Benefits of the Hadith: (… regarding proposing to his brother’s fiancée … regarding bidding against his brother’s bid … regarding divorcing his sister’s husband)

The Shaykh : And in the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding proposing to his brother’s fiancée, bidding against his brother’s bid, and divorcing his sister’s husband, there is evidence that it is recommended for a person to choose, when addressing someone, the words that have the greatest impact on the one being addressed. The reason for this is that he described these people as brothers, and brotherhood implies compassion and not encroaching upon the rights of the other. If someone were to ask: Is it permissible for a man to propose to a woman who is already being proposed to by a disbeliever, for example, if he knows that a Christian has proposed to a Christian woman and a Muslim wants to propose to that Christian woman? Is that permissible? One who looks at the apparent wording would say that it is permissible, because the Christian is not his brother. But one who looks at the fact that this wording is based on the general case, because it is generally the case that the lands of Muslims contain only Muslims, and that the rights of a Christian, if he is a person with a treaty or a protected non-Muslim, are respected, would say that it is not permissible. And this is the correct view: it is not permissible for a person to propose to a woman who is being proposed to by a disbeliever if the disbeliever has a right. Furthermore, proposing to a woman being proposed to by a disbeliever distorts Islam and creates aversion to it and to its people. And he is a disbeliever who does not believe that he will not encroach upon him one day or one night and kill him. Therefore, we say that restricting this to brotherhood is based on what? It is based on the general case. Otherwise, if a non-Muslim has a right, such as a treaty partner, a protected non-Muslim, or a person granted safe conduct, it is not permissible to encroach upon him. Likewise, it is said regarding divorcing his sister’s husband: if a Muslim man has a Christian wife and proposes to a Muslim woman, and she says, “There is no harm, but on the condition that you divorce your Christian wife,” then that is forbidden for her. And in the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) there is the persuasion of souls to what contains prohibition, because if the soul is convinced by what is prohibited, it becomes closer to acceptance and submission. Yes.