the Book and the Sunnah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "A pregnant woman shall not be had intercourse with until she delivers, and a non-pregnant woman until she has menstruated." And this one does not know whether she is pregnant or not. How foul is this! It was said to him: There are people who say this. He said: May Allah condemn this, and condemn whoever says it. What Abu 'Abd Allah pointed out from the proofs is sufficient, along with what we mentioned before this section. Once this is established, he may not marry her to anyone else before she has performed istibra' if he does not emancipate her; because she is one for whom istibra' is required, so it is not permissible for her to be married, like a woman in her waiting period. This is the same whether she was purchased from a man who had intercourse with her, or from a man who had her perform istibra' then did not have intercourse with her, or from someone for whom intercourse is not possible, such as a child, a woman, or a castrated man. Al-Shafi'i said: If he purchases her from someone who does not have intercourse with her, he may marry her off, whether he emancipates her or not; and he may marry her himself if he emancipates her, because she is not a bed-consort. Her master had the right to marry her off before selling her, so it is permissible after selling her. Moreover, if she were to become free through her master’s emancipation or otherwise, it would be lawful for anyone to marry her, so it is the same if the purchaser emancipates her. Our evidence is the generality of his saying, peace be upon him: "A woman who is not pregnant shall not be had intercourse with until she is purified by a menstrual cycle." And because she is a slave woman whom it is forbidden for him to have intercourse with before she performs istibra', so it is forbidden for him to marry her off or be married to her, just as if her seller were having intercourse with her. As for if he emancipates her in this situation, he may marry her off to someone else because she is now a free woman who was not a bed-consort, so marriage is permitted for her, just as if the seller had emancipated her. This is distinct from the woman with whom there has been intercourse, for she is a bed-consort who must perform istibra' for herself if she is emancipated, so marriage is forbidden for her, like a woman in her waiting period. It is also distinct from when her master intends to marry her himself, for he could not have intercourse with her by right of ownership, so he could not marry her, like a woman in her waiting period. Furthermore, this is taken as a stratagem (hilah) to invalidate istibra', so it is prohibited, unlike marrying her off to someone else.