as inheritance; is the sale valid? There are two views. It is the same here. The school of al-Shafi'i holds a similar position. As for us, she married during a period in which the Law (Shari'a) prohibited her from marrying, so it is not valid, just as if a woman observing a waiting period were to marry during her waiting period, or one who is in doubt (al-murtaba) before her doubt is resolved.

Section: The property of a missing person (mafqud) is to be divided at the time his wife is commanded to observe the waiting period for death. Qatada held this view. Al-Shafi'i, Malik, the proponents of opinion (Ashab al-Ra'y), and Ibn al-Mundhir said: His property is not to be divided until his death is known, because the basic principle is that he remains alive, and this does not cease due to doubt. We only resorted to permitting the marriage of his wife due to the consensus of the Companions and because the woman has a need for marriage and suffers harm in waiting, so it is specific to her. As for us, one whose wife observes the waiting period for death has his property divided, just as one whose death has been established by evidence. What the Companions reached consensus on can be used for analogy in similar matters. Delaying the division is harmful to the heirs and causes the benefits of the property to be idle, and it may be lost or its value may diminish, which is equivalent to the harm of delaying the marriage.

Section: If the missing husband acts regarding his wife through divorce, dhihar (injurious comparison), ila' (vow of abstention), or qadhf (false accusation of adultery), his action is valid, because his marriage remains, and this is why he is given the choice to take her back. We only ruled that her marriage is permitted because the apparent situation is his death, but it does not void the marriage in reality, just as if false witnesses testified to his death.

Section: If a slave woman loses her husband, she waits for four years, then observes the waiting period for death for two months and five days. This is the choice of Abu Bakr. The Qadi said: She waits for half the duration of a free woman. Abu Talib narrated this from Ahmad, and it is the view of al-Awza'i and al-Layth, because it is a duration set for a woman due to the loss of her husband, so the slave woman is in that at half the status of a free woman, just like the waiting period. As for us, the four years are set because it is the maximum duration of pregnancy, and the duration of pregnancy is the same for a free woman and a slave woman, so they are equal in the duration of waiting, just like the nine months for someone whose menstruation has ceased and she does not know the cause, and like pregnancy itself, and by this, their analogy is invalidated. As for a male slave, if his wife is a free woman, her waiting period is like that of a free woman married to a free man, and if she is a slave woman, she is like a slave woman married to a free man, because the waiting period is considered based on women, not men, and likewise is the duration of waiting. It is narrated from al-Zuhri and Malik that he is given half the term of a free man, but the most correct view is what we have stated, because it is a waiting period legislated for the wife due to the separation from her husband, so it resembles the waiting period.

Section: If a man is absent from his wife, and reliable witnesses testify to his death, and his wife observes the waiting period for death, she is permitted to marry. If the husband returns after that, his status is that of the missing person: her husband is given the choice between taking her back or leaving her, and he is entitled to the dowry (sadaq). Likewise, if reports of his death are corroborated. Al-Athram narrated with his chain of transmission from Abu al-Malih, from Suhayya, that her husband, Sayfi ibn Fasil, was announced dead to her from Qandabil, so she married after him. Then her first husband arrived, so we came to Uthman while he was being besieged, and he looked out at us and said: "How can I judge between you while I am in this state!" We said: "We are satisfied with your decision." He judged that the first husband be given a choice between the dowry or the woman. We returned. When Uthman was killed, we came to Ali, and he gave the first husband the choice between the dowry or the woman. He chose the dowry, so he took two thousand from me and two thousand from my other husband. If the separation occurred through limited testimony, then what...