Can He Propose to an Engaged Woman? [+1] (Ahadith 2381 – 2385)

Bismillah.

Ahadith 2381 – 2385 (below) are repeats. See linked text to for related posts.

Volume 3, Book 50, Number 883 :
Narrated by Rafi bin Khadij (radiallaahu `anhu)
We used to work on the fields more than the other Ansar, and we used to rent the land (for the yield of a specific portion of it). But sometimes that portion or the rest of the land did not give any yield, so we were forbidden (by the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam)) to follow such a system, but we were allowed to rent the land for money.

Volume 3, Book 50, Number 884 :
Narrated by Abu Huraira (radiallaahu `anhu)
The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “No town-dweller should sell for a bedouin. Do not practice Najsh (i.e. Do not offer a high price for a thing which you do not want to buy, in order to deceive the people). No Muslim should offer more for a thing already bought by his Muslim brother, nor should he demand the hand of a girl already engaged to another Muslim. A Muslim woman shall not try to bring about The divorce of her sister (i.e. another Muslim woman) in order to take her place herself.”

Volume 3, Book 50, Number 885 :
Narrated by Abu Huraira and Zaid bin Khalid Al-Juhani (radiallaahu `anhumaa)
A bedouin came to Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) and said, “O Allah’s apostle! I ask you by Allah to judge My case according to Allah’s Laws.” His opponent, who was more learned than he, said, “Yes, judge between us according to Allah’s Laws, and allow me to speak.” Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Speak.” He (i .e. the bedouin or the other man) said, “My son was working as a laborer for this (man) and he committed illegal sexual intercourse with his wife. The people told me that it was obligatory that my son should be stoned to death, so in lieu of that I ransomed my son by paying one hundred sheep and a slave girl. Then I asked the religious scholars about it, and they informed me that my son must be lashed one hundred lashes, and be exiled for one year, and the wife of this (man) must be stoned to death.” Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, I will judge between you according to Allah’s Laws. The slave-girl and the sheep are to be returned to you, your son is to receive a hundred lashes and be exiled for one year. You, Unais, go to the wife of this (man) and if she confesses her guilt, stone her to death.” Unais went to that woman next morning and she confessed. Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) ordered that she be stoned to death.

Volume 3, Book 50, Number 886 :
Narrated by Aiman Al-Makki
When I visited Aisha (radiallaahu `anhaa) she said, “Buraira who had a written contract for her emancipation for a certain amount came to me and said, “O mother of the believers! Buy me and manumit me, as my masters will sell me.” Aisha (radiallaahu `anhaa) agreed to it. Buraira said, ‘My masters will sell me on the condition that my Wala will go to them.” Aisha (radiallaahu `anhaa) said to her, ‘Then I am not in need of you.’ The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) heard of that or was told about it and so he asked Aisha, ‘What is the problem of Buraira?’ He said, ‘Buy her and manumit her, no matter what they stipulate.’ Aisha (radiallaahu `anhaa) added, ‘I bought and manumitted her, though her masters had stipulated that her Wala would be for them.’ The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, The Wala is for the liberator, even if the other stipulated a hundred conditions.“

Volume 3, Book 50, Number 887 :
Narrated by Abu Huraira (radiallaahu `anhu)
Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) forbade (1) the meeting of the caravan (of goods) on the way, (2) and that a residing person buys for a bedouin, (3) and that a woman stipulates the divorce of the wife of the would-be husband, (4) and that a man tries to cause the cancellation of a bargain concluded by another. He also forbade An-Najsh and that one withholds the milk in the udder of the animal so that he may deceive people on selling it.

Most of the points in the above mentioned ahadith have been covered before (see links). We’ll cover the remaining ones here:

Ruling on proposing marriage to a girl who is already engaged (same rule applies to a man who tries to cause the cancellation of a bargain concluded by another).

If a person has proposed marriage to a woman, it is not permitted for anyone else to offer a proposal to her, because of the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) which states that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No man should offer a proposal of marriage over the proposal of his brother until the first one gives up or gives him permission.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 4746).

There follow quotations from Ibn Hijr’s commentary which will shed more light on the matter:

The majority of scholars said: This amounts to a prohibition… The Shaafi’is and Hanbalis said: it is prohibited when the woman proposed to, or her appointed guardian, has stated that she accepts the offer, but if she has stated that she rejects this offer, it is not prohibited. If the second man does not know the situation, then he is permitted to propose marriage, because the basic principle is that proposing marriage is something permitted… If the woman has not answered either way, it is permitted. Al-Tirmidhi reported from al-Shaafi’i that the meaning of the hadeeth is: if a man proposes to a woman and she likes him and accepts, no-one else should propose to her after that, but if he (the second man) does not know that she liked and accepted that proposal, there is nothing wrong with his proposing to her. The evidence for this is the story of Faatimah bint Qays, who did not tell (the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)) that she had accepted the proposal of one (of two men who had proposed to her). If she had told him, he would not have advised her to marry someone other than the one she had chosen. If there is no word of acceptance or rejection from the woman, some of the Shaafi’is say that it is definitely permitted… Al-Shaafi’i said that in the case of a virgin, her silence indicates her acceptance of a suitor.

The hadeeth was interpretated as meaning that if the first man to propose gives permission to the second, it is no longer prohibited for him to propose. … It was reported from Ibn al-Qaasim, the companion of Maalik, that if the first suitor is immoral, a chaste man is permitted to propose over his proposal. Ibn al-‘Arabi said that this was correct… This is applicable if the woman is chaste, because an immoral man would not be compatible for her, and his proposal would be like no proposal at all.

The phrase “until he marries her”* means until the first suitor has gone ahead and married her, so that anyone else will realize that there is no longer any point in proposing; “or gives up” means that the first suitor decides not to go ahead, in which case it is permitted for the second to offer his proposal.

* Please note these words are in another Riwaayah…

Taken from IslamQA

Ruling on a woman stipulating at the time of marriage that her husband-to-be has to divorce his first wife.

Shaykh ‘Abdul-‘Azeez ar-Raajihi said:

If a woman stipulates at the time of the [marriage] contract that [her husband-to-be] is not to marry again whilst he remains married to her, then this condition is valid, and she is allowed to make such a stipulation. So if he remarries, then she has a choice: If she wishes – she can remain with him, and if she wishes – she can [legally] be divorced from him.

If she stipulates at the time of the [marriage] contract that [her husband-to-be] is to divorce his first wife, but he does not, then [in this case] he is not required to do so. The reason being thatthis condition is invalid because of the saying of the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam):

“It is not permissible for a woman to demand her sister’s divorce so that she may take her place and get married. She cannot have more than what is decreed for her.”

[Saheeh Muslim/1408, Musnad Ahmad/2-489]

…so he forbade the stipulation of this condition. And [in legal terms] a forbiddance amounts to invalidity, so this [hadeeth] implies that such a condition is indeed invalid.

Source: Taqyeed ash-Shawaarid min al-Qawaa’id wal-Fawaa’id – Page 284-285

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