What is the ruling if the slave women are manumitted (freed) before the free woman converts?
Chapter on Marriage of Polytheists
Al-Mughni
Book of Marriage
Primary text
If the slave women are freed before the free woman converts, the husband has no right to choose among them because the marriage to a slave woman is impermissible for one capable of marrying a free woman. Consideration of their status occurs at the moment the choice becomes operative, which is the time of their simultaneous conversion with him. If the free woman does not convert, he has the right to choose only one of the now-freed women, maintaining the constraint of only being allowed one wife, based on the status at the time of his and their simultaneous conversion. If the free woman converts within her waiting period, her marriage is established, and the bond with the freed women is severed. If he chose one of the freed women while the free woman was in her waiting period, and then the free woman converts, his choice among the freed women is invalidated, and he may choose another, as a choice cannot be held in suspension.