Length: Favor. It is said: For such and such a person has an advantage over another, meaning an increase and favor. And he has become long, so he is lengthy. He said:

'Indeed, my love for myself has increased because I ... am detestable to every person who is not lengthy.'

'When he sees me, he averts his gaze between me ... and him, as the knowledgeable one does with the oblivious.'

This is by Al-Tarmakh ibn Hakim. He says: My detestation for the ungracious has increased my love for myself, because when I dislike him for his stinginess, I know that I am the opposite of him, and that my soul is noble, so I love it. When he sees me, he lowers his gaze from me, as if he has cut the extension between me and him, just as the knowledgeable one does with something he is ignoring, out of dislike for seeing me or out of shyness from me.

And from this is their saying: What is not sweet from it is not lengthy, meaning by something that is regarded as having favor and importance. And from this is length in the body because it is an increase in it, just as shortness is a deficiency in it. The meaning is: And whoever cannot increase in wealth and abundance...

Mahamud said: 'Its meaning is: And whoever cannot increase in wealth and abundance... etc.' Ahmad said: 'And on this, length according to Abu Hanifa is the existence of a free woman under him, which is one of the two opinions of Malik, may Allah be pleased with him. However, this meaning is far-fetched, because length according to Malik in one of his opinions is the ability with wealth to marry a free woman specifically. Even if he has a free woman under him and wishes to marry a slave woman due to inability to have another free woman, it is permissible for him to do so. In the other opinion: Length is one of two matters, either the ability with wealth to marry a free woman, or the existence of a free woman under him, so it is not permissible for him to marry a slave woman while he is unable to have another free woman. And what the author has conveyed from Abu Hanifa implies that it is not permissible for one who has a free woman to marry a slave woman. And it is permissible for one who does not have a free woman to marry a slave woman even if he is wealthy, which is an opinion that is not supported by the apparent meaning of the verse, because the ability is established even if the able one does not act according to it. So, the able one to marry a free woman is one of length, even if he does not have a free woman under him. And the interpretation of ability according to the opinion of Abu Hanifa is very far-fetched.'

Whoever can reach marriage with a free woman, let him marry a slave woman. Ibn Abbas said: Whoever possesses three hundred dirhams has made pilgrimage obligatory upon him and it is forbidden for him to marry slave women.'

And this is the apparent meaning, and it is the opinion of Al-Shafi'i, may Allah have mercy on him. As for Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, he says:

The rich and the poor are equal in the permissibility of marrying a female slave. The verse is explained by saying that whoever does not possess the bed of a free woman, on the condition that marriage is sexual intercourse, may marry a slave woman. In a narration from Ibn Abbas, he said: Among what Allah has made easy for this nation is the marriage to a slave woman, a Jewess, or a Christian woman, even if he is wealthy. Likewise, the saying 'from among your believing maidens' implies that it is not permissible to marry a woman of the People of the Book, which is the opinion of the people of Hijaz. However, among the people of Iraq, it is permissible to marry her, and marrying a believing slave woman is better. They understood this as a matter of virtue, not obligation, and they cited evidence that faith is not a condition for the description of free women, although we know it is not a condition for them by consensus, but it is better. If you say: Why is marrying a slave woman considered inferior to marrying a free woman? I say: Because of the following reasons: the child follows the mother in servitude, the master's rights over her and her use, and because she is demeaned and degraded. All of this is a deficiency that reflects on the husband and humiliation, while honor is a characteristic of the believers. And the saying 'from among your maidens' means from the maidens of the Muslims, not from the maidens of others who are opposed in religion. If you say: What is the meaning of the saying 'and Allah knows best your faith'? I say: Its meaning is that Allah knows the differences in faith between you and your slaves, and their superiority and deficiency in faith among you and them. Perhaps the faith of the slave woman is stronger than that of the free woman, and a woman is better in faith than a man. The rights of the believers are that they should not consider anything except the superiority of faith, not the superiority of lineage and ancestry. This is a reassurance regarding the marriage of slave women and the abandonment of disdain for it. 'Some of you are from one another' means that you and your slaves are connected and compatible due to your shared faith. A free man does not surpass a slave except by virtue in faith. 'With the permission of their guardians' is a condition for the permission of the masters in their marriage. [Mawlana said: 'This is a condition for the permission of the masters in their marriage... etc.' Ahmad said: 'There is no condition in the verse for the master's permission for the one who undertakes the marriage contract of his slave woman. The one who undertakes the contract and its execution is not mentioned in the verse, so it is assumed to be with the permission of his agent in the contract for his slave woman, and it is not necessary for the slave woman to be the one executing it, and there is no evidence in the verse for that. And Allah knows best.'] It is used as evidence for Abu Hanifa's saying that they may undertake the contract themselves, because he considered the permission of the masters, not their contract. 'And give them their due wages in a good manner' and fulfill their dowries without delay or harm, and without the need for them to demand or insist. If you say: The masters are the owners of their dowries, not they, and it is obligatory to pay them to the masters, not to them, then why is it said: 'And give them'? I say: Because they and what is in their hands are the property of the masters, so paying it to them is like paying it to the masters. Or it could be that its original form was: 'So give their masters,' and the addition was omitted. 'The chaste ones' refers to the chaste.

And the companions: the friends in secrecy, as if it were said: not openly engaging in fornication nor expressing joy in it. So when they are protected by marriage. And it is read: 'protected' is half of what is upon the protected women, meaning the free women, from punishment, like His saying: 'And let them witness their punishment' and 'He averts the punishment from her.' And there is no stoning upon them, because stoning cannot be halved. This indicates the marriage of female slaves for those who fear falling into sin due to the overpowering desire. The root of 'an't is the breaking of a bone after it has been set, so it is borrowed for every hardship and harm, and there is no greater harm than committing sins. It is said that it refers to punishment, because when he desires her, he fears that he may commit an act that leads to punishment, so he marries her. And that you should be patient, in the nominative case, meaning your patience in abstaining from marrying female slaves is better for you. And from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: 'The free women are the well-being of the household, and the female slaves are the destruction of the household.' [Narrated by Al-Thalabi from the narration of Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Umar ibn Yunus Al-Yamami. Ahmad ibn Yusuf Al-Ajli narrated to us. Yunus ibn Mardas, the servant of Anas, said: 'I was with Anas and Abu Huraira, and Anas said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, say: Whoever loves to meet Allah pure and purified, let him marry free women. Abu Huraira said: I heard him say: The free women are the well-being of the household, and the female slaves are the corruption of the household. Or he said: The destruction of the household.' I said: In its chain is Ahmad ibn Muhammad, who is abandoned, and Abu Hatim declared him a liar, and I do not know Yunus.]