حصن

Core meaning

To protect behind a solid rampart: the fortress, the coat of mail, or the marital bond that guards the wife.

Uses

1. ٱلْمُحْصَنَٰت → "the women protected by the marital bond", "protected" : the wife whom the bond protects; in 4:25, the simple sense: protected, chaste.

   • «وَٱلْمُحْصَنَٰتُ مِنَ ٱلنِّسَآءِ» — "And the women protected by the marital bond" (4:24)
   • «أَن يَنكِحَ ٱلْمُحْصَنَٰتِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنَٰتِ» — "to marry believing protected women" (4:25)

2. مُحْصِنِينَ → "as men who commit to the marital bond" : the man who marries enters the same rampart.

   • «مُّحْصِنِينَ غَيْرَ مُسَٰفِحِينَ» — "as men who commit to the marital bond, not in debauchery" (4:24)

3. أَحْصَنَ, تَحَصُّن → "to protect", "to be protected" : to guard oneself, or to wish to be guarded.

   • «وَٱلَّتِىٓ أَحْصَنَتْ فَرْجَهَا» — "who protected her intimacy" (21:91)
   • «إِنْ أَرَدْنَ تَحَصُّنًۭا» — "if they wish to be protected" (24:33)
   • «لِتُحْصِنَكُم مِّنۢ بَأْسِكُمْ» — "so that it might protect you from your own violence" (21:80)

4. حُصُون, مُحَصَّنَة → "strongholds", "fortified" : the built rampart.

   • «أَنَّهُم مَّانِعَتُهُمْ حُصُونُهُم مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ» — "their strongholds would shield them from God" (59:2)
   • «إِلَّا فِى قُرًۭى مُّحَصَّنَةٍ» — "except in fortified towns" (59:14)
   • Written exception: the phrase "marriage bond" shared with سبب: "marriage" belongs to نكح.

Evidence from the text

The rampart is first material: the coat of mail that protects "from your own violence" (21:80), the strongholds people believe will hold God at a distance (59:2), the fortified towns (59:14). In 12:48, it is the share of grain one protects from the severe years.

The marital bond is the same rampart: the wife is protected by it (4:24, 24:4), and the man who marries commits to it (4:24, 5:5). This is why the accusation brought against these women requires four witnesses (24:4): it attacks the protection itself. Maryam protected her intimacy (21:91, 66:12).

Distinctions

• عصم — to safeguard: to keep out of reach, whereas حصن places behind a rampart