What is the interpretation of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “And whoever among you cannot find the means to marry free believing women…”?
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Question:
May Allah reward you with good. He hopes that Honorable Shaykh Salih will interpret this verse, of which he has quoted a part,[An-Nisa 4:25] to the end of the verse?
Answer:
This verse is a dispensation from Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, for one who is unable to afford the mahr of a free woman. By “al-muhsanāt” (free believing women) here, free women are meant, and “tawlan” (means) means the mahr. So, one who cannot afford the mahr of a free woman is granted a dispensation to marry a slave woman,[An-Nisa 4:25] This is a dispensation from Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He.
With conditions: first, that he is not able to afford the mahr of a free woman; second, that he fears for himself falling into immorality if he does not marry, as indicated by the saying of Allah the Exalted:[An-Nisa 4:25]. The third condition is that his intention in doing so is to chaste himself, being righteous, not traveling, and not taking lovers; that his intention is to chaste himself and keep him away from falling into what is forbidden. Yes.
May Allah reward you with good. He hopes that Honorable Shaykh Salih will interpret this verse, of which he has quoted a part,
And whoever among you cannot [find] the means to marry free, believing women
وَمَن لَّمْ يَسْتَطِعْ مِنكُمْ طَوْلًا أَن يَنكِحَ الْمُحْصَنَاتِ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِAnswer:
This verse is a dispensation from Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, for one who is unable to afford the mahr of a free woman. By “al-muhsanāt” (free believing women) here, free women are meant, and “tawlan” (means) means the mahr. So, one who cannot afford the mahr of a free woman is granted a dispensation to marry a slave woman,
of believing slave girls
مِّن فَتَيَاتِكُمُ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِWith conditions: first, that he is not able to afford the mahr of a free woman; second, that he fears for himself falling into immorality if he does not marry, as indicated by the saying of Allah the Exalted:
This [allowance] is for him among you who fears sin, but to be patient is better for you. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
ذَٰلِكَ لِمَنْ خَشِيَ الْعَنَتَ مِنكُمْ وَأَن تَصْبِرُوا خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ما تفسير قوله تعالى (ومن لم يستطع منكم طولا أن ينكح المحصنات المؤمنات)؟ الشيخ صالح بن فوزان الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.