—Mighty and Majestic—:
‘They ask you for a ruling concerning women. Say, “Allah gives you a ruling concerning them”’—and the rest of the verse.”
‘Ā’ishah said: “What Allah described as ‘recited to you in the Book’ is the earlier verse in which Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said:
‘If you fear that you will not deal justly with orphan girls, then marry other women of your choice.’”
‘Ā’ishah said: “The words of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in the other verse, ‘and you desire to marry them,’ refer to a man’s reluctance to marry the orphan girl in his care when she has little wealth or standing.”
In another wording:
“If she possessed wealth and beauty, they wished to marry her, paying the dowry in full. But if she was considered undesirable because she had little wealth or beauty, they would turn away from her and marry other women.”
He said: “Just as they leave her when they have no desire to marry her, they may not marry her when they do desire her unless they treat her justly and give her the dowry that is rightfully hers.”
This demonstrates that Allah permitted them to marry off orphan girls provided they stipulated for them the dowry customary for women of their standing. He did not permit them to marry them off for less than that customary dowry, because such a girl is not legally competent to make gratuitous dispositions of her property. The evidence for this is manifold.
The majority who permit marrying her off hold two positions:
The first, which is the position of Abū Hanīfah and one of the two positions reported from Ahmad, is that she may be married off without her permission, but she has the option to rescind the marriage upon reaching puberty.
The second, which is the well-known position in Ahmad’s school and that of others, is that she may be married off only with her permission, and she has no option to rescind upon reaching puberty. This is the correct position, supported by the Sunnah, as Abū Hurayrah narrated: The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: “Permission must be sought