سورة النور

Ali ibn Ibrahim: Zina (fornication) has several forms and its prescribed Sharia punishment [likewise] is of several kinds. For this reason, once Umar ibn al-Khattab brought forward six persons who had been arrested for committing zina, and ordered that the prescribed Sharia punishment for zina be carried out on each of them. Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him), who was sitting beside Umar, said: "O Umar! The ruling for all of them is not the same." Umar said: "Then you yourself carry out the prescribed punishment upon them." The Imam (peace be upon him) brought one of them forward and struck off his neck; brought the second forward and stoned him; brought the third forward and struck him with the hadd (a hundred lashes); brought the fourth and struck him with half the hadd (fifty lashes); brought the fifth forward and gave him ta'zir (discretionary punishment); and released the sixth person. Umar was astonished [at the Imam's judgment] and the people too were bewildered. Umar said: "O Abu al-Hasan (peace be upon him)! Six persons were involved in a similar offence, yet you carried out five [different] punishments upon them and released one, and the ruling of none of them was like the other!" The Imam said: "Yes, [it is so]. As for the first, he was a dhimmi (a non-Muslim under Islamic protection) who had committed zina with a Muslim woman and [by this act] had gone out of [the terms of] his dhimma; therefore his ruling is death by the sword. As for the second, he was a married man who had committed zina, so we stoned him. As for the third, he was an unmarried man, so we struck him with the hadd (a hundred lashes). The fourth was a slave who had committed zina, so we struck him with half the hadd. The fifth had done this act by mistake (out of ambiguity), so we gave him ta'zir and disciplined him [so that henceforth he would be more careful]. And as for the sixth, he was insane, whose intellect is not in his control, and the [Sharia] obligation is lifted from him."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The Imam said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'A believer does not commit fornication while he has faith, nor does he steal while he has faith, nor does he drink wine while he has faith.'" They looked at one another, and then Umar ibn Zirr said: "Then what shall we call them?" He said: "Call them by the very name Allah has called them and by the very deeds they have committed (fornicator, thief, wine-drinker). Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has said: 'Cut off the hand of the male thief and the female thief, as a recompense for what they have done.' (al-Ma'idah/38) And He has said: الزَّانِیَةُ وَ الزَّانِی فَاجْلِدُوا کُلَّ واحِدٍ مِنْهُما مِائَةَ جَلْدَةٍ [(As for) the fornicatress and the fornicator, flog each of them (giving) a hundred stripes]."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Surah al-Nur was revealed after Surah al-Nisa, and what confirms this is the verse Allah the Exalted revealed in Surah al-Nisa: "And as for those of your women who commit fornication, call four witnesses from among yourselves [Muslims] against them. Then if they bear witness, keep them (the women) in their houses until death overtakes them or Allah appoints for them a way." (al-Nisa/15) And what is meant by "way" is the very ruling which Allah the Exalted set down in Surah al-Nur: سُورَةٌ أَنزَلْنَاهَا وَفَرَضْنَاهَا وَ أَنزَلْنَا فِیهَا آیَاتٍ بَیِّنَاتٍ لَّعَلَّکُمْ تَذَکَّرُونَ، الزَّانِیَةُ وَ الزَّانِی فَاجْلِدُوا کُلَّ وَاحِدٍ مِّنْهُمَا مِئَةَ جَلْدَةٍ وَ لَا تَأْخُذْکُم بِهِمَا رَأْفَةٌ فِی دِینِ اللهِ إِن کُنتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللهِ وَ الْیَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَ لْیَشْهَدْ عَذَابَهُمَا طَائِفَةٌ مِّنَ المُؤْمِنِینَ [(This is) a chapter which We have revealed and made obligatory, and in which We have revealed clear signs, so that you may take heed. (As for) the fornicatress and the fornicator, flog each of them (giving) a hundred stripes, and let not pity for them detain you in the matter of obedience to Allah, if you believe in Allah and the last day, and let a party of believers witness their chastisement].

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): When the word of Allah was revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): الزَّانِیَةُ وَ الزَّانِی فَاجْلِدُوا [(As for) the fornicatress and the fornicator, flog (them)], he said: "Take (this ruling) from me; Allah has appointed a way for the women."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Allah the Blessed and Exalted sent His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) to the people with compassion and mercy. One instance of the Prophet's (peace be upon him and his family) compassion and mercy was that at the beginning of his prophethood he did not change the customs and traditions of his people until Islam became firmly established in their hearts and the religion of Allah settled in their breasts. One of their customs in the Jahiliyya (pre-Islamic age of ignorance) was that if a woman committed زنا [fornication] she would be imprisoned in a house and her living expenses provided until death overtook her; and if a man committed زنا, they would banish him from their gatherings, insult him, harm him and reproach him, and they knew no punishment other than this. Allah the Exalted said at the beginning of Islam: وَ اللَّاتِی یَأْتِینَ الْفاحِشَةَ مِنْ نِسائِکُمْ فَاسْتَشْهِدُوا عَلَیْهِنَّ أَرْبَعَةً مِنْکُمْ فَإِنْ شَهِدُوا فَأَمْسِکُوهُنَّ فِی الْبُیُوتِ حَتَّی یَتَوَفَّاهُنَّ الْمَوْتُ أَوْ یَجْعَلَ اللهُ لَهُنَّ سَبِیلًا وَ الَّذانِ یَأْتِیانِها مِنْکُمْ فَآذُوهُما فَإِنْ تابا وَ أَصْلَحا فَأَعْرِضُوا عَنْهُما إِنَّ اللهَ کانَ تَوَّاباً رَحِیماً [And those of your women who commit the indecency, call four of you Muslims to witness against them; if they testify, then keep those women in [your] houses until death overtakes them, or Allah appoints for them a way [of escape]. And those two among you who commit it [and have no spouse], harm them [by carrying out the prescribed punishment]; but if they repent and reform themselves, turn away from them, for Allah is Ever-Relenting, Most Merciful] (An-Nisa 15–16). When the Muslims grew numerous and Islam became strong and the Muslims withdrew from the deeds of the Jahiliyya, Allah the Exalted revealed this verse: الزَّانِیَةُ وَ الزَّانِی فَاجْلِدُوا کُلَّ واحِدٍ مِنْهُما مِائَةَ جَلْدَةٍ [As for the fornicatress and the fornicator, flog each of them a hundred stripes]. So this verse abrogated and annulled [the ruling of] the verse of confinement [in the house] and harm [that was in Surah al-Nisa].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Imam Ali (peace be upon him) was asked about the prescribed punishment for an unmarried man and woman who commit زنا [fornication]; he said: "[The prescribed punishment for the two of them is] a hundred lashes." And [as evidence for this ruling] he recited this verse: الزَّانِیَةُ وَ الزَّانِی فَاجْلِدُوا کُلَّ واحِدٍ مِنْهُما مِائَةَ جَلْدَةٍ [As for the fornicatress and the fornicator, flog each of them a hundred stripes].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): And the flogging of the fornicator is [of the] most severe of floggings, and when an unmarried fornicator is flogged, after receiving the lashes he is banished from his city for one year; and if one of the two fornicators is unmarried and the other married, each of them receives a hundred lashes, and the unmarried one is banished and the married one is stoned.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): When the verse الزَّانِیَةُ وَ الزَّانِی فَاجْلِدُوا کُلَّ واحِدٍ مِنْهُما مِائَةَ جَلْدَةٍ [As for the fornicatress and the fornicator, flog each of them a hundred stripes] was revealed, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Allah has [by sending this verse] appointed a way of escape for women who commit زنا [fornication]; if an unmarried man and woman commit زنا, they receive a hundred lashes and are banished for a year — [note that according to the well-known view among the Shia scholars, on account of the consensus of the jurists and other evidence set out in its proper place, a woman who has committed زنا is not banished] — and if a married man and woman commit زنا, they receive a hundred lashes and are then stoned."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): The man is given the hadd (prescribed punishment) in whatever state he is found — if he was naked [at the time of زنا], he is flogged naked, and if he had clothes on, he is flogged over his clothes. The hadd of the fornicator is carried out more severely than other hadd punishments. The man is flogged standing, and the woman is flogged sitting, and every part of the body may be struck except the head and face, the private parts, and the testicles.

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Ishaq ibn Ammar said: I asked Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): "How is the fornicator flogged?" He said: "In the most severe manner possible." I asked: "Over his clothes [is he flogged]?" He said: "No, his clothes are removed [except, of course, for the undergarment that covers the private parts, as has been made an exception in other narrations]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Samaʿah said: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "The free man and the free woman, when they commit fornication, each of them is flogged one hundred lashes; but as for the muhsan (married man) and the muhsanah (married woman), upon them is stoning."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Amir al-Muminin Ali (peace be upon him) ruled regarding the old man and the old woman [who commit fornication] that they be flogged one hundred lashes; and regarding one who has a spouse [and commits fornication] he ruled stoning; and regarding a man and a woman who are unmarried and commit fornication he ruled one hundred lashes and banishment for one year to a place other than their place of residence — and what is meant by them are a man and a woman who have contracted marriage [with another] but have not yet had intercourse [with their lawful spouse].

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): One who is married [and commits fornication] is stoned, and the one who has contracted marriage [with another] but has not yet had intercourse with her, [if he commits fornication] receives one hundred lashes and is banished for one year.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When an old man or an old woman commits fornication, they receive one hundred lashes as the hadd and are then stoned — this is their punishment. And if a middle-aged person, who is neither old nor young, commits fornication, and is muhsan or muhsanah, he is only stoned and not flogged. And if a young person commits fornication, he receives one hundred lashes as the hadd and is banished for one year from his town.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Aban ibn Taghlib said: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "When an insane man or a feeble-minded man commits zina (fornication), he is given a hundred lashes; and if he has a wife, he is stoned." I said: "What is the difference between an insane man and an insane woman, and between a feeble-minded man and a feeble-minded woman [that only the insane or feeble-minded man is given such a ruling]?" The Imam said: "The [insane] woman is violated, whereas the man does the violating, and a man only commits violation [and zina] when he understands how to take pleasure (meaning, at that moment, he is no longer in a state of insanity or feeble-mindedness); but the [insane] woman is compelled [into the act] and is violated while she does not understand what is being done to her [it is necessary to note that if an insane person commits such a sin while in a state of insanity, he is not punished; so this narration concerns a case in which the insane person, at the time of committing this sin, has recovered his awareness even to a small degree — a so-called periodically insane person]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked: "Is stoning mentioned in the Quran?" He said: "Stone the old man and the old woman, for the time of their desire has passed."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): وَ لَا تَأْخُذْکُم بِهمَا رَأْفَةٌ فِی دِینِ اللهِ [And let not pity for them detain you in the religion of Allah]; what is meant by "the religion of Allah" is the establishment of the hudud (prescribed penalties).

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): وَ لْیَشْهَدْ عَذَابَهُمَا طَائِفَةٌ مِّنَ المُؤْمِنِینَ [And let a party of the believers witness their chastisement]; that is, a "party" is one person; and also, the one subject to the hadd (prescribed penalty) is not asked to take an oath.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The minimum number of people who must be present at the time of carrying out the shar'i punishment for zina is one person.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): وَ لْیَشْهَدْ عَذابَهُما طائِفَةٌ مِنَ المُؤْمِنِینَ [and let a party of the believers witness their chastisement]; a ta'ifa (party) is from one person up to ten persons.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Basir narrates: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), regarding this word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: وَ لْیَشْهَدْ عَذابَهُما طائِفَةٌ مِنَ المُؤْمِنِینَ [and let a party of the believers witness their chastisement], said: "If one believer witnesses [the carrying out of Allah's ruling upon the fornicator], it is sufficient."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): وَ لْیَشْهَدْ عَذَابَهُمَا [And let a party witness their punishment]; what is meant by عَذَابَهُمَا is the flogging of the adulterous woman and man, and what is meant by طَائِفَةٌ مِنَ المُؤْمِنِینَ [a party of the believers] is that the people should gather together at the time of carrying out the hadd punishment upon the adulterers.