where it becomes impossible to consult him entirely, so it is considered interrupted, meaning it is cut off from the possibility of him marrying her. Al-Qadi said: The limit of the distance must be such that caravans do not travel it except once a year, because a compatible suitor will wait a year, but will not wait longer than that, and harm is incurred by neglecting her marriage. Ahmad said in one place: If the father is on a distant journey, the brother shall perform the marriage. Abu al-Khattab said: It is possible that he intended by 'distant journey' that which allows for shortening the prayer (qasr), because that is the journey to which the rulings are attached. Abu Bakr held the view that its limit is that which cannot be traversed except with hardship and difficulty; because Ahmad said: If there is no present guardian among her agnates, he writes to them until they give permission, unless it is an interrupted absence that cannot be reached except with hardship and difficulty, then the sultan is the guardian of those who have no guardian. This opinion, if Allah the Almighty wills, is the closest to the truth, for the categorization of these matters belongs to the realm of instruction (tawqif), and there is no instruction in this issue, so it is referred back to what people recognize among themselves regarding that in which it is not the custom to wait, and the woman incurs harm by being prevented from marriage in such a case, for it becomes impossible to achieve the interest of the closest guardian's consideration in that situation, so he is as if he were non-existent. Determining it by the year is a major matter, for harm is incurred by waiting in such a case, the suitor departs, and the one whose letter does not reach him is more distant, and the one who is at the distance of qasr does not entail hardship in corresponding with him. The middle ground is more appropriate. And Allah knows best. The companions of Abu Hanifah differed regarding the interrupted absence; some of them said as al-Qadi said, and some of them said: from Rayy to Baghdad. Some of them said: from Basra to Raqqa. These two opinions resemble the opinion of Abu Bakr. The companions of al-Shafi'i differed in the absence in which the judge performs the marriage.
(6) In M: "from". (7) In A and B, there is an addition: "the distant". (8) In A: "is interrupted". In M: "occurs". (9) In the original: "because". (10) In the original: "he recognizes it" (ta'arrufuhu). (11) In the original: "it becomes impossible" (ta'adhdhara). (12) Omitted from the original. (13) In the original, there is an addition: "the interrupted".
