Surah Al-Qasas (28) — Ayah 27

(Ayah 27) ➊ { قَالَ اِنِّيْۤ اُرِيْدُ اَنْ اُنْكِحَكَ اِحْدَى ابْنَتَيَّ هٰتَيْنِ … :} The father agreed with the opinion of his daughter, but since it was not appropriate to keep a non-mahram man in the house in the presence of young daughters, that wise man decided that by marrying one of his daughters to this righteous young man, he could keep him in the house as a worker. Thus, he said to Musa (peace be upon him): «{ اِنِّيْۤ اُرِيْدُ }» "Indeed, I intend..." The scholars say that the elder emphasized {’’إِنَّ‘‘} because generally people are not willing to give their daughter's hand in marriage to a stranger who is also poor financially. Therefore, he said, "Indeed, I intend to marry one of these two daughters of mine to you, on the condition that you work for me for eight years..."

➋ From this, it is understood that there is nothing wrong in offering one's daughter's hand in marriage to a righteous man oneself; in fact, it should be so. Countless girls are deprived of marriage because their fathers are waiting for someone to ask for their daughter's hand, while the boys' parents do not dare to ask for the proposal out of fear of rejection. As a result, both boys and girls are deprived of marriage. Among the Companions, the action of Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) is the best example of this. His daughter Hafsa (may Allah be pleased with her) became a widow after the death of Khunais bin Hudhafa (may Allah be pleased with him), who was among the Badri Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I went to Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) and offered him Hafsa's hand in marriage. He said, 'I will think about it.' After a few nights, he met me and said, 'My opinion is that I should not marry at this time.' Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Then I met Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) and said to him: 'If you wish, I will marry Hafsa bint Umar to you.' Abu Bakr remained silent and did not give me any answer. In my heart, I was more upset with him than with Uthman. After a few nights, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) sent a proposal for her, so I married Hafsa to him (peace be upon him)." [ بخاري، النکاح، باب عرض الإنسان ابنتہ أو أختہ علی أھل الخیر : ۵۱۲۲ ] See, who could be more honorable than Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), yet he himself is offering his daughter's hand in marriage.

➌ Some people deduce from this incident that in marriage, the mahr for the girl can be that the husband works for her father, but this deduction is not correct, because the mahr is the right of the woman, not her father. The reality is that in the Qur'an's account, only the intention of marriage and its condition is mentioned, that Musa (peace be upon him) would stay with his father-in-law for at least eight years and would not take his wife away before that. If this were a marriage contract, then one of the two girls would have been specified, and instead of words of intention, the words would have been: "I have married such-and-such daughter of mine to you for such-and-such mahr." The Qur'an mentions the initial conversation for marriage and the father's condition, but leaves out the details of the marriage contract and mahr, because there was no need to mention them here.

➍ From this incident, the permissibility, rather the desirability, of working for wages is established, and in this context, the virtue of keeping and herding sheep is also known. Our Prophet (peace be upon him) also herded sheep for wages. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: [ مَا بَعَثَ اللّٰهُ نَبِيًّا إِلَّا رَعَی الْغَنَمَ ] "Allah did not send any prophet except that he herded sheep." The Companions asked: "Did you also (herd sheep)?" He (peace be upon him) said: [ نَعَمْ كُنْتُ أَرْعَاهَا عَلٰی قَرَارِيْطَ لِأَهْلِ مَكَّةَ ] [ بخاري، الإجارۃ، باب رعي الغنم علی قراریط : ۲۲۶۲ ] "Yes, I used to herd sheep for the people of Makkah for a few qirats."

➎ Here the question arises: what was the wage for herding sheep for such a long period? Some people say that the wage was only food and clothing, as it is narrated from Utbah bin Nudr al-Sulami (may Allah be pleased with him) that we were with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and he (peace be upon him) recited {’’ طٰسٓمّٓ ‘‘} until he reached the story of Musa (peace be upon him), then said: "Musa (peace be upon him) made himself a laborer for eight or ten years for the chastity of his private parts and for food for his stomach." [ ابن ماجہ، الرھون، باب إجارۃ الأجیر علی طعام بطنہ : ۲۴۴۴ ] Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said about this: "This hadith is weak by this chain, because Musallamah bin Ali (al-Khushni, al-Dimashqi, and al-Hilali) is weak in narration according to the Imams. This hadith has also come through another chain, but there is also some issue in it."

Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) has narrated some reports that in the year Musa (peace be upon him) was to depart, his father-in-law said to him that whichever sheep gives birth to an offspring of a different color that year, it will be yours, but there is no authentic chain from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) for such a narration. Some statements from the Companions exist, but it is clear that they are from Isra'iliyyat, because those Companions were not present at the time of this incident, nor do they narrate this from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). Therefore, it is better to leave this matter as the Qur'an has left it without detail; if this matter were necessary for guidance, Allah would surely have mentioned it.

27-1. In our country, it is considered inappropriate for the girl's side to express the desire for marriage, but in the Shariah of Allah, this is not wrong. If a boy with commendable qualities is found, then it is not wrong to talk to him or his family about a proposal for one's daughter. Rather, it is commendable and preferred. This was also the practice during the era of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the noble Companions, may Allah be pleased with them all.

27-2. From this, scholars have deduced the permissibility of hiring, meaning it is permissible to obtain a man's services for rent and wages.

27-3. That is, if one feels hardship and distress in serving for an additional two years, then after eight years, permission will be granted to leave.

27-4. I will neither quarrel nor cause harm, nor will I make him work harshly.

He (Shu‘ayb) said, "I wish to marry one of these two daughters of mine to you, on the condition that you serve me for eight years. But if you complete ten, it will be out of your own goodwill. I do not wish to make things difficult for you. If Allah wills, you will find me to be a man of fair dealings."

[37]
The Condition of Marriage with the Girl:

The father also agreed with the opinion of the girls. But now the difficulty was that there was not enough comfort in the house to keep Musa (peace be upon him) employed on a monthly salary. And an even greater difficulty was how to keep a young man as an employee in the house when there were also two young girls present. After mutual consultation with the girls, one day he asked Musa (peace be upon him) whether it would be possible for him to marry one of these two girls to him, and that after marriage, he would stay with me and take care of all the household work. And after marriage, he should stay with me for at least eight years. And if he extended this period from eight years to ten years, it would be his kindness. On my part, there would be no compulsion for this additional period. And, God willing, I would try to handle this matter in the best possible manner and would not take any hard service from you. Nor would you see any kind of harshness in me.

Was the Eight Years of Service as Dowry?

At this point, some people have raised the question of whether a father can take compensation himself in exchange for his daughter's mahr (dower) or not. In our opinion, this question is a confusion of issues. Here, there are not one but two matters. One is the matter of marriage. The other is the matter of taking care of the household after marriage. That is, Shu'ayb (peace be upon him) only set the condition that after marriage, you would not leave with your wife, but would stay with me for at least eight years. At that time, the house would be yours just as it is mine. This question could only arise if, after the period of eight or ten years, Shu'ayb (peace be upon him) married his daughter to Musa (peace be upon him). His compulsion was that how could a stranger stay in a house with girls. Therefore, by marrying him quickly, he could be kept in the house. As for the issue of the marriage mahr (dower), it could be very little, even as little as an iron ring, and such a mahr (dower) could be paid even by a traveler.