Quran Garden

Marriage can be expensive and sometimes too much of a burden for a poor young man. What is he to do? God gives young, poor men an alternative. They can seek maiden women. Allah allows this type of marriage but discourages it. Learn more in today's Tafsir of Aya 25 of Surah An-Nisaa. Let's dive right in.

Session 574

Chapter 4

Verse 25

If any of you is not able to marry a believing free woman, let them marry believing maidens from among those whom your right hands possess. God knows best your faith: you are all part of the same family, so marry them with their guardian's consent and give them their due compensation as is customary for married women, not adulteresses or lovers. If they commit adultery when they are married, their punishment will be half that of free women. This is for those of you who are afraid of hardship. But being patient is better for you. God is most forgiving and merciful. (Chapter 4:Verse 25)

Having ability to do something means it falls within your control and doesn't resist or oppose you. In the story of Cain and Abel, each brother presented a sacrifice to the Lord. God favored Abel's offering but rejected Cain's, sparking jealousy and animosity in Cain's heart. God says,

Tell them the truth about the story of Adam's two sons: each offered a sacrifice, and it was accepted from one and not the other. One said, "I will kill you," but the other said, "God only accepts the sacrifice of those who are mindful of Him. If you raise your hand to kill me, I will not raise mine to kill you. I fear God, the Lord of all worlds." (Chapter 5:Verses 27-28)

The story continues,

But his self enabled him to kill his brother: he killed him and became one of the losers.

(5: 30)

Take note of the phrase, "his self enabled him to kill," which means it allowed him to commit the act he couldn't have done before. The pronoun "him" refers to himself, indicating that each person has multiple faculties; one may urge to kill, while another advises otherwise. Cain's conscience deterred him from killing while his evil-prompting self pushed in the other direction, leaving him torn between the two. The phrase "his self enabled him to kill" shows that he initially resisted the idea, but the evil-promoting self persisted until he gave in. Yet, some good was left in Cain because he felt regret afterward. Listen to the following Aya,

Allah sent a crow to scratch up the ground and show him how to cover his brother's corpse, and he said, "Woe is me! Could I not have been like this crow and covered up my brother's body?" He became remorseful. (5:31)

Cain killed his brother but soon regretted it. Why? Because the good virtues within the self always fight to elevate good deeds and diminish evil ones. You may start with bad intentions, but if your better nature is stronger, you will lessen your evil intent. On the other hand, if the person has a prevailing evil nature, he or she might increase the wrongdoing gradually, thinking, "So-and-so wronged me, I am going to hit him," then after some thought, "You know what! I will call my friends, and we will all go and beat him up, or better yet, I am going kill him!" Did you notice the escalating violence and evil?

In the story of Prophet Joseph and his brothers, we see how the righteous-self guided the brothers in the right direction, mitigating the evil they initially planned. God says,

The brothers said to each other, "Although we are many, Joseph and his brother are dearer to our father than we are–– our father is clearly in the wrong. Kill Yusuf or cast him to some land so that your father will look to you alone, and then you can be people who do good." One of them said, "Do not take Yusuf's life but throw him to the bottom of the well so that some travelers may discover him – do that if you are seriously intending to take action." (12:8-10)

Being the sons of Prophet Jacob, they gradually backed down from killing their brother to casting him away. Then they de-escalated further, lowering him into a well, knowing the next caravan would pull him out and may take him under their care.

This brings us back to the verse. God says, "If any of you is not able to marry a believing free woman, let them marry believing maidens from among those whom your right hands possess. If any of you is not able to marry a believing free woman, let them marry believing maidens from among those whom your right hands possess." If you do not have the financial means and cannot afford what is required to marry the woman of your choice, there is another option. Instead of marrying a free woman whose family has demands and whose dowry is typically higher, you can seek out a slave girl because her sustenance and financial responsibilities are less. They usually do not have an extended family with high demands and expensive dowry.

God permits a Muslim to marry a slave woman belonging to someone else, provided her owner consents, as this marriage would claim part of her time and services. This is why the marriage must be known to and approved by her guardians. Allah also commands against underestimating slave girls and ensuring they receive their due dowries to acknowledge their worth and as compensation for marriage.

Some people objected, saying that the rule is "a slave and what he earns belongs to his master," so any dowry must be given to the master. We answer that the slave must be granted the dowry before passing it to her master. Giving the payment directly to the owner would mean she technically did not receive a dowry herself. Hence, you should give her the dowry and honor her with it. Passing it on or not is another issue.

The verse ends with, "This is for those of you who are afraid of hardship. But being patient is better for you." The wording strongly suggests that God is discouraging you from marrying a maiden woman. So we ask, if someone has the means to marry whomever they wish, is it inappropriate to marry a slave woman? Why would God discourage it? We answer that there is very high wisdom behind discouraging such a marriage, which has nothing to do with the woman's status. In fact, God says earlier in the verse, "God knows best your faith: you are all part of the same family," meaning that faith is the distinguishing factor for every human, not the social status. But Allah aims to eliminate the slavery altogether. When a man marries a slave woman owned by someone else, their children inherit the mother's status of slavery. In matters of religion, children follow the better of the two parents, but in matters concerning freedom, they follow the mother. If a person marries a slave owned by another, her children will be slaves. Yet, if the woman has children with her master, she and the child are free. Thus, by discouraging marriage outside the household, Allah is encouraging pregnancy and freedom from within.

The success of most marriages depends on equality between the spouses. We have all seen marriages fail because the husband comes from a wealthy background while the wife is poor, or the wife is highly educated and the husband is not. Next week's Tafsir explores the Heavenly wisdom in marriage equality. Do not miss it! Subscribe and hit the icon bell below.