The benefits of the verse: “And the married women, except those your right hands possess, are lawful for you…”

We now return to the benefits of this noble verse: Among the benefits of this noble verse is that captive women become slaves by virtue of being captured, and this is the case, and the Muslims have acted upon this. If she is captured along with her husband, she remains with him, but without him, she becomes a slave. Among its benefits is that the marriage of the husband is annulled; her marriage to her husband is annulled because the Muslims took possession of her. If someone asks: “Can the sale of a slave woman be analogized to this, such that if her ownership transfers while she is with her husband, she is left by this transfer?” The answer is that there are two opinions among the scholars regarding this. The first is that the sale of a slave woman is her divorce. The second is that she is not left, but rather she remains in her marriage, and the buyer has the option if he did not know that she was married. Why does he have the option? Because he is deprived of enjoying her. The evidence for this correct opinion is that when Barirah was freed, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave her the choice to remain with her husband or to annul the marriage. If sale had been a cause for divorce or annulment, it would have been annulled without giving her the choice. Therefore, it is not valid to analogize the sale of a slave woman to her being captured, even if her ownership has transferred. Among its benefits is the establishment of slavery, based on His saying: This is a matter agreed upon by the Muslims—meaning the establishment of slavery—and no one can deny it because it is in the Qur'an, in the Sunnah, and in the consensus of the Muslims. However, the issue remains regarding the cause of slavery: is a person enslaved for any cause, or must there be a religious cause? The answer is the latter. On this basis, much of the slavery that existed had no reality to its enslavement; that is, if they were being sold, whether out of need or not, the buyer would purchase them and enslave them, and this is not a religious cause for slavery. But if the religious cause is established, the effect is established, and slavery is established, and it is not permissible to abolish it, because it is a religious ruling, and it is not permissible to abolish it under any circumstances. But if someone asks: “By what means were these existing slaves enslaved?” … The slavery here is due to the invalidity of its cause. However, the expression must not be “abolishing slavery” in this way, because this contradicts the text and the consensus. Rather, it should be said: “The existing slavery is not based on a religious cause, so it is not permissible to complete it.” This is said to clarify the wisdom or to clarify the cause, so that the religious ruling, which is enslavement, remains. Among its benefits is the validity of using a part to refer to the whole. From where? From His saying: Because “ayman” is the plural of “yamin,” which is the hand, and ownership in reality is ownership of the entire person, but the hand was mentioned because it is the common means of taking and giving. Among its benefits is the obligation to adhere to what Allah has prescribed for one, based on His saying: The Book of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, is divided into two categories: a legislative book, as in this verse and as in His saying: , and a cosmic book, as in His saying, the Exalted: , meaning the book of divine decree, and as in His saying: . Among its benefits is that the permissible women are more numerous than the forbidden ones; the permissible women are more numerous than the forbidden ones. What is the basis for this? Yes, it is derived from His saying: But the basis for this restriction is that He restricted the forbidden ones and generalized the permissible ones. Among its benefits is that whoever claims a woman is forbidden must provide evidence. That is, if a man proposes to a woman and some people say to him, “This woman is forbidden to you, she is among the forbidden relatives,” the answer is that he must establish evidence for this, because the forbidden ones are restricted, and the matter regarding the permissible ones is absolute. Among its benefits is that when we are in doubt about the cause of prohibition, the original state is that there is no prohibition, meaning the original state is permissibility. An example of this is if we are in doubt about this breastfed child, whether she was breastfed five times or four times, the original state is four. So if this woman was breastfed by the man’s mother and we are in doubt whether she was breastfed five times or four times, the original state is permissibility, and she is not forbidden to him until the cause of prohibition is established. Among its benefits is that the mercy of Allah is broader than His anger and precedes His anger as well. As for it preceding, there is a sound hadith: And as for it being broader, it is because what Allah has made lawful for His servants is more than what He has forbidden them. Among its benefits is the obligation to spend money in marriage, and that there is no marriage without money, based on His saying: .