Most slave women who do this are kept for service, not for sexual enjoyment. What, then, of a slave woman kept for sexual enjoyment? If a man must relinquish ownership of a slave woman who commits unlawful sexual intercourse, what, then, of a wife who does so? A male slave or bondsman is analogous to a slave woman. All of this is supported by Muslim’s report in his Sahīh from ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,

“cursed anyone who commits an offense or shelters an offender.”

This entails a curse upon anyone who shelters an offender, whether the offense is unlawful sexual intercourse, theft, or something else, and whether the shelter is provided through slave ownership, marriage, or otherwise. At the very least, doing so constitutes a failure to condemn wrongdoing.

Section

The believer needs to test anyone whom he wishes to take as a companion or associate, whether through marriage or otherwise. Allah Most High says:

“When believing women come to you as emigrants, test them. Allah knows best their faith.”

And so the verse continues. Likewise, according to the more correct of the two views, a man may marry a woman with whom he has had unlawful sexual intercourse only after repentance, as indicated by the Quran, the Sunnah, and the reports from the early generations. But if he wishes to test whether her repentance is genuine, how should he proceed?

‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Umar said—and this is also Ahmad’s expressly stated position—that he should solicit her for intercourse. If she agrees, her repentance is not genuine; if she refuses, she has repented.

Another group said:

“This test