Zina: Difference between revisions

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In Islamic law, if either party who commits zina is married, that person (male or female) receives a much harsher punishment - being stoned to death. The stoning punishment is not present in the Quran, but is based rather on hadiths (see [[stoning]]). On this basis the Quranic punishment of 100 lashes was interpreted as applying to either party only if they are unmarried.
In Islamic law, if either party who commits zina is married, that person (male or female) receives a much harsher punishment - being stoned to death. The stoning punishment is not present in the Quran, but is based rather on hadiths (see [[stoning]]). On this basis the Quranic punishment of 100 lashes was interpreted as applying to either party only if they are unmarried.


In order to carry out the hadd punishment for zina (lashings or stoning to death) there must be either four reliable muslim male witnesses to the alleged offence or a confession. Pregnancy of an unmarried woman is also considered proof of zina unless she says she was raped, in which case she is spared punishment (though for the Maliki school of jurisprudence further evidence to prove coercion is required from her physical state or a witness who heard her cry for help).<ref>Position paper by Karamah (Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights) [https://karamah.org/zina-rape-and-islamic-law-an-islamic-legal-analysis-of-the-rape-laws-in-pakistan/ Zina, Rape, and Islamic Law: An Islamic Legal Analysis of the Rape Laws in Pakistan](2011)</ref><ref>See the 2nd of the two hadiths here regarding Imam Malik's view: {{Muwatta|41||16}}</ref>
In order to carry out the hadd punishment for zina (lashings or stoning to death) there must be either four reliable muslim male witnesses to the alleged offence or a confession. Pregnancy of an unmarried woman is also considered proof of zina unless she says she was raped, in which case she is spared punishment (though for the Maliki school of jurisprudence further evidence to prove coercion is required from her physical state or a witness who heard her cry for help).<ref>Position paper by Karamah (Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights) [https://karamah.org/zina-rape-and-islamic-law-an-islamic-legal-analysis-of-the-rape-laws-in-pakistan/ Zina, Rape, and Islamic Law: An Islamic Legal Analysis of the Rape Laws in Pakistan](2011)</ref><ref>See the 2nd of the two hadiths here regarding Imam Malik's view: {{Muwatta|41||16}}</ref>  
 
The four witnesses requirement comes from the early part of Surah al Nur:
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|24|4|5}}|And those who accuse chaste women and then do not produce four witnesses - lash them with eighty lashes and do not accept from them testimony ever after. And those are the defiantly disobedient,
24|5|Except for those who repent thereafter and reform, for indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.}}
 
A few verses later the surah turns into a rant about an alleged incident for which four witnesses were not presented. According to tradition these verses refer to [[Qur'an,_Hadith_and_Scholars:Aisha#Incident_of_the_slander_(al-ifk)|the incident of al-Ifk (the slander)]] in which Muhammad's wife Aisha was accused of adultery. Critics might infer here that the four witnesses requirement at the start of the surah was introduced by Muhammad for the sake of sparing Aisha from suspicion and punishment.
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|24|11|17}}|Indeed, those who came with falsehood are a group among you. Do not think it bad for you; rather it is good for you. For every person among them is what [punishment] he has earned from the sin, and he who took upon himself the greater portion thereof - for him is a great punishment.
Why, when you heard it, did not the believing men and believing women think good of one another and say, "This is an obvious falsehood"?
Why did they [who slandered] not produce for it four witnesses? And when they do not produce the witnesses, then it is they, in the sight of Allah, who are the liars.
And if it had not been for the favor of Allah upon you and His mercy in this world and the Hereafter, you would have been touched for that [lie] in which you were involved by a great punishment
When you received it with your tongues and said with your mouths that of which you had no knowledge and thought it was insignificant while it was, in the sight of Allah, tremendous.
And why, when you heard it, did you not say, "It is not for us to speak of this. Exalted are You, [O Allah]; this is a great slander"?
Allah warns you against returning to the likes of this [conduct], ever, if you should be believers.}}


In Saudi Arabia today, if a female is raped but cannot prove it, she may be accused of khilwa (mingling)<ref>{{cite web |year=2007 |title=Saudi Arabia: Rape Victim Punished for Speaking Out |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2007/11/15/saudi-arabia-rape-victim-punished-speaking-out/|publisher=HRW}}</ref> or she may be deemed to have confessed to unlawful sex (''zina'') and prosecuted for that instead.<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/29/saudi-arabia-forthcoming-penal-code-should-protect-rights Saudi Arabia: Forthcoming Penal Code Should Protect Rights] - Human Rights Watch 29 April 2022</ref>
In Saudi Arabia today, if a female is raped but cannot prove it, she may be accused of khilwa (mingling)<ref>{{cite web |year=2007 |title=Saudi Arabia: Rape Victim Punished for Speaking Out |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2007/11/15/saudi-arabia-rape-victim-punished-speaking-out/|publisher=HRW}}</ref> or she may be deemed to have confessed to unlawful sex (''zina'') and prosecuted for that instead.<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/29/saudi-arabia-forthcoming-penal-code-should-protect-rights Saudi Arabia: Forthcoming Penal Code Should Protect Rights] - Human Rights Watch 29 April 2022</ref>
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