Is it permissible for a master to immediately marry a woman he freed, whom he previously had relations with or whom he was permitted to have relations with, without waiting for the waiting period (*istibra'*)?

Primary text

It is permissible for a master to immediately marry a female slave (*Umm Walad*), a slave woman he was having relations with, or any other woman permissible for him to have relations with, immediately upon freeing her, without requiring an *istibra'* (waiting period for purity). This ruling is established because the Prophet, peace be upon him, freed Safiyyah and married her, making her emancipation her *mahr* (dower). Furthermore, the Prophet, peace be upon him, stated that three persons shall receive their reward twice; one of them being a man who had a female slave, disciplined her well, taught her well, then freed her and married her. Neither report mentions the requirement of *istibra'*. The justification is that *istibra'* is intended to preserve one's semen and prevent its mixing with another's, which does not apply here since he does not need to preserve his semen from his own prior semen. Similarly, a man may marry a woman who sought divorce through *khul'* immediately in her waiting period. The correct position is that immediate marriage is permissible because she was lawful for him through ownership (*milk al-yamin*), so she remains lawful through marriage, similar to the slave woman he was having relations with. Moreover, the Prophet's marriage to Safiyyah, whom he had freed, did not involve prior sexual relations, and the narration concerning the man marrying his freed slave suggests permissibility by its general scope. If he had performed *istibra'* and then immediately freed and married her, it would be permissible, thus the same applies when he skips the act of intercourse.