Al-Ila'

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This article is about the meaning and ruling of al-Ila'. For information about a verse with the same name, see al-Ila' Verse.

Al-Īlāʾ (Arabic: الإيلاء) is one of the traditions of the Age of Ignorance following which a man took an oath to leave his marital relationship with his wife. It is forbidden in Islam and committing it entails paying "kaffara" and the woman can complain to the sharia ruler or the court. The sharia ruler gives the man four months to return to his wife, otherwise, he forces him to divorce the woman. For the rulings of "Ila'", the jurists refer to the Qur'an 2:226 and 227. Permanence of the marriage contract and swearing to abstain from sexual intercourse for at least four months are among the conditions of realizing "Ila'".

Definition and Significance

"Ila'" is when a man takes an oath not to have marital relations with his wife.[1] "Ila'" is forbidden in Islam, and Muslim jurists have stated certain rulings and conditions for its realization, as well as rulings upon its occurrence.[2] They consider the Qur'an 2:226 and 227 to be a part of these rulings.[3] "Ila'" is discussed in an independent section in jurisprudential sources.[4]

Background

Main article: Al-Ila' Verse

"Ila'" is mentioned as a kind of divorce in the culture of the Age of Ignorance.[5] During the Age of Ignorance, if a man hated his wife, he would swear not to have sexual intercourse with her;[6] and for several years[7] or until the end of his life, he would neither have sexual intercourse with her nor divorce her.[8] The purpose of this action was to harass the woman,[9] hold her in abeyance,[10] and prevent her from remarrying.[11] As mentioned in Tafsir-i Nimuna, God has fought against this tradition in the Qur'an 2:226 and explained the ways to break this oath.[12] Also, according to other exegetes, in this verse, it has been ruled in favor of women and restoring their rights.[13]

Rulings

"Ila'" is considered a prohibited act, and the reason is the prohibition of abandoning sexual intercourse with the wife for over four months.[14] Some have taken this ruling from the Qur'an 2:226, "God is indeed All-forgiving, All-merciful".[15]

Elements and Conditions for the Realization of Ila'

For ila', three elements have been counted: the perpetrator of ila' (the husband), the subject of ila' (the wife), and the spoken formula of ila', which is valid if said with by any word and in any language that has clarity in its meaning.[16] There are also conditions for the realization of ila', and if one of them is not present, ila' will not be realized. These conditions are as below:

  • The perpetrator of ila' must be sane, mature, and having the will and discretion.
  • The oath should be upon one of the names of God.
  • Taking an oath to abstain from sexual intercourse and vaginal penetration.
  • The period of abstinence should not be less than four months.
  • Before ila' there must have been a marital relationship between the man and the woman.
  • The aim of the perpetrator of ila' should be hurting his wife.
  • The wife must be the man's spouse in a permanent marriage contract.[17]

Rulings upon Realization of Ila'

Jurists believe that if a man commits ila', the wife can complain to the sharia ruler. The sharia ruler gives the man four months to return to his wife and offers kaffara for breaking the oath after he has intercourse.[18] If the man does not take any action according to the ruling during this period, the sharia ruler will make him choose between returning to his wife and divorcing her, and if he refuses to do either of these, he will be forced to choose one of the two ways by imprisonment and restriction of his diet.[19] Some jurists believe that in this case, the religious authority can rule the divorce of the woman.[20]

Notes

  1. ↑ Saʿdī, al-Qāmūs al-fiqhī, p. 23.
  2. ↑ Jazīrī, al-Fiqh ʿalā al-madhāhib al-arbaʿa, vol. 4, p. 548-574.
  3. ↑ ʿAlīpūr, Īlāʾ, p. 184.
  4. ↑ See: Ṭūsī, al-Khilāf, vol. 4, p. 507; Quṭb al-Rāwandī, Fiqh al-Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 200; Ibn Zuhra, Ghunyat al-nuzūʿ, p. 363.
  5. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr, vol. 6, p. 429; Ibn ʿArabī, Aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 177; Thaʿlabī, al-Kashf wa l-bayān, vol. 2, p. 168; Abū l-Futūḥ al-Rāzī, Rawḍ al-Jinān, vol. 3, p. 254.
  6. ↑ Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Tafsīr al-Ṣāfī, vol. 1, p. 255; Jaʿfarī, Tafsīr kawthar, vol. 1, p. 531; Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr, vol. 6, p. 429; Bayḍāwi, Anwār al-tanzīl, vol. 1, p. 140; Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 2, p. 232; Mughnīya, Tafsīr al-Kāshif, vol. 1, p. 339.
  7. ↑ Ibn ʿArabī, Aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 177.
  8. ↑ Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 1, p. 269.
  9. ↑ Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 1, p. 269.
  10. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, p. 108.
  11. ↑ Abū Ḥayyān Andulusī, al-Baḥr al-muḥīṭ, vol. 2, p. 445; Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, p. 108; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 2, p. 149.
  12. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 2, p. 149.
  13. ↑ Ṭabarānī, Tafsīr al-kabīr, vol. 1, p. 398; Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr, vol. 6, p. 429; Jaʿfarī, Tafsīr kawthar, vol. 1, p. 532.
  14. ↑ Shahīd al-Thānī, Masālik al-ifhām, vol. 10, p. 138; Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 29, p. 115.
  15. ↑ ʿAlīpūr, Īlāʾ, p. 184.
  16. ↑ Shāhrūdī, Farhang-i fiqh, vol. 1, p. 748-749.
  17. ↑ Mishkinī, Muṣṭalaḥāt al-fiqh, p. 98.
  18. ↑ Fāḍil Miqdād, Kanz al-ʿirfān, vol. 2, p. 292.
  19. ↑ Fāḍil Miqdād, Kanz al-ʿirfān, vol. 2, p. 292; Khomeinī, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, vol. 2, p. 357.
  20. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Khilāf, vol. 4, p. 515.

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