woman, did so only in a sense other than that of prohibition, so it is like this statement of Ahmad. Ahmad said: "He should not have intercourse with her until he ensures her emptiness [from pregnancy] through three menstrual cycles." This is because of what Ruwayfi' ibn Thabit narrated, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say on the day of Hunayn: "It is not permissible for a man who believes in Allah and the Last Day to water his seed into the tillage of another." He meant having intercourse with pregnant women. It is also because she might bring forth a child from adultery that would be attributed to him. The preferred view is that ensuring her emptiness [with a single menstrual cycle] is sufficient; because this is sufficient in the case of slave women, and in the case of a woman who has borne her master's child when she becomes free upon the death of her master, or by her master setting her free; therefore, it is sufficient here. The objective here is merely to ensure the emptiness of the womb, and that has been achieved with one menstrual cycle, so it is sufficient.

Section: If a man learns of lewdness from his slave woman, Ahmad said: "He should not have intercourse with her; perhaps she might attribute to him a child that is not his." Ibn Mas'ud said: "I dislike having intercourse with my slave woman once she has committed adultery." Malik narrated from Yahya ibn Sa'id, from Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, that he used to forbid a man from having intercourse with his slave woman while she was pregnant with a fetus from someone else. Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said: "There is consensus on the prohibition of this." Ibn 'Abbas used to permit intercourse with a lewd slave woman. The same has been narrated from Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib. It is possible that those who disliked it did so before ensuring the emptiness of the womb, or if he did not protect her and prevent her from lewdness, while those who permitted it did so after both [these conditions are met]; thus, the two opinions are reconcilable. And Allah (the Exalted) knows best.