is the position of Sahnūn and Ibn al-Mawwāz. Its reasoning is that we know with certainty that the deceased owed four dowries. That amount is therefore taken from his estate and divided equally among the five wives, so that each receives four-fifths of a dowry.

If he consummated marriage with some of them, each of those women receives her full dowry. As for those with whom he did not consummate marriage, there are three views. The first is that each receives half her dowry; this is Ibn Habīb’s position. The second is that each receives four-fifths of her dowry. The third is that if there is only one woman with whom he did not consummate marriage, she receives half her dowry. If there are two, they receive one and a half dowries between them: three-quarters of a dowry each. If there are three, they receive two and a half dowries between them: five-sixths of a dowry each. If there are four, they receive three and a half dowries between them: seven-eighths of a dowry each. This is Sahnūn’s position, which Ibn Lubāba also adopted.

The reasoning is that we do not know whether the fifth wife was among those with whom he had not consummated marriage, in which case she is entitled to nothing, or among those with whom he had consummated marriage, in which case each of the remaining women is entitled to a dowry. We therefore deduct half a dowry, since it is due in one case but not in the other, and divide the remainder equally among the remaining women. Those with whom he consummated marriage must observe the longer of the two waiting periods, while those with whom he did not consummate marriage must observe four months and ten days.

Section

If this is discovered during his lifetime, he must be separated from all of them. If he consummated marriage with all of them, each receives her full dowry and must observe a waiting period of three menstrual cycles. If he consummated marriage with none of them, then, according to Ibn Habīb, each receives one-quarter of her dowry; according to Sahnūn and Ibn al-Mawwāz, each receives two-fifths of her dowry. None of them is required to observe a waiting period. If he consummated marriage with some of them, the differences of opinion apply by analogy with