Tafseer of The Light · An-Noor · 24:33
But let them who find not [the means for] marriage abstain [from sexual relations] until Allah enriches them from His bounty. And those who seek a contract [for eventual emancipation] from among whom your right hands possess - then make a contract with them if you know there is within them goodness and give them from the wealth of Allah which He has given you. And do not compel your slave girls to prostitution, if they desire chastity, to seek [thereby] the temporary interests of worldly life. And if someone should compel them, then indeed, Allah is [to them], after their compulsion, Forgiving and Merciful.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
He, exalted is His mention, says: wa-l-yastaʿfifi alladhīna lā yajidūna ("and let those who find nothing abstain") — namely those who do not find the means to marry women — from committing what Allah has forbidden them of indecencies, until Allah enriches them out of the abundance of His bounty and broadens their provisions.
And His saying wa-lladhīna yabtaghūna al-kitāba mimmā malakat aymānukum ("and those who seek the [manumission] contract among those whom your right hands possess") — He, exalted is His praise, says: and those who desire the manumission agreement (mukātaba) among your slaves (mamālīk) fa-kātibūhum in ʿalimtum fīhim khayran ("then make a contract with them, if you perceive in them some good"). The scholars have differed concerning the manner in which a person grants a manumission contract to his slave in whom he has perceived some good, and whether His saying fa-kātibūhum in ʿalimtum fīhim khayran ("then make a contract with them, if you perceive in them some good") is by way of an obligation (farḍ) or by way of a recommendation (nadb). Some said: it is an obligation upon the man that he grant a manumission contract to his slave in whom he has perceived some good when the slave requests it of him.
* Mention of who said that:
Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed us, saying: I said to ʿAṭāʾ: is it obligatory upon me, when I know of property [in his hands], that I grant him a manumission contract? He said: I only regard it as obligatory. And ʿAmr ibn Dīnār said the same. He said: I said to ʿAṭāʾ: do you derive this from anyone [as a transmission]? He said: no.
Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Bakr related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik, that Sīrīn wished to conclude a manumission contract with him [with Anas], but he delayed in regard to him; then ʿUmar said to him: you shall surely conclude a manumission contract with him.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: it does not befit a man, when he possesses a righteous slave (mamlūk) who has means and who desires a manumission contract, that he not grant him that contract.
Others said: that is not obligatory upon the master; His saying fa-kātibūhum ("then make a contract with them") is only a recommendation from Allah to the masters of the slaves to make a contract with whomever of them in whom some good is perceived, not an obligation.
* Mention of who said that:
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Mālik ibn Anas said: the rule with us is that it does not rest upon the master of the slave that he grant him a manumission contract when the latter requests it of him, and I have not heard that any imam compelled anyone to grant his slave a manumission contract. And I have heard some scholars, when they were asked about that and it was said to them: indeed Allah, blessed and exalted is He, says in His Book fa-kātibūhum in ʿalimtum fīhim khayran ("then make a contract with them, if you perceive in them some good"), that they would recite these two verses: wa-idhā ḥalaltum fa-ṣṭādū ("and when you have left [the state of consecration], then hunt") and fa-idhā quḍiyati al-ṣalātu fa-ntashirū fī al-arḍi wa-btaghū min faḍli Allāh ("and when the prayer is concluded, then disperse throughout the land and seek of Allah's bounty"). Mālik said: that is only a command in which Allah has granted the people permission; it is not obligatory upon the people and binds no one. And al-Thawrī said: when the slave desires of his master that he grant him a contract, then the master, if he wishes, makes a contract with him, but the master is not compelled to it.
That ʿAlī related to me, on the authority of Zayd, on his authority. And Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying fa-kātibūhum in ʿalimtum fīhim khayran ("then make a contract with them, if you perceive in them some good"), he said: it is not obligatory upon him that he grant him a contract; this is only a command in which Allah has granted permission, and a directive.
The correct of the two views therein, in my judgment, is the view of him who said: it is obligatory upon the master of the slave that he grant him a manumission contract when he perceives some good in him and the slave requests the contract of him. That is because the outward sense of His saying fa-kātibūhum ("then make a contract with them") is the outward sense of a command, and the command of Allah is an obligation to which one must adhere, so long as there is no indication from the Book or the Sunna that it is a recommendation — as we have set forth the basis for that in our book entitled "al-Bayān ʿan uṣūl al-aḥkām".
And as for the good (khayr) with which Allah, exalted is His mention, has commanded His servants to make a contract with their slaves when they perceive it in them: that is the capacity for craft and acquisition to fulfill that for which the contract was concluded with them.
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Jazarī, on the authority of Nāfiʿ, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, that he disapproved of concluding a contract with his slave (mamlūk) when the latter had no craft; he said: then you would feed me the filth of the people.
ʿAlī related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying fa-kātibūhum in ʿalimtum fīhim khayran ("then make a contract with them, if you perceive in them some good"), he says: if you know of a skill in them, and do not lay their maintenance upon the Muslims.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ashhab informed us, saying: Mālik ibn Anas was asked about His saying fa-kātibūhum in ʿalimtum fīhim khayran ("then make a contract with them, if you perceive in them some good"), and he said: it is said: the good is the capacity to pay.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd related to me, on the authority of his father, concerning Allah's saying fa-kātibūhum in ʿalimtum fīhim khayran ("then make a contract with them, if you perceive in them some good"), he said: the good is the capacity for that.
Others said: no, the meaning of it is: if you perceive in them sincerity, faithfulness, and payment.
* Mention of who said that:
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Yūnus informed us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His saying fa-kātibūhum in ʿalimtum fīhim khayran ("then make a contract with them, if you perceive in them some good"), he said: sincerity, faithfulness, payment, and trustworthiness.
He said: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid and Ṭāwūs, that they both said concerning His saying fa-kātibūhum in ʿalimtum fīhim khayran ("then make a contract with them, if you perceive in them some good"): capacity and trustworthiness.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Jābir ibn Nūḥ related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid related to us, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ fa-kātibūhum in ʿalimtum fīhim khayran ("then make a contract with them, if you perceive in them some good"), he said: payment and trustworthiness.
Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of al-Mughīra, he said: Ibrāhīm said concerning this āyah fa-kātibūhum in ʿalimtum fīhim khayran ("then make a contract with them, if you perceive in them some good"), he said: sincerity and faithfulness, or one of the two.
Abū Bakr related to us, saying: Ibn Idrīs related to us, saying: I heard ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī Sulaymān, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, concerning His saying fa-kātibūhum in ʿalimtum fīhim khayran ("then make a contract with them, if you perceive in them some good"), he said: payment and capacity.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed us, saying: ʿAmr ibn Dīnār said: I think that all of this is capacity and righteousness.
ʿAlī ibn Sahl related to me, saying: Zayd related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us: in ʿalimtum fīhim khayran ("if you perceive in them some good") means: sincerity, faithfulness, and trustworthiness.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying in ʿalimtum fīhim khayran ("if you perceive in them some good"), he said: if you perceive in him some good for yourself, that he discharge [what is owed] to you and that you hold him truthful in what he tells you; then make a contract with him.
Others said: no, the meaning of it is: if you know of capacity in them.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying fa-kātibūhum in ʿalimtum fīhim khayran ("then make a contract with them, if you perceive in them some good"), he says: if you know of capacity in them.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: Ibn ʿAbbās said in ʿalimtum fīhim khayran ("if you perceive in them some good"), he said: capacity.
Ibn Bashshār and Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, they said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Mujāhid: fa-kātibūhum in ʿalimtum fīhim khayran ("then make a contract with them, if you perceive in them some good"), he said: capacity.
Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Mujāhid, the same.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning Allah's saying in ʿalimtum fīhim khayran ("if you perceive in them some good"), he said: [if] they have capacity, then make a contract with them.
Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, the same.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: fa-kātibūhum in ʿalimtum fīhim khayran ("then make a contract with them, if you perceive in them some good"), he said: if you know of capacity in them, whatever their characters and creeds may be.
Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Zādhān, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ: fa-kātibūhum in ʿalimtum fīhim khayran ("then make a contract with them, if you perceive in them some good"), he said: capacity.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Abū Bishr informed us, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: if you know of capacity in them.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr al-Yāfiʿī informed me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, that ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ used to say: we only regard it as the capacity — namely His saying in ʿalimtum fīhim khayran ("if you perceive in them some good"). He said: then he recited kutiba ʿalaykum idhā ḥaḍara aḥadakumu al-mawtu in taraka khayran ("it is prescribed for you that, when death approaches one of you, if he leaves behind good [property]...").
The correct of these views concerning the meaning of it, in my judgment, is the view of him who said: the meaning is: make a contract with them if you perceive in them strength for craft and acquisition, as well as the fulfillment of what he has imposed upon himself and to which he has bound himself, and truthfulness of speech. That is because these qualities are the matters of which the master of the slave has need when he concludes a contract with his slave — matters that reside in the slave.
As for capacity: although it belongs to the good, it does not reside in the slave, but is only with him or from him, not in him. And Allah has only obligated us to make a contract with the slave when we perceive some good in him, not when we perceive some good with him or from him. For that reason we do not say that by the good in this place capacity is meant.
And His saying wa-ātūhum min māli Allāhi alladhī ātākum ("and give them of the wealth of Allah which He has given you") — He, exalted is His mention, says: and give them of the wealth of Allah which He has given you.
Then the exegetes have differed concerning who it is to whom the command is given to give of the wealth of Allah which He has given, and concerning which wealth is intended. Some said: the one whom Allah has commanded to give the contracted slave (mukātab) of the wealth of Allah is the master of the contracted slave, and the wealth of Allah of which He commanded to give is the wealth of the contract (māl al-kitāba), and the amount which He commanded to give him of it is a quarter.
Others said: no, it is whatever the master wishes of it.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to me, saying: ʿImrān ibn ʿUyayna related to us, saying: ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib related to us, on the authority of Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī, on the authority of ʿAlī, concerning Allah's saying wa-ātūhum min māli Allāhi alladhī ātākum ("and give them of the wealth of Allah which He has given you"), he said: a quarter of the contract sum (al-mukātaba).
Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿArafa related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad al-Muḥāribī related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī, on the authority of ʿAlī, concerning Allah's saying wa-ātūhum min māli Allāhi alladhī ātākum ("and give them of the wealth of Allah which He has given you"), he said: a quarter of the contract sum, which he remits to him.
Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Layth ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā, on the authority of Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, on the authority of ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with him, concerning Allah's saying wa-ātūhum min māli Allāhi alladhī ātākum ("and give them of the wealth of Allah which He has given you"), he said: the quarter of the first of his installments.
He said: Ibn ʿUlayya informed us, saying: ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib said: on the authority of Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī, on the authority of ʿAlī, concerning His saying wa-ātūhum min māli Allāhi alladhī ātākum ("and give them of the wealth of Allah which He has given you"), he said: the quarter of his contract sum.
Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Aḥmasī related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī Sulaymān related to me, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Aʿyan, he said: Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān concluded a contract with a servant for four thousand dirhams, and then remitted to him the quarter, and then said: were it not that I had seen ʿAlī, may Allah's good pleasure rest upon him, conclude a contract with a servant of his and then remit to him the quarter, I would not have remitted anything to you.
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Aʿlā, on the authority of Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī: that he concluded a contract with a servant of his for one thousand two hundred, and he dropped the quarter and took me as witness, and he said to me: your friend used to do this — he means ʿAlī, may Allah's good pleasure rest upon him — interpreting wa-ātūhum min māli Allāhi alladhī ātākum ("and give them of the wealth of Allah which He has given you").
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik, he said: Faḍāla ibn Abī Umayya related to me, on the authority of his father, he said: ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may Allah be pleased with him, concluded a contract with me, and he borrowed for me from Ḥafṣa two hundred dirhams. I said: would you not reckon it in my contract sum? He said: I do not know whether I shall attain that or not.
He said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us: it has reached me that he concluded a contract with him for one hundred ūqiyya. He said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik, he said: I mentioned that to ʿIkrima, and he said: that is Allah's saying wa-ātūhum min māli Allāhi alladhī ātākum ("and give them of the wealth of Allah which He has given you").
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning Allah's saying wa-ātūhum min māli Allāhi alladhī ātākum ("and give them of the wealth of Allah which He has given you"), he says: remit to them something of their contract sum.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: wa-ātūhum min māli Allāhi alladhī ātākum ("and give them of the wealth of Allah which He has given you"), he says: remit to them something of that upon which you agreed with them.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Idrīs related to us, saying: I heard ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī Sulaymān, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, concerning His saying wa-ātūhum min māli Allāhi alladhī ātākum ("and give them of the wealth of Allah which He has given you"), he said: of what Allah has yielded to you through them.
Abū al-Sāʾib related to me, saying: Ibn Idrīs related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid: wa-ātūhum min māli Allāhi alladhī ātākum ("and give them of the wealth of Allah which He has given you"), he said: give them of what is in your hands.
Al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAmr al-ʿAnqazī related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of Asbāṭ, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of his father, he said: Zaynab bint Qays ibn Makhrama, of the Banū al-Muṭṭalib ibn ʿAbd Manāf, concluded a contract with me for ten thousand, and she remitted to me a thousand; and Zaynab had prayed together with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ toward both prayer directions (qiblas).
Mujāhid ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Ibn Masʿūd al-Jurayrī informed us, on the authority of Abū Naḍra, on the authority of Abū Saʿīd, the freedman of Abū Usayd, he said: Abū Usayd concluded a contract with me for twelve hundred; I brought it to him, and he took a thousand of it and gave me back two hundred.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Hārūn ibn al-Mughīra related to us, on the authority of ʿAnbasa, on the authority of Sālim al-Afṭas, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, he said: when Ibn ʿUmar concluded a contract with his contracted slave, he would remit to him nothing of the first of his installments, out of fear that he would default and that his alms [which he had remitted] would return to him; but when it was the last of his contract sum, he would remit to him whatever he wished.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Makhrama informed me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Nāfiʿ, he said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar concluded a contract with a servant of his, named Sharaf, for thirty-five thousand dirhams, and he remitted of the last of his contract five thousand; and Nāfiʿ did not mention that he gave him anything other than what he had remitted to him.
He said: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Mālik said: I heard some scholars say: that means that the man concludes a contract with his servant and then remits to him of the last of his contract some specific amount. Mālik said: and that is the best of what I have heard, and the scholars act according to it, and such is the practice of the people with us.
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Zayd related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us: most beloved to me is that he give him the quarter, or something less than that, and it is not obligatory; and that he do so is good.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ḥabīb Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī, on the authority of ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with him, wa-ātūhum min māli Allāhi alladhī ātākum ("and give them of the wealth of Allah which He has given you"), he said: it is a quarter of the contract sum.
Others said: no, it is an exhortation from Allah to the possessors of wealth that they give them [the contracted slaves] their share, which He has appointed for them out of the prescribed alms that are designated for them in their wealth, by His saying innamā al-ṣadaqātu li-l-fuqarāʾi wa-l-masākīni wa-l-ʿāmilīna ʿalayhā wa-l-muʾallafati qulūbuhum wa-fī al-riqāb ("indeed, the alms are for the poor, the needy, those employed to collect them, those whose hearts are to be reconciled, and for the freeing of slaves"). He said: the "slaves" (al-riqāb), in which one of the eight shares of the alms is appointed, are the contracted slaves; and them He, exalted is His praise, intended by His saying wa-ātūhum min māli Allāhi alladhī ātākum ("and give them of the wealth of Allah which He has given you"), namely their share from the alms.
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to me, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, on the authority of Ibn Zayd, on the authority of his father, concerning His saying wa-ātūhum min māli Allāhi alladhī ātākum ("and give them of the wealth of Allah which He has given you"), he said: Allah exhorts to that, that they give him.
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to me, saying: Yūnus informed us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan wa-ātūhum min māli Allāhi alladhī ātākum ("and give them of the wealth of Allah which He has given you"), he said: He exhorts the people to that — his master and others.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ḥammād, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, concerning His saying wa-ātūhum min māli Allāhi alladhī ātākum ("and give them of the wealth of Allah which He has given you"), he said: he gives to his contracted slave and to others; He exhorts the people to that.
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, that he said concerning His saying wa-ātūhum min māli Allāhi alladhī ātākum ("and give them of the wealth of Allah which He has given you"): He commanded his master and the people together that they should assist him.
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm wa-ātūhum min māli Allāhi alladhī ātākum ("and give them of the wealth of Allah which He has given you"), he said: He commanded the Muslims to give them of what Allah has given them.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd related to me, on the authority of his father wa-ātūhum min māli Allāhi alladhī ātākum ("and give them of the wealth of Allah which He has given you"), he said: that is in the zakāh, incumbent upon the governors; they give them of the zakāh, [as] Allah says wa-fī al-riqāb ("and for the freeing of slaves").
He said: Ibn Zayd related to me, on the authority of his father wa-ātūhum min māli Allāhi alladhī ātākum ("and give them of the wealth of Allah which He has given you"), he said: the spoils (al-fayʾ) and the alms. And he recited Allah's saying innamā al-ṣadaqātu li-l-fuqarāʾi wa-l-masākīn ("indeed, the alms are for the poor and the needy") and he recited on until he reached wa-fī al-riqāb ("and for the freeing of slaves"). Thus Allah commanded that one discharge to them [what is owed] from that, and that does not belong to the contract sum. He said: and my father used to say: what has it to do with the contract sum?! It is from the wealth of Allah in which He has made obligatory a share for him.
The correct of the two views concerning it, in my judgment, is the second view, namely the view of him who said: by it is intended to give them of their share from the prescribed alms.
And we have called that the correct of the two views, because His saying wa-ātūhum min māli Allāhi alladhī ātākum ("and give them of the wealth of Allah which He has given you") is a command from Allah, exalted is His mention, to give the contracted slaves of His wealth which He has given to the possessors of wealth; and the command of Allah is an obligation upon His servants to which one must adhere, so long as He has not informed them that He intends recommendation — for what we have set forth in more than one place in our book. Since that is so, and He has not informed us in His Book nor by the tongue of His Messenger ﷺ that it is a recommendation, it is a binding obligation. And since that is so, and the proof is established that no one has a right to the wealth of another of the Muslims, except that which Allah has obligated for those entitled to the shares of the alms in the wealth of the rich among them, and since the contract sum which the master of the contracted slave claims from his contracted slave is a part of the wealth of the master of the contracted slave — it follows from that that the right which Allah has obligated the believers to give them [the slaves] out of their wealth is that which He has obligated upon the rich in their wealth on his behalf as prescribed alms, since no one else has any right therein to their wealth.
The statement concerning the interpretation of His saying, exalted is He: wa-lā tukrihū fatayātikum ʿalā al-bighāʾi in aradna taḥaṣṣunan li-tabtaghū ʿaraḍa al-ḥayāti al-dunyā wa-man yukrihhunna fa-inna Allāha min baʿdi ikrāhihinna ghafūrun raḥīm ("and do not compel your slave-girls to prostitution, if they desire chastity, in order to seek the transitory goods of the worldly life; and whoever compels them — indeed, Allah, after the compulsion done to them, is forgiving, merciful").
He, exalted is His mention, says: marry off the righteous among your male slaves (ʿibād) and female slaves (imāʾ), and do not compel your slave-girls (imāʾ) to prostitution (al-bighāʾ), that is the zinā in aradna taḥaṣṣunan ("if they desire chastity"), He says: if they desire abstention from the zinā.
li-tabtaghū ʿaraḍa al-ḥayāti al-dunyā ("in order to seek the transitory goods of the worldly life"), He says: that you, by compelling them to the zinā, may pursue the transitory goods of the worldly life — namely that which they have need of in adornment, ornament, and goods thereof. wa-man yukrihhunna ("and whoever compels them"), He says: and whoever compels his slave-girls to prostitution — indeed Allah is, after his compulsion of them to it, for them ghafūrun raḥīm ("forgiving, merciful"); and the burden of what has occurred of that rests upon them [the compellers], not upon her.
And it has been mentioned that this āyah was revealed concerning ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl, when he compelled his slave-girl Musayka to the zinā.
* Mention of who said that:
Al-Ḥasan ibn al-Ṣabbāḥ related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj ibn Muḥammad related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: Abū al-Zubayr informed me, that he heard Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh say: Musayka, [belonging] to one of the Anṣār, came and said: indeed, my master compels me to the zinā. Thereupon there was revealed concerning this: wa-lā tukrihū fatayātikum ʿalā al-bighāʾi ("and do not compel your slave-girls to prostitution").
Yaḥyā ibn Ibrāhīm al-Masʿūdī related to me, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of his grandfather, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Abū Sufyān, on the authority of Jābir, he said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl had a slave-girl named Musayka, and he hired her out — or compelled her (al-Ṭabarī is in doubt) — whereupon she went to the Prophet ﷺ and complained to him about that. Then Allah revealed wa-lā tukrihū fatayātikum ʿalā al-bighāʾi in aradna taḥaṣṣunan li-tabtaghū ʿaraḍa al-ḥayāti al-dunyā wa-man yukrihhunna fa-inna Allāha min baʿdi ikrāhihinna ghafūrun raḥīm ("and do not compel your slave-girls to prostitution, if they desire chastity, in order to seek the transitory goods of the worldly life; and whoever compels them — indeed, Allah, after the compulsion done to them, is forgiving, merciful"), by which He intends them.
Abū Ḥaṣīn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Yūnus related to us, saying: ʿAbthar related to us, saying: Ḥuṣayn related to us, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, concerning His saying wa-lā tukrihū fatayātikum ʿalā al-bighāʾi ("and do not compel your slave-girls to prostitution"), he said: a man had a slave-girl who committed prostitution, and when she became a Muslim, this was revealed.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: Abū al-Zubayr informed me, on the authority of Jābir, he said: a slave-girl of one of the Anṣār came and said: indeed, my master compels me to prostitution. Then Allah revealed concerning this wa-lā tukrihū fatayātikum ʿalā al-bighāʾi ("and do not compel your slave-girls to prostitution"). Ibn Jurayj said: and ʿAmr ibn Dīnār informed me, on the authority of ʿIkrima, he said: a slave-girl of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy — he commanded her, whereupon she committed prostitution, and she came with a [striped] garment; then he said to her: go back and commit prostitution. She said: by Allah, I will not do it; if this is good, then I have already had enough of it, and if it is evil, then it is time for me to leave it. Ibn Jurayj said: and Mujāhid said something similar to that, and added, he said: al-bighāʾ is the zinā, wa-Allāhu ghafūrun raḥīm ("and Allah is forgiving, merciful"), he said: for those compelled to the zinā; and concerning her this āyah was revealed.
Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, that a man of the Quraysh was taken captive on the day of Badr, and ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy had taken him captive. And ʿAbd Allāh had a slave-girl named Muʿādha, and the captive Qurayshite desired her against her will; and she was a Muslim woman, and she refused him on account of her Islam. And Ibn Ubayy compelled her to it and beat her, in the hope that she would become pregnant by the Qurayshite, so that he might demand ransom for his child. Then Allah said: wa-lā tukrihū fatayātikum ʿalā al-bighāʾi in aradna taḥaṣṣunan ("and do not compel your slave-girls to prostitution, if they desire chastity"). Al-Zuhrī said: wa-man yukrihhunna fa-inna Allāha min baʿdi ikrāhihinna ghafūrun raḥīm ("and whoever compels them — indeed, Allah, after the compulsion done to them, is forgiving, merciful"), He says: forgiving toward them for that to which they were compelled.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Ashʿath, on the authority of Jaʿfar, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, that he used to read: fa-inna Allāha min baʿdi ikrāhihinna "lahunna" ghafūrun raḥīm ("indeed, Allah, after the compulsion done to them, is for them forgiving, merciful").
ʿAlī related to us, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying wa-lā tukrihū fatayātikum ʿalā al-bighāʾi in aradna taḥaṣṣunan ("and do not compel your slave-girls to prostitution, if they desire chastity"), he says: and do not compel your slave-girls (imāʾ) to the zinā; and if you [nonetheless] do it, then Allah, glorified is He, is forgiving, merciful toward them, and their sin rests upon whoever compelled them.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying wa-lā tukrihū fatayātikum ʿalā al-bighāʾi ("and do not compel your slave-girls to prostitution") ... to the end of the āyah, he said: in the time of ignorance (jāhiliyya) they used to compel their slave-girls (imāʾ) to the zinā and take their wages; then Allah said: do not compel them to the zinā for the sake of gain in the worldly life, wa-man yukrihhunna fa-inna Allāha min baʿdi ikrāhihinna ghafūrun raḥīm ("and whoever compels them — indeed, Allah, after the compulsion done to them, is forgiving, merciful") toward them, namely when they are compelled.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid wa-lā tukrihū fatayātikum ʿalā al-bighāʾi ("and do not compel your slave-girls to prostitution"), to the zinā, he said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl commanded a slave-girl of his to the zinā, and she came to him with a dinar or with a [striped] garment ("Abū ʿĀṣim is in doubt") and gave it to him, whereupon he said: go back and commit prostitution with another. She said: by Allah, I will not return; for Allah is forgiving, merciful toward those compelled to the zinā; and concerning this this āyah was revealed.
Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, something similar, except that in his transmission he said: he commanded a slave-girl of his to the zinā, and she committed prostitution and came to him with a [striped] garment and gave it to him — and he did not express doubt.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His saying wa-lā tukrihū fatayātikum ʿalā al-bighāʾi ("and do not compel your slave-girls to prostitution"), he says: to the zinā fa-inna Allāha min baʿdi ikrāhihinna ghafūrun raḥīm ("indeed, Allah, after the compulsion done to them, is forgiving, merciful"), he says: forgiving toward them, toward those compelled to the zinā.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying wa-man yukrihhunna fa-inna Allāha min baʿdi ikrāhihinna ghafūrun raḥīm ("and whoever compels them — indeed, Allah, after the compulsion done to them, is forgiving, merciful"), he said: forgiving, merciful toward them, since they were compelled and constrained to it.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: they used to command their slave-girls (walāʾid) to commit prostitution; they did that and gained [profit] and brought them their earnings. ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl had a slave-girl who used to commit prostitution; then she came to loathe it and swore that she would not do it, but her possessors compelled her, and she went and committed prostitution for a green [striped] garment and brought it to them. Then Allah, blessed and exalted is He, revealed: wa-lā tukrihū fatayātikum ʿalā al-bighāʾi ("and do not compel your slave-girls to prostitution") ... the āyah.
