and his trace is distant; because this is apparent regarding his death, so the beginning of the period is from then, just as if two witnesses had testified to it. There are two positions for al-Shafi‘i, corresponding to the two reports.

Section: If her first husband arrives before she has remarried, she is his wife. Some of the followers of al-Shafi‘i said: When the period is set for her and it expires, the first marriage is voided. The view we have mentioned is more appropriate, because we only permitted her to remarry because the apparent state is his death; if it becomes clear that he is alive, that apparent state is invalidated, and the marriage remains as it was, just as if evidence had testified to his death and then he appeared to be alive. Furthermore, it is one of two ownerships, so it resembles the ownership of property. As for if he arrives after she has remarried, we consider: if it is before the second (husband) has consummated the marriage with her, then she is the wife of the first; she is returned to him, and there is nothing against him. Ahmad said: As for before consummation, she is his wife, and the option is only after consummation. This is the opinion of al-Hasan, ‘Ata’, Khilas ibn ‘Amr, al-Nakha‘i, Qatadah, Malik, and Ishaq. The Qadi said: There is another report that he is given the choice, and he derived this from the generality of Ahmad’s statement: "If his wife remarries and he comes, he is given the choice between the dowry and his wife." The correct view is that the general statement of Ahmad is interpreted based on the specific version of it in the report of al-Athram, which is that there is no choice except after consummation. Thus, she is the wife of the first in a single report, because the marriage was only valid in appearance, not in reality. If he arrives, we realize that the marriage was void; [because it occurred with a woman who had a husband, so it was void], just as if evidence had testified to his death, and there is no dowry against him, because it is an invalid marriage that was not followed by consummation. She returns to the husband via the first contract, just as if she had not remarried. If he arrives after the second has consummated the marriage with her, the first is given the choice between taking her, in which case she becomes his wife by the first contract, or taking her dowry, and she becomes the wife of the second. This is the opinion of Malik, due to the consensus of the Companions upon it. Ma‘mar narrated from al-Zuhri, from Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib, that ‘Umar and ‘Uthman said: If her first husband comes, he is given the choice between the woman and...