signs of men, he is a man and has the rulings of men; or if the signs of women appear in him, he is a woman and has their rulings. If he is problematic and neither the signs of men nor of women appear in him, our companions have differed regarding his marriage. Al-Khiraqi mentioned that one refers to his own statement. [If he states that he is a man, and that his nature inclines] toward marrying women, then he may marry them. If he states that he is a woman, and his nature inclines toward men, he is to be married to a man; because this is a matter that cannot be reached except from his side, and it does not involve imposing a right upon anyone else, so his word regarding it is accepted, just as the word of a woman is accepted regarding her menstruation and her waiting period. He may know himself by the inclination of his nature toward one of the two types and his desire for it; for Allah the Exalted has established the custom among animals for the inclination of the male toward the female and her inclination toward him. This inclination is a matter of the soul and desire that no one else can perceive, and since knowledge of his manifest signs has become difficult for us, we refer back to his internal matters, in that which is specific to his own judgment. As for inheritance and blood money (diyah), if he confesses against himself something that diminishes his inheritance or blood money, it is accepted from him; but if he claims something that increases them, it is not accepted, because he is accused regarding that, and his word is not accepted against others. As for his acts of worship, his attire, and other such matters, his word should be accepted regarding them, because it is a matter between him and Allah the Exalted. Al-Qadi said: "His word is accepted regarding [leading] prayer, guardianship in marriage, and that which does not establish a right against others." If he is married to a woman or a man, then retracts and says the opposite of his first statement, his word is not accepted regarding marriage to other than the gender to which he was first married, because he is contradicting himself and claiming what would require combining marriage to both men and women. However, if he marries a woman and then says, "I am a woman," his marriage is annulled because of his confession of its invalidity, though his word is not accepted regarding the dropping of the dowry from him. If he marries a man and then says, "I am a man," his word is not accepted regarding the annulment of his marriage, because the right is against him. This is the view of al-Shafi'i. Abu Bakr said: No.