Our view is that what is known in common parlance is that it refers to women, thus the testator's expression is not to be interpreted as anything else. Furthermore, "al-aramil" is the plural of "aramilah" (widow), so it cannot be the plural for the masculine, because that which differs in the singular form between the masculine and feminine also differs in its plural form. Ibn al-Anbari has refuted the proponent of the other view and deemed them mistaken. The poetry cited as an argument is actually an argument against them; for if the term "al-aramil" were to encompass both the male and female, one would say "hajatahum" (their needs), as there is no disagreement among the people of language that when a term is for both the male and female and a pronoun is then referred back to it, the masculine form and its pronoun are given precedence. Thus, when the pronoun was referred back to the females, it was known that it is specifically assigned to them in isolation, and he called himself "armal" (widower) metaphorically and by way of analogy to them; and for this reason, he described himself as being a male. What indicates that the metaphorical sense is intended is that the term, when used absolutely, is understood only as referring to women, and in common usage, no one else is designated by it. This is evidence that it was not coined for anyone other than them. Moreover, even if it were established that in reality it is for both men and women, the people of common usage have restricted it specifically to women, and the literal meaning has been abandoned until it became obscured, such that it is not understood from the speaker's expression, nor is any legal ruling attached to it, like other conventional expressions.

Section: As for the term "al-ayama", it is like "al-aramil", except that it applies to every woman who has no husband. Allah the Exalted said: "And marry off the ayama (those among you who are unmarried)" [Surah al-Nur: 32]. In some hadith: "I seek refuge in Allah from the stagnation (bawar) of the ayyim (unmarried person)." Our companions said: It is for men and women who have no spouses, based on what was narrated from Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, who said: "Hafsa bint Umar became 'ayim' (unmarried) from her husband, and Uthman became 'ayim' from Ruqayya." And the poet said: