is not needed for the purpose of making [the wife] lawful for the first husband, so it does not change the ruling of the divorce, like the intercourse of a master. Furthermore, it is a marriage contract before the fulfillment of the three [divorces], so it is similar to if she had returned to him before the intercourse of the second husband. Their argument that the intercourse of the second [husband] establishes lawfulness is incorrect for two reasons: First, the denial that it is a source of establishing lawfulness at all. In the case of three divorces, it is merely the limit of the prohibition, evidenced by the saying of the Almighty: {Then she is not lawful for him until she marries a husband other than him}. "Until" (hatta) denotes the limit. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) only called the husband who intended this trick a "muhallil" (a legitimizer) metaphorically, evidenced by the fact that he cursed him, and whoever establishes that which is lawful does not deserve a curse! The second reason: lawfulness is only established in a domain where there is a prohibition, and that is the one divorced three times. Here, she is already lawful to him, so no lawfulness can be established in her. Their argument that it demolishes the divorce: we say, rather, it is the limit of its prohibition, and in that which is less than three, there is no prohibition, so it cannot be a limit for it.

1287 - Issue: He said: "And if the divorcer is a slave, and his divorce is [limited to] two, his wife is not lawful for him until she marries a husband other than him, whether the wife is a free woman or an enslaved one; because divorce is [regulated] by men, and the waiting period is [regulated] by women."

The summary of this is that divorce is determined by the men. If the husband is free, his divorce is three, whether the wife is free or a slave. And if he is a slave, his divorce is two, whether his wife is free or a slave. Therefore, if he divorces twice, she becomes forbidden to him until she marries a husband other than him. This has been narrated from 'Umar, 'Uthman, Zayd, and Ibn 'Abbas. This is the opinion of Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, Malik, al-Shafi'i, Ishaq, and Ibn al-Mundhir. Ibn 'Umar said: Whichever of them is enslaved, the divorce is reduced due to his slavery; thus, the divorce of the slave is two, even if