one of them said, 'She is a man,' another said, 'She is a woman,' the third said, 'She is the father of the one (25) who claimed to be a man,' and the fourth said, 'She is the father of the one who claimed to be a woman.' So the one who claimed to be the man's father proposed to the one who claimed to be the woman's father, and they married her to her. She then went to her and ruined her (virginity) with her finger. This was referred to Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, and he divided the dower among them into four parts, and voided the share of the one who permitted it to be done to her. This reached Abdullah ibn Ma'qil, and he said (27): 'If I had been in charge, I would have placed the (entire) dower upon the one who ruined the girl alone.' These are stories that spread and were not denounced, so they constitute a consensus (ijma'). Furthermore, because the destruction of virginity is something entitled by the marriage contract, so if a stranger destroys it, the dowry becomes due, just as the usufruct of the pudendum (does).

1212 - Issue: He said: (And the husband is the one who holds the knot of marriage in his hand, so if he divorces before intercourse, then whichever of them forgives the other for what was due to him (1) of the dower, and he is a person of sound judgment regarding his wealth, then his companion is absolved of it).

Scholars have differed regarding the one who holds the knot of marriage in his hand. The apparent position of the madhhab of Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, is that it is the husband. This has been narrated from Ali, Ibn Abbas, and Jubayr ibn Mut'im, may Allah be pleased with them. This is also the position of Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, Shurayh, Sa'id ibn Jubayr, Nafi' ibn Jubayr, Nafi' the freed slave of Ibn Umar, Mujahid, Iyas ibn Mu'awiyah, Jabir ibn Zayd, Ibn Sirin, al-Sha'bi, al-Thawri, Ishaq, the اصحاب الرأي (People of Opinion), and al-Shafi'i in the 'new' (school). It is also narrated from Ahmad that it is the guardian (wali) if he is the father of the minor girl. This is the 'old' position (2) of al-Shafi'i if he is the father or grandfather (3). It has been related from