LESSON # 491 - Bounds Of The Marriage

LESSON # 491 FROM HOLY QUR’AN

Bounds Of The Marriage

Surah NISAAA’  (WOMEN) - Chapter - 4)

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

And all married women (are forbidden unto you) save those (captives) whom your right hands possess. It is a Decree of Allah for you. And lawful unto you are all beyond those mentioned, so that ye seek them with your wealth in honest wedlock, not debauchery.

WAL-MUHSANAATU  minan-nisaaa-‘i  ‘illaa  maa  malakat ‘ay-maanukum  Kitaaballaahi  ‘alay-kum.  Wa  ‘uhilla  lakum-maa  waraaa-‘a  zaalikum  ‘an-tab-taguu  bi-‘amwaalikum-muhsi-niina  gayra  musaa-fihiin.

Lesson

MUHSANAATUN  - It is plural of Muhsanatun. It means the woman who is proper wife of any man and her husband is present (the married women).

muhsi-niina  – It is plural of muhsinun. That is to say; the man, who makes a woman properly his wife through nuptial knot.

maa  malakat ‘ay-maanukum  – (whom your right hands possess) ma (whom), malakat (came in possession) ‘ay-maanukum (your right hands), possession of right hands means those bondwomen and slaves, who come under control of Muslims as a result of any war etc. Technically the word Milkun yamiin is also used for them.

Now unlawfulness of those women is being described who have already been married with any man. In this situation, they cannot be married someone else until either their husbands would not divorce them or they would not be separated from the nuptial due to the death of their husbands. However, if any woman is already in nuptial with any man and she has come in your possession, then it is lawful to marry her. This situation happens in that manner when any infidel woman has been tied in nuptial knot and the Muslims bring her towards any darus-Salam (a Muslim country) after attacking the dar-ul-harb (a country where God-worshipping is not permissible) and arresting her.

Remember it that the woman who comes in possession of Muslims, caught from dar-ul-harb, it is necessary for her to be lawful after passing at least one period of menstruation. In addition, that woman should not be infidel or idolater, but from the People of the Scripture. Then it has been described that the women, whose unlawfulness has been mentioned above, besides them all remaining women are lawful for you but with following four conditions, which have been prescribed with it:

1.  Ask for the women, that is to say; get willingness properly for nuptial knot from the potential wife.

2.  Accept paying her the amount of Mahr (the money or its value incumbent on the husband).

3.  The purpose should be to make the woman proper your wife, not only for the desire of sensuality.

4.  The marriage should not be hidden but it should be in the gathering of the people and in the presence of the witnesses.

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).