The wicked, corrupt person who is inclined to fornication and debauchery does not desire to marry chaste women, those who are contrary to his nature. Rather, he desires a corrupt, wicked woman of his kind, or a polytheist. The corrupt, wicked woman who is promiscuous is likewise not desired in marriage by righteous men, who turn away from her. Rather, those who are of her kind, among the corrupt or polytheists, desire her. The marriage of a believer, who is praised by Allah, to a fornicator and his desire for her, thus joining the ranks of the corrupt who are characterized by fornication, is forbidden to him due to the resemblance to the wicked, the presence of suspicion, and the cause of slander against him, gossip, and various evils. Sitting with sinners exposes one to committing sins, so how about marrying fornicators and debauchees? This has been pointed out by His saying: 'And marry those among you who are single, and the righteous among your male and female servants.' It was said that there were women of ill-repute among the polytheists in Medina, and the poor immigrants desired to marry them. They sought permission from the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and this verse was revealed. Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, reported that if a man commits fornication with a woman, he is not allowed to marry her due to this verse, and if he has relations with her, he is committing fornication. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, permitted it and likened it to someone who steals fruit from a tree and then buys it. The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, was asked about this. He said: 'Its beginning is fornication and its end is marriage.' And what is forbidden does not make what is lawful forbidden. It was said that the intended meaning of marriage is sexual intercourse, and it is not a saying for two reasons: the first is that this word, wherever it appears in the Qur'an, has only been used in the meaning of contract. The second is the corruption of the meaning and its leading to your saying: 'The fornicator does not fornicate except with a fornicator, and the fornicatress is not fornicated with except by a fornicator.' It was said that the marriage of the fornicatress was forbidden in the early days of Islam and then abrogated, and the abrogating verse is: 'And marry those among you who are single.' It was also said that there is consensus on this, and this was reported from Said ibn al-Musayyib, may Allah be pleased with him. If you ask: What is the difference between the meaning of the first sentence and the meaning of the second? I say: The meaning of the first describes the fornicator as being unwilling to marry the chaste, but rather desiring the wicked. The meaning of the second describes the fornicatress as being undesirable to the chaste, but rather desired by fornicators. These are two different meanings. Mahmoud said: 'If you ask what is the difference between the two sentences in meaning? I say: The meaning of the first describes the fornicator as being unwilling to marry the chaste, but rather desiring the wicked. The meaning of the second describes the fornicatress as being undesirable to the chaste, but rather desired by fornicators. These are two different meanings.' Ahmad said: 'There is no clarification in what he mentioned about the agreement of the two sentences.' We clarify it by saying: There are four categories: the fornicator desires only a fornicatress, the fornicatress desires only a fornicator, the chaste desires only a chaste, and the chaste woman desires only a chaste man. These four categories have different meanings and are exhaustive in division. We say: The verse has summarized these four into two categories, focusing on the two most relevant ones. Thus, it has come concise and comprehensive. The first category is explicit in the first category and implies the third, while the second category is explicit in the second category and implies the fourth. The third and fourth are interdependent, as the reason for the chaste's desire being limited to the chaste is their mutual chastity, which in turn necessitates her desire for him. Then the expression regarding the description of fornicators and the chaste is limited to mentioning the fornicators in existence and negation. The meaning of the first is that a chaste person does not marry a fornicatress, and the meaning of the second:

The chaste woman is not married by a fornicator. The secret in that is that the discussion is about their rulings. The chaste are mentioned by negating their deficiencies, so that the discussion does not deviate from what is intended. Then it is clarified in the attribution of marriage in these two mentioned categories without the females, unlike the saying 'the fornicatress and the fornicator,' where each of them is made independent. The fornicatress is mentioned before the fornicator. The reason for this is that the first discussion is about the ruling of fornication, and the origin of it is the woman due to what may appear from her allure and temptations. The second discussion is about the marriage of fornicators if it occurs in a valid manner, and the origin in marriage is the males, as they are the ones who initiate the proposal. Thus, it is only attributed to them for this reason. Even though the purpose of the verse is to deter the chaste from both males and females from marrying fornicators, both male and female, as a warning to them against immorality, fornication is coupled with polytheism. For this reason, Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, disliked the marriage to those known for immorality. Some of his companions have reported consensus in the school that a woman or her guardians have the right to annul the marriage of a corrupt person. Malik is the furthest from considering compatibility except in religion. As for lineage, it reached him that they differentiated between an Arab and a freed slave, which he found to be a great matter, and he recited: 'O mankind, indeed We have created you from a male and a female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you.' If you say: How did the fornicatress come before the fornicator first, then she was mentioned after him second? I say: That verse was directed at punishing both of them for what they committed, and the woman is the substance from which the offense arose, for if she had not tempted the man, nor allured him, nor allowed him, he would not have desired nor been able to. Since she was the origin and the first in that, she was mentioned first. As for the second mention, it is directed towards the discussion of marriage, and the man is the origin in it, for he is the one who desires and proposes, and from him the request begins. And from Amr ibn Ubaid, may Allah be pleased with him: 'He does not marry,' with a decisive prohibition. And the raised meaning in it also indicates prohibition, but it is more emphatic and stronger, just as 'May Allah have mercy on you' is more emphatic than 'Let Him have mercy on you.' It is also permissible for it to be a pure statement meaning: Their custom is established on that, and a believer should not subject himself to this custom and should protect himself from it. And it was read: 'And it is forbidden,' with the opening of the ح.