And from the route of Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib as well, he said: 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) ruled regarding the impotent man that he be given a one-year period, and its narrators are trustworthy.
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The Shaykh : He said: "And from the route of Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib as well, he said: Mishkat al-Masabih 3507 and its narrators are trustworthy".
The impotent man is the one who is unable to have intercourse because he does not become erect; he is unable to have intercourse, and he is like a loose thread on a garment. The impotent man is given a one-year period, as is narrated from 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). Is it a lunar year? It is a lunar year so that the four seasons pass by him, because a man may be weak for intercourse in one season but not in another. If the four seasons pass by him and he is still unable to have intercourse, that indicates that there is a defect and a flaw in him. For this reason, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab gave him a lunar year or a solar year? A lunar year, because the reckoning in the Shari'ah is based on the lunar months. Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Baqarah 2:189] Some jurists said: He is given a solar year, because the seasons are not completed except by considering the solar year. The seasons are four, and they all revolve around the sun, not the moon. If the cause is that the seasons must pass by him, he said: It must be a solar year. If it is a lunar year, it is shorter, and the fourth season would be short by ten days.
In any case, the disagreement is minor; it is ten days more or less, but he is given a one-year period.
But when does impotence occur, or when is it established that if he has intercourse once, there is no impotence? Some scholars said: When it is established that he had intercourse with this woman once, there is no impotence. But this opinion is weak, and the correct view is that impotence may occur, but if it occurs, either we know that the ability to have intercourse will not return, or we hope for its return. An example of this is: a man was struck by an accident and was able to have intercourse before the accident, but when he was struck by the accident, he became unable to have intercourse. Did impotence occur or not?
The student: It occurred.
The Shaykh : Impotence occurred, so according to the stronger opinion, she should seek annulment. If the doctors say that the inability to have intercourse now may be removed and he may be able to do so in ten months or after a year, then this impotence does not necessitate annulment because its removal is awaited.
Now, regarding the issue: Is infertility a defect or not a defect?
The student: It is a defect.
The Shaykh : A defect?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, this is also a matter in which scholars disagreed. Some scholars said: Infertility is a defect, meaning: if the husband does not father children or the wife does not bear children, then this is a defect that necessitates annulment. And some said: Infertility is not a defect, but if the ability to bear children was stipulated, then infertility becomes the loss of a quality; it becomes a case of the loss of a stipulated quality. The latter is the school of thought (madhhab), and the former is the correct one, and it is the choice of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him). He provided evidence for this opinion by stating that one of the greatest objectives of the marriage contract is what? Bearing children. For this reason, you find the husband or wife going to every length for the sake of medicine to obtain children. And because the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) said: It is forbidden to practice coitus interruptus with a woman without her permission. Why?
The student: Because she has the right.
The Shaykh : Because she has the right to bearing children, and coitus interruptus generally prevents bearing children. So the correct view is that infertility is a defect. But if a person wants to get out of the disagreement, what does he do? He stipulates.
The student: He stipulates.
The Shaykh : He stipulates if he wants to get out of the dispute among scholars. He stipulates and says: If it becomes apparent that she is infertile, or she says: If it becomes apparent that he is infertile, then we have the right to annul. In that case, annulment is established by one opinion, and the reason for that is because it was stipulated. Now, the chapter is finished.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Here is a review, yes.
Mujahid said ‘Umar gave judgment that the blood wit for what resembled intentional murder should be thirty she-camels in their fourth year, thirty she-camels in their fifth year, and forty pregnant she-camels in their sixth year up to the ninth. Abu Dawud transmitted it.
قضى عمر رضي الله عنه في العنين أن يؤجل سنةThe impotent man is the one who is unable to have intercourse because he does not become erect; he is unable to have intercourse, and he is like a loose thread on a garment. The impotent man is given a one-year period, as is narrated from 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). Is it a lunar year? It is a lunar year so that the four seasons pass by him, because a man may be weak for intercourse in one season but not in another. If the four seasons pass by him and he is still unable to have intercourse, that indicates that there is a defect and a flaw in him. For this reason, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab gave him a lunar year or a solar year? A lunar year, because the reckoning in the Shari'ah is based on the lunar months. Allah the Exalted said:
They ask you, [O Muhammad], about the new moons. Say, "They are measurements of time for the people and for Hajj."
يسألونك عن الأهلة قل هي مواقيت للناس والحجIn any case, the disagreement is minor; it is ten days more or less, but he is given a one-year period.
But when does impotence occur, or when is it established that if he has intercourse once, there is no impotence? Some scholars said: When it is established that he had intercourse with this woman once, there is no impotence. But this opinion is weak, and the correct view is that impotence may occur, but if it occurs, either we know that the ability to have intercourse will not return, or we hope for its return. An example of this is: a man was struck by an accident and was able to have intercourse before the accident, but when he was struck by the accident, he became unable to have intercourse. Did impotence occur or not?
The student: It occurred.
The Shaykh : Impotence occurred, so according to the stronger opinion, she should seek annulment. If the doctors say that the inability to have intercourse now may be removed and he may be able to do so in ten months or after a year, then this impotence does not necessitate annulment because its removal is awaited.
Now, regarding the issue: Is infertility a defect or not a defect?
The student: It is a defect.
The Shaykh : A defect?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, this is also a matter in which scholars disagreed. Some scholars said: Infertility is a defect, meaning: if the husband does not father children or the wife does not bear children, then this is a defect that necessitates annulment. And some said: Infertility is not a defect, but if the ability to bear children was stipulated, then infertility becomes the loss of a quality; it becomes a case of the loss of a stipulated quality. The latter is the school of thought (madhhab), and the former is the correct one, and it is the choice of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him). He provided evidence for this opinion by stating that one of the greatest objectives of the marriage contract is what? Bearing children. For this reason, you find the husband or wife going to every length for the sake of medicine to obtain children. And because the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) said: It is forbidden to practice coitus interruptus with a woman without her permission. Why?
The student: Because she has the right.
The Shaykh : Because she has the right to bearing children, and coitus interruptus generally prevents bearing children. So the correct view is that infertility is a defect. But if a person wants to get out of the disagreement, what does he do? He stipulates.
The student: He stipulates.
The Shaykh : He stipulates if he wants to get out of the dispute among scholars. He stipulates and says: If it becomes apparent that she is infertile, or she says: If it becomes apparent that he is infertile, then we have the right to annul. In that case, annulment is established by one opinion, and the reason for that is because it was stipulated. Now, the chapter is finished.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Here is a review, yes.