against the man who did not marry her, as a consequence of the other man’s marrying her, one divorce; whenever he subsequently marries her, he therefore has two divorces remaining. There are two views on whether the woman or the two guardians are to be believed when identifying which husband was first. The first is his position in al-Mudawwana: their statement is not accepted. The second is Ashhab’s position in al-Wādiha: their statement is accepted. If one of the two guardians admits that he contracted the marriage knowing that the other had already married her off, is the marriage valid for the husband, with the couple remaining together, or not?

Likewise, if the matter is not discovered until both husbands have consummated their marriages, both marriages are annulled. The aforementioned disagreement also applies to accepting the wife’s or the two guardians’ statement about which husband was first. Each husband, however, owes her the specified dower because of consummation.

If the matter is discovered after only one husband has consummated the marriage, and it is not known which marriage came first, the marriage of the husband who consummated it is upheld. If it is known that the second husband was the one who consummated the marriage, there is disagreement. According to al-Mudawwana, his marriage is upheld. Al-Mughīra and Ibn ‘Abd al-Hakam, however, said that his marriage is annulled and she is returned to the first husband after observing a waiting period to establish that her womb is free of pregnancy.

This disagreement follows their disagreement over agency: does it end upon revocation itself, or only when knowledge of the revocation reaches the agent? Those who hold that it ends only when the agent learns of its revocation say that the marriage is not annulled, because the contract provides a semblance of validity. This is the position in al-Mudawwana. Those who hold that agency ends upon revocation itself—which here occurs when the first guardian marries her off—say that the marriage is annulled. The facts subsequently revealed show that the second husband had no valid marriage, since the agent married her off after his agency had ended.

If the agent admits that he contracted the marriage for the husband while knowing that the other guardian had already married her off, his admission is not accepted, and the marriage is upheld according to Ibn al-Qāsim’s position. If, however, evidence establishes that he knew this before contracting the marriage, it is annulled without divorce. If the husband himself admits that he knew, his marriage is annulled without divorce, and he owes the entire dower. Muhammad said that it is annulled by divorce. This is the correct view, since he may be suspected of seeking to have his marriage annulled without a divorce.

Section

If the matter is discovered after one husband has consummated the marriage, and it is known that he was the second husband, while the first husband has died or divorced her, there are three possibilities: the second husband contracted and consummated the marriage before the first husband’s death or divorce; he contracted and consummated it after the first husband’s death or divorce; or he contracted it before the first husband’s death or divorce but consummated it afterward. If he contracted and consummated the marriage before the first husband’s death or divorce, his marriage is upheld