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﴿ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

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Exegesis of the verse: ((And whoever among you cannot find the means to marry free believing women...))

Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Then Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said:
And whoever among you cannot [find] the means to marry free, believing women, then [he may marry] from those whom your right hands possess ومن لم يستطع منكم طولا أن ينكح المحصنات المؤمنات فمما ملكت أيمانكم
[An-Nisa 4:25]
His saying:
And whoever among you ومن لم يستطع منكم
[An-Nisa 4:25]
"Whoever" is a conditional noun that necessitates the jussive case, and
then from what your right hands possess فمما ملكت
is the answer to the condition. Here we ask: two factors necessitating the jussive case have come together in this sentence, one being "whoever" and the other being "not". So is the verb in the jussive case because of "whoever" or because of "not"? We say it is in the jussive case because of "not," because it is the direct cause. Accordingly, we say
can يستطع
is a present tense verb in the jussive case due to "not," and it is the verb of the condition. And His saying:
And whoever among you cannot find the means ومن لم يستطيع منكم طولا
"the means" means wealth, meaning whoever among you does not have wealth sufficient for the mahr of free women
to marry free, believing women أن ينكح المحصنات
[An-Nisa 4:25]
that is, free women
believing women المؤمنات
the opposite of disbelieving women
then from what your right hands possess فمما ملكت أيمانكم
It is permissible for a man to marry a slave woman belonging to someone else, not a slave woman belonging to himself. If he married a slave woman belonging to himself, the marriage would not be valid, because ownership of the private parts through ownership is stronger than ownership through marriage, and the weaker cannot override the stronger. So
then from what your right hands possess فمما ملكت أيمانكم
means what the right hands of others possess, like a man who wants to marry a slave woman of Zayd. This is what Allah intends in this verse.
then from what your right hands possess فمما ملكت أيمانكم
of believing slave girls من فتياتكم المؤمنات
[An-Nisa 4:25]
"Whoever" this is an explanation of "what" in His saying:
those your right hand possesses ما ملكت أيمانكم
[An-Nisa 4:3]
"the young women" is the plural of "young woman," and it is the slave woman. So "young woman" is used for a young woman when it is attributed to a free woman, and for a slave woman when it is attributed to a slave. He says:
from those whom your right hands possess of believing slave girls فمما ملكت أيمانكم من فتياتكم المؤمنات
[An-Nisa 4:25]
believing women المؤمنات
the opposite of disbelieving women, even if they are People of the Book, so the slave woman must be a believer. So a disbelieving woman in this context, even if she is Jewish or Christian, is not valid. He said:
And Allah is most knowing about your faith والله أعلم بإيمانكم
[An-Nisa 4:25]
you are of one another بعضكم من بعض
[Ali 'Imran 3:195]
He brought this phrase to establish equality in humanity, because the Arabs had a great aversion to a free man marrying a slave woman, so Allah lightened that for them and said:
you are of one another بعضكم من بعض
[Ali 'Imran 3:195]
you will not marry except a human being, so you are some of each other with her.
So marry them with the permission of their people فانكحوهن بإذن أهلهن
[An-Nisa 4:25]
So marry them فانكحوهن
Is it a hamzat al-wasl or hamzat al-qat'? It is hamzat al-wasl because it is from the triliteral root "nakaha"
So marry them فانكحوهن
that is, the believing young women
with the permission of their guardians بإذن أهلهن
that is, their masters. And here he said:
with the permission of their guardians بإذن أهلهن
and give them their due compensation according to what is acceptable وآتوهن أجورهن بالمعروف
[An-Nisa 4:25]
"Give" means "give," unlike "ata" which means "came." Allah the Exalted said:
Until they came upon the valley of the ants حتى إذا أتوا على وادي النمل
"Give" means "came."
their due أجورهن
that is, their mahr
in a good manner بالمعروف
that is, with what people recognize and what the Shari'ah approves, without delay and without boasting. Do not say: this is a slave woman, so delay her mahr or boast to her about it.
Source alathar.net

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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