ThenMa’munproposedthatnowtheImamshouldaskaquestionto
YahyabinAktham.Thelatterreplied,“IfIknowtheanswer,Iwillreply;
otherwise, I will learn from you.”
ImamMuhammadat-Taqi(a.s.)asked:“Canyoudescribethesituation
in which a man looked at a woman at dawn while it was forbidden
(harām)forhimtodoso;butthenatsunrise,itwaspermissible(halāl)for
himtolookather?Thenatnoonhour,itbecameharāmforhimtolook
atthat woman; butin the afternoon, itbecame permissiblefor himto
lookather?Thenatsunset,itbecameharāmforhimtolookatthatwo-
man;butatnight, itbecamehalālforhimtolookather?Thenatmid-
night, itbecameharām forhimto look ather; butatdawn,it became
halāl for him to do so?”
YahyabinAkthamsaid,“By Allāh!Idonotknowthe answertothis
question. We would, however, benefit from your answer.”
The Imam explained the answer as follows:“At dawn, the woman was the slave of someone else; however, by
sunrise, the manhadalreadybought her for himselfandsoit became
halāl for him to look at her.
“Atnoon,hemadeherfree,andsoshebecameharāmforhim;butby
afternoon, he had married her, so she became halāl for him.
“Atsunset,hedidzihār[46]bywhichone’swifebecomesharāmfora
person;butbynighttimehepaidthepenaltyforzihar,andsoshebecame
halāl for him again.
“At midnight,hedivorced her;butbynextmorning,herevokedhis
divorce, and so she became halāl for him.”
ThusthetenyearoldImam,fromthedescendantsof‘AliandFātimah,
proved to the caliph and his entourage that God had endowed them
withtheknowledgetoguidetheMuslimummahastheProphethadtruly
said, “Do not try to teachthem, because they are not in need of your
teaching.”
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