Is it permissible for a female slave owner to marry her male slave?

Chapter on What is Prohibited to Marry and Combining Between Them and Other Matters

Al-Mughni

Book of Marriage

Book 35 · Issue 1 · Bab 2

Open in Qurani

Primary text

The marriage of a female slave owner to her male slave is invalid. Scholars have reached a consensus (ijma) on this matter, as narrated by Ibn al-Mundhir. Evidence includes the account where a woman who married her male slave approached Umar ibn al-Khattab in al-Jabiyah. Umar rebuked her and intended to stone her, stating that such a marriage is unlawful for her. The underlying legal reason is that the rulings pertaining to marriage and the rulings pertaining to ownership are mutually exclusive and contradictory. Both legal statuses require the other party to be subject to their jurisdiction regarding travel, residency, and financial maintenance, which is not possible when both statuses are applied simultaneously.