upon him, and he ordered him, so he separated from her. In another narration, he said to him: "Accept the garden, and pronounce one divorce upon her." This is the position held by all the jurists of the Hijaz and the Levant. Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said: We do not know of anyone who opposed this, except Bakr ibn 'Abd Allah al-Muzani, for he did not permit it and claimed that the verse of Khul' was abrogated by His saying, the Almighty: {And if you want to replace one wife with another} [7] (the verse). It is narrated from Ibn Sirin and Abu Qilabah that Khul' is not lawful until he finds a man upon her belly, due to the saying of Allah, the Almighty: {And do not constrain them in order to take back part of what you have given them, unless they commit a clear immorality} [8]. Our evidence is the verse we recited, the report, and the fact that it is the statement of 'Umar, 'Uthman, and 'Ali [9], and others among the Companions; we know of no one in their era who opposed them, so it constitutes consensus. The claim of abrogation is not heard until it is established that reconciliation is impossible and that the abrogating verse is later; neither of these has been established. If this is established, it is called Khul' because [10] the woman strips herself of her husband's garment. Allah, the Almighty, said: {They are clothing for you and you are clothing for them} [11]. It is also called Iftida' (ransoming), because she ransoms herself with wealth she bestows. Allah, the Almighty, said: {Then there is no sin upon them in that which she ransoms herself with}.

Section: Khul' does not require a ruler. Ahmad stated this explicitly, saying: Khul' is permissible without the Sultan (ruler). Al-Bukhari [12] reported this from 'Umar and 'Uthman, may Allah be pleased with them. Shurayh, al-Zuhri, Malik, al-Shafi'i, Ishaq, and the People of Opinion (Ahl al-Ra'y) held this view. From al-Hasan and Ibn Sirin, it is said: It is not permissible except in the presence of the Sultan. Our evidence is the statement of 'Umar and 'Uthman, and because it is a mutual exchange, so it does not require the Sultan, like sales and marriage, and because it is the severance of a contract by mutual consent, resembling rescission (Iqalah).