The sultan—if she gives him permission to marry her—may do so. Is it permissible for him to oversee both sides of the contract himself? There are two narrations regarding this. The first is that he may do so, which is the position of al-Hasan, Ibn Sirin, Rabi'ah, Malik, al-Thawri, Abu Hanifah, Ishaq, Abu Thawr, and Ibn al-Mundhir, based on what al-Bukhari narrated, stating: 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf said to Umm Hakim bint Qariz: "Will you delegate your affair to me?" She said: "Yes." He said: "I have married you." Furthermore, because he possesses the capacity for both the offer and the acceptance, it is permissible for him to undertake both, just as if he were marrying off his slave woman to his young male slave. It is a contract in which an offer was found from a guardian of established authority, and an acceptance was found from a husband who is eligible for such acceptance; thus, it is valid, as it would be if they were two different men. It has also been reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) freed Safiyyah and made her manumission her dowry. If it is said: "It has been reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 'Any marriage not attended by four is illicit: a husband, a guardian, and two witnesses,'" we reply: We do not know the authenticity of this, and if it were authentic, it is specific to one who marries his slave woman to his young male slave, and thus the case of contention is also excluded from it.

Does it require mentioning both the offer and acceptance, or is the mere offer sufficient? There are two views. The first is that one needs to say: "I have married myself to so-and-so, and I have accepted this marriage," because what requires an offer also requires an acceptance, like all other contracts. The second is that it suffices for him to say: "I have married myself to so-and-so" or "I have married so-and-so," which is the position of Malik and Abu Hanifah, due to the hadith of 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf and because his offer includes the acceptance, so it is similar to when a request is made beforehand. For this reason, we said: if he says to his slave woman, "I have freed you and made your manumission your dowry," the marriage is contracted by the mere utterance of this statement.