**Al-Nisa: 25**
**"And whoever among you cannot..."**
Al-Tawl (الطول): Means abundance and superiority. It is said of someone, "He has tawl over so-and-so," meaning an increase and excellence. It is said, "He has surpassed him in tawl," so he is ta'il (superior). It is said, "There is no ta'il in it," meaning nothing of value, excellence, or importance. It also refers to physical height, as it is an increase, just as shortness is a deficiency.
The meaning: Whoever cannot afford the extra wealth and capacity required to marry a free woman, let him marry a slave woman.
Ibn Abbas said: Whoever possesses three hundred dirhams is obligated to perform Hajj, and it is forbidden for him to marry slave women. This is the apparent meaning and the school of Al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him). As for Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him), he says the wealthy and the poor are equal in the permissibility of marrying a slave woman, interpreting the verse to mean: whoever does not possess the "bed" (means) of a free woman—interpreting marriage here as intercourse—may marry a slave woman.
In a narration from Ibn Abbas, he said: "Among the things Allah has made easy for this Ummah is the marriage of slave women, Jewish women, and Christian women, even if one is wealthy."
Regarding His saying: "From your believing young women" (من فتياتكم المؤمنات).
The apparent meaning is that it is not permissible to marry a slave woman from the People of the Book. This is the school of the people of the Hijaz. The people of Iraq hold that it is permissible, and that marrying a believing slave woman is merely better (preferable), thus interpreting the verse as a recommendation rather than an obligation. They argue that faith is not a condition, citing the description of free women as "believing" even though we know by consensus that faith is not a condition for them (i.e., one may marry a Kitabiyyah free woman), but it is simply better.
If you ask: Why is the marriage of a slave woman considered lower than that of a free woman?
I say: Because the child follows the mother in slavery; because of the master's rights over her and her service; and because she is often degraded, exposed, and accustomed to going in and out. All of this is a deficiency that reflects upon the husband and is a form of humiliation, whereas honor is a trait of the believers.
His saying: "From your young women" (من فتياتكم).
Meaning: From the young women of the Muslims, not the young women of others—those who differ in religion.
If you ask: What is the meaning of His saying: "And Allah is most knowing of your faith"?
I say: It means Allah knows the degrees of difference in faith between you and your slaves, and the weight and deficiency of faith in them and in you. Perhaps the faith of a slave woman is weightier than that of a free woman, and a woman may be superior in faith to a man. It is the duty of the believers not to consider anything but the excellence of faith, not the excellence of lineage or ancestry. This is a way of comforting the believer regarding marrying slave women and abandoning disdain for it.
"Some of you are from others" (بعضكم من بعض):
Meaning: You and your slaves are connected and related due to your shared faith. No free person is superior to a slave except by a superiority in faith.
"With the permission of their masters" (بإذن أهلهن):
This stipulates the permission of the masters for their marriage. Abu Hanifa uses this to argue that the women themselves may conduct the contract, because the verse considers the permission of the masters, not their conducting of the contract.
"And give them their bridal gifts according to what is reasonable" (وآتوهن أجورهن بالمعروف):
Pay them their dowries without delay, harm, or forcing them to demand and insist.
If you ask: The masters are the owners of their dowries, not the women themselves, and the obligation is to pay them to the masters, not the women. Why then is it said "Give them"?
I say: Because they and what they possess belong to the masters, so paying them is equivalent to paying the masters. Or, it is based on the ellipsis: "Give their masters," where the added word is omitted.
"Chaste" (المحصنات):
Meaning: Virtuous, not having secret lovers. It is as if it were said: "Not openly committing adultery, nor doing so in secret."
"When they have been married" (فإذا أحصن):
By marriage. (It is also read uhsinna).
"Half of what is for the chaste [free] women" (نصف ما على المحصنات من العذاب):
Meaning: The free women, regarding the punishment (the prescribed penalty), as in His saying: "And let a group of the believers witness their punishment," and "And it will avert the punishment from her." There is no stoning for them, because stoning cannot be halved.
"That is for those among you who fear sin" (ذلك لمن خشي العنت):
For those who fear the sin that leads to the overwhelming of desire. The root of 'anat is the breaking of a bone after it has been set, so it is used metaphorically for every hardship and harm. There is no harm greater than committing sins. It is also said that it refers to the punishment (the penalty), for if he desires her, he fears he will commit adultery and be punished, so he marries her.
"And to be patient" (وأن تصبروا):
In the nominative position as an initial subject (mubtada'), meaning: "Your patience regarding not marrying slave women, while remaining chaste, is better for you."
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Free women are the righteousness of the house, and slave women are the ruin of the house."
