Section: If he possesses a slave woman with whom he has had intercourse, then she performs istibra' (abstinence period), and he subsequently emancipates her, she is not required to perform istibra' because she has ceased to be a bed-consort by virtue of his having had her perform it. If he sells her, and the purchaser emancipates her before having intercourse with her, she does not need to perform istibra' for that reason. If he sells her before she has performed istibra', and the purchaser emancipates her before having intercourse with her and before she has performed istibra', she is required to perform istibra' for herself. If a portion of the istibra' has already passed while in the ownership of the purchaser, she must complete it after her emancipation; it is not interrupted by the transfer of ownership regarding her, because she did not become a bed-consort for the purchaser, and she was not required to perform istibra' due to his emancipation of her.

Section: If a slave woman is owned by two partners and they both have had intercourse with her, two instances of istibra' are required of her. The followers of al-Shafi'i say, in one of the two views, that only one instance of istibra' is required, because the objective is to ascertain the purity of the womb. For this reason, istibra' is not required for more than one menstrual cycle, and the purity of the womb is known through a single istibra'. Our evidence is that these are two distinct rights intended for two human beings, so they do not merge, just as in the case of two 'iddahs (waiting periods); [and because they are two instances of istibra' from two men, so they resemble two 'iddahs], and what they have mentioned is invalidated by the [case of] two 'iddahs from two men.

1362 - Issue: He said: (And whoever takes possession of a slave woman, he shall not have intercourse with her, nor kiss her, until he has had her perform istibra' after the completion of his ownership of her by means of one menstrual cycle, if she is one who menstruates; or by the delivery of the fetus, if she is pregnant; or by the passage of three months, if she is one of those who have reached menopause or one of those who have not yet begun to menstruate.)

In summary, whoever acquires a slave woman by any means of ownership, such as sale, gift, inheritance, or otherwise, it is not lawful for him to have intercourse with her until he has her perform istibra', whether she is a virgin or a non-virgin, young or old, one capable of becoming pregnant or one incapable of it. This is the opinion of al-Hasan, Ibn Sirin, and the majority of scholars, including Malik, al-Shafi'i, and the jurists (Ashab al-Ra'y). Ibn 'Umar said: The istibra' of a virgin is not required, which is the opinion of Dawud, because the purpose of istibra' is to ascertain her freedom from pregnancy.