He Can Marry Any Maid, Who Cannot Afford Free Woman

LESSON # 493 FROM HOLY QUR’AN

He Can Marry Any Maid, Who Cannot Afford Free Woman

Surah NISAAA’  (WOMEN) - Chapter - 4)

Verses –25 of 176, Section –4/24 (Part – 5)

And whoso is not able to afford to marry free, believing women, let them marry from the believing maids whom your right hands possess. And Allah knoweth best (concerning) your faith. Ye (proceed) one from another, so wed them by permission of their folk, and give unto them their dowries in kindness, they being honest, not debauched nor of loose conduct. Then if when they are honourably married they commit lewdness they shall incur the half of the punishment (prescribed) for free women (in that case). This is for him among you who feareth to commit sin. And to have patience would be better for you. And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

Wa  mal-lam  yastati’  min-kum  taw-lan  ‘any-yankihal-Muhsanaatil-Mu’-minaati  fa-mimmaa  malakat  ‘ay-maanu-kum-min-fatayaa-  tikumul- Mu’-minaat.  Wallaahu  ‘a’-lamu  bi-‘iimaanikum.  Ba’-zukum-mim-ba’z.  Fankihuu-hunna  bi-‘izni  ‘ahli-hinna  wa  ‘aatuu-hunna  ‘ujuura-hunna  bil-ma’-ruufi  muhsanaatin  gayra  musaafi-haatinw-wa  laa  muttakhi-zaati  ‘akh-daan.  Fa-‘izaaa  ‘uhsinna  fa-‘in  ‘atayna  bi-faahi-shatin-  fa-‘alay-hinna  nisfu  maa  ‘alal-muhsanaati  minal-‘azaab.  Zaalika  liman  khashiyal-‘anata  minkum.  Wa   ‘an  tasbiruu  khay-rul-lakum.  Wallaahu  Gafuurur-Rahiim.

Lesson

Muhsanaatun – (free, believing women), its singular is Muhsanah, which has been derived from hasan. Hasan means the fort, as though, Muhsanah is that free, believing and good disposition woman, who kept safe her chastity and honor like a fort.

Powerful and bad people used to make the weak and helpless men, women and children their slaves and bond-maids in many countries of the world before Islam and they used to buy and sell them in the markets like goats and sheep. When Islam came, it brought with itself the message of equality. Nevertheless, it was not too much easy to remove the so much old rules and to change this method of dwelling, of which system the people had been habituated. As far as it is possible, Islam cares for the facilities of the people. The slaves and the bond-maids were already present in the Arab and they were in the worse condition. Particularly the bond-maids were never in any counting. They were badly used to beat black and blue. Allah Almighty provided such rules with which the condition of slaves and bond-maids might be arranged better, and in the process of time, the system of slavery might be finished.     

No bond-maid or slave is existent today in the world and certainly, the wreath of finishing this slavery system is upon the head of Islam. It is the custom of Holy Qur’an in removing the unlawful rules that easy commands are delivered in the beginning, as it seems that Islam desires to keep up this rule. But usually and gradually due to obeying these easy orders, the bad manners come to an end.

Holy Qur’an promoted the dignity of bond-maids in this verse so much that It ordered, “Do not put them making prey only of your bad wishes and intemperance. But wed them and make them your wives. In this order, the seed of removing the custom of bond-maids was sown. It has been commanded, “The person, who is not able to afford to marry any free, believing women, but he feels necessity of any woman then let him marry from the believing maids whom your right hands possess. And they should escape from the unlawful deeds, because safety of Belief is very important and the faith of bond-maids is as much credible as your own.”

It is the result of accepting these orders that today slavery has been finished from the world. The respect of the woman has been established in the society. However, one thing is pending until now that none should keep compressed any one. If it would have been done also as per the orders of Islam, then the matter would have been finalized very earlier.

Allowing wedding the bond-maids and slave-girls, Islam impeded the sinfulness on one side, while at the other hand It determined their grade equal to the free, believing women in the society. Moreover, It put in the rights of their children equal to the rights of the children of free, believing women on the condition that those children are from the bond-maids’ master. In addition, following conditions determined compulsory to marry the bond-maids:

·       Permission of wedding is taken from their masters.

·       Give unto them their dowries as a duty.

·        The bond-maids should be liker of goodness and chastity (Muh-sanaatun).

·       They should not be from the lewd and debauched women (musaafi-haatun).

·       They should also be not of loose conduct “muttakhi-zaati  ‘akh-daan”  (secretly loving and beloved).

Allah Almighty says, “This is for him among you who feareth to commit sin. And to have patience would be better for you”. He also commands, “Then if when they are honorably married, they commit lewdness, they shall incur the half of the punishment (prescribed) for free women (in that case)”.

Transliterated Holy Qur’an in Roman Script & Translated from Arabic to English by Marmaduke Pickthall, Published by Paak Company, 17-Urdu Bazar, Lahore, Lesson collected from Dars e Qur’an published By Idara Islah wa Tableegh, Lahore (translated Urdu to English  by Muhammad Sharif).