But if any of you cannot afford to marry a free believing woman, then ˹let him marry˺ a believing bondwoman possessed by one of you. Allah knows best ˹the state of˺ your faith ˹and theirs˺. You are from one another.1 So marry them with the permission of their owners,2 giving them their dowry in fairness, if they are chaste, neither promiscuous nor having secret affairs. If they commit indecency after marriage, they receive half the punishment of free women.3 This is for those of you who fear falling into sin. But if you are patient, it is better for you. And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Explanation:
These readings are based on two usages of the same form IV verb: the first (passive voice) and second (active) amount to the same range of meanings: either to be Muslim, free, chaste, or married. The translations provided here indicate the clearest interpretation of the word’s occurrence in this verse. In 4:24, the reciters all agree on wa-l-muḥṣanātu with the passive voice, referring to “married women” (literally that they have been “protected” by marriage).