Two women reached the court of Qazi Ibn Abi Layla, who was a well-known and famous judge of his time. The Qazi asked, "Which of you two wants to speak first?" The older woman among them said to the other, "Put your case before the Qazi." She began to say, "Qazi Sahab, this is my paternal aunt (phuphi), but I call her mother because after my father's passing, she raised me until I grew up." The Qazi asked, "What happened after that?" She said, "Then my uncle's son sent a marriage proposal, and she married me to him. Many years passed, and our married life was going very well. One day, this aunt of mine came to my house and offered her own daughter in marriage to my husband as a second wife, putting a condition that the matter of his first wife (meaning me) be handed over to the aunt. In his desire to marry a young virgin, my husband accepted the condition. My husband's second marriage took place. That night, my aunt came to my house and said, 'I have married my daughter to your husband, and your husband has handed over your matter to me. Acting as a proxy for your husband, I divorce you.' Judge Sahab, I was divorced." "Some time later, my aunt's husband returned from a journey, exhausted. He was a poet and an admirer of beauty. I adorned myself and sat before him, asking, 'Will you marry me?' His joy knew no bounds, and he immediately agreed. I placed a condition before him that he must hand over the matter of his first wife (meaning my aunt) to me. He did exactly that. Using my right of proxy, I divorced my aunt and married her former husband." The Qazi asked in astonishment, "And then?" She said, "Qazi Sahab, the story is not over yet." "After some time, my poet husband passed away. This aunt of mine arrived demanding a share in the inheritance. I told her, 'My husband divorced you during his lifetime, so you have no share in the inheritance now.' The dispute dragged on, and in the meantime, my waiting period (Iddah) also passed. One day, this aunt of mine came to my house bringing her daughter and son-in-law (who was my former husband) to make my former husband an arbitrator in the inheritance dispute. He saw me after many years; a man does not forget his first love. Thus, upon meeting me, his first love awakened. I asked him, 'Will you marry me again?' He said yes. I placed a condition before him to hand over the matter of his first wife (my aunt's daughter) to me. He did exactly that. I remarried my former husband and divorced his wife while acting as his proxy." Qazi Ibn Abi Layla held his head in his hands and asked, "So, what is the issue in this case now?" My aunt said, "Qazi Sahab, is it not haram that this girl caused divorces for both me and my daughter, then took away both my husband and my daughter's husband, and not only that, she also secured the inheritance of both husbands for herself?" Qazi Ibn Abi Layla said, "I do not see anything haram in this case. Divorce is permissible, proxy (delegation) is permissible, and a wife can return to her former husband after divorce provided she marries someone else in between and gets divorced or the husband dies, which is exactly what happened in your story." After this, the Qazi narrated this incident to Caliph Mansur. The Caliph burst into fits of laughter and said, "Whoever digs a pit for his brother falls into it himself, but this old woman fell into a deep sea instead of a pit." (Book: Jam' al-Jawahir fi al-Husri) ____________📝📝____________ Narrated. Selection: Islamic Tube Pro App