This is the meaning of al-Khiraqi’s statement: "Whether the manumission precedes or follows [the marriage]." Ahmad stated this explicitly in the narration of Salih: If he says, "I have made your manumission your dower," or "your dower your manumission," all of that is permissible.

The third section: There must be no interval between them. If he says, "I have manumitted you," and remains silent for a duration during which he could have spoken, or speaks about an extraneous matter, then says, "I have made your manumission your dower," the marriage is not valid. This is because she became a free woman through the manumission, and thus it requires [that he marry her] with her consent for a new dower.

The fourth section: It must necessarily involve two witnesses if we hold the opinion that witnessing is a requirement for marriage. Ahmad stated this explicitly in the narration of the group, based on his [the Prophet's] saying: "There is no marriage except with a guardian and two witnesses."

The fifth section: If he divorces her before consummation, he may claim from her half of her value. This is because divorce before consummation necessitates a claim for half of what was assigned to her as a dower, and he has assigned her own self to her as the dower. There is no path to reclaiming [her] in a state of bondage after it has ceased, so he claims half of the value of her own self. Al-Hasan and al-Hakam held this opinion. Al-Awza'i said: He claims a fourth of her value. Our evidence is that it is a divorce before consummation, thus it necessitates a claim [for half], like any other divorce. Her value is determined at the time of manumission, because that is the time of destruction [of the property status]. If she is not capable of paying half the value, is she to be sought for labor to pay it, or is it a debt to be deferred until she has the means? There are two narrations regarding this. If we say that the marriage [is not contracted] by this statement, then she owes the value of her own self, because he relinquished his ownership for a consideration that was not delivered to him, so he reverts to the value of the lost [property], like a corrupt sale. Likewise, if we say that the marriage was contracted by it, then she apostatized before