خدن

Core meaning

The companion kept apart: the intimate liaison maintained outside any recognized bond.

Uses

1. أَخْدَان → "secret lovers" : those taken as intimate companions on the margin of the marital bond.

   • «وَلَا مُتَّخِذَٰتِ أَخْدَانٍۢ» — "nor as takers of secret lovers" (4:25)
   • «وَلَا مُتَّخِذِىٓ أَخْدَانٍۢ» — "nor as takers of secret lovers" (5:5)

Evidence from the text

The two uses have the same construction and the same place: they close a threefold opposition. On one side, the recognized bond (مُحْصَنَٰت, 4:25; مُحْصِنِين, 5:5); on the other, open debauchery (مُسَٰفِحَٰت, مُسَٰفِحِين) and the ongoing liaison one hides, the taking of أخدان. The verb "to take" says a chosen, maintained relation, not an isolated act; the plural says that it takes the place of the bond that commits. The rule holds for women in 4:25 and for men in 5:5.

Distinctions

• سفح — debauchery: the relation given over without restraint, whereas خدن says the liaison kept secret
• زنى — fornication: the act itself, whereas خدن says ongoing companionship

See also

حصن (to protect, the marital bond)