Punishment For Fornication
Friday, 3 July 2009 by Afroz
Allah Almighty says in the Quran:
“The fornicatress and the fornicator, flog each of them with a hundred stripes. Let not pity withhold you in their case, in a punishment prescribed by Allaah, if you believe in Allaah and the Last Day. And let a party of the believers witness their punishment” [al-Noor 24:2]
“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, ” [An-Noor 24:4]
1.Hudd punishment – The fixed punishment – is prescribed by Allah for those acts which Allah has made haram and this punishment is by hitting or by killing.
2.The fixed punishment for fornication (consensual sexual intercourse between two persons not married to each other ) is flogging a 100 strikes. As for adultery ( voluntary sexual intercourse between a married man and someone other than his wife or between a married woman and someone other than her husband) – the married person would be stoned to death as commanded by Prophet Muhammad (s)
3.The punishment is applicable when the man has coitus with the woman. Any relationship not inclusive of coitus does not mandate the prescribed fixed punishment.
4.The punishment is applicable when the act of coitus is witnessed by four male adults who are muslim, sensible, just and free and who testify in the court. Seeing two people together or nude or in some inappropriate position does not mandate the hudd punishment unless the act of coitus is eye witnessed.
5.The punishment is also applicable if the fornicator or the fornicatress confesses to his or her crime four times.
6.100 flogs can be inflicted in one day or over a period of days depending on the health of the one being punished.
7.No judge can increase or decrease the punishment
8.Punishment has to be delivered publicly in front of a small group of Muslims – minimum three and maximum 1000 Muslims should witness this event.
9.Flogging should be inflicted with a leather whip which is neither totally new nor very old. Flogging with a stick is not allowed
10.Flogging should be on the fleshy part of the body only affecting the skin and avoiding the head and the sensitive areas. Flogging has to spread over – and should not be done in one place so as to make the flesh come out. A man is flogged in a standing position while a woman should be flogged in a sitting position.
Accepting this punishment is conditional to Emaan – If you feel pity for the fornicator or fornicatress - that may lead to not approving the flogging punishment then you don’t believe in Allah and the Akhira ( You leave the fold of Islam)
Ibn Mas’ood said: It is not prescribed in our religion to make the offender lie down or to tie him up or remove his clothing. The companions of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) flogged offenders but there is no report that any of them made the offender lie down or tied him up or removed his clothing.
For People in Non-Muslim Countries:
No one should carry out the hadd punishments without the permission of the ruler. If there is no ruler who rules according to sharee’ah then it is not permissible for the ordinary people to carry out the hadd punishments. Whoever does that is sinning, because carrying out the hadd punishments requires examining the matter and requires shar’i knowledge in order to know the conditions of proof.
“The fornicatress and the fornicator, flog each of them with a hundred stripes. Let not pity withhold you in their case, in a punishment prescribed by Allaah, if you believe in Allaah and the Last Day. And let a party of the believers witness their punishment” [al-Noor 24:2]
“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, ” [An-Noor 24:4]
1.Hudd punishment – The fixed punishment – is prescribed by Allah for those acts which Allah has made haram and this punishment is by hitting or by killing.
2.The fixed punishment for fornication (consensual sexual intercourse between two persons not married to each other ) is flogging a 100 strikes. As for adultery ( voluntary sexual intercourse between a married man and someone other than his wife or between a married woman and someone other than her husband) – the married person would be stoned to death as commanded by Prophet Muhammad (s)
3.The punishment is applicable when the man has coitus with the woman. Any relationship not inclusive of coitus does not mandate the prescribed fixed punishment.
4.The punishment is applicable when the act of coitus is witnessed by four male adults who are muslim, sensible, just and free and who testify in the court. Seeing two people together or nude or in some inappropriate position does not mandate the hudd punishment unless the act of coitus is eye witnessed.
5.The punishment is also applicable if the fornicator or the fornicatress confesses to his or her crime four times.
6.100 flogs can be inflicted in one day or over a period of days depending on the health of the one being punished.
7.No judge can increase or decrease the punishment
8.Punishment has to be delivered publicly in front of a small group of Muslims – minimum three and maximum 1000 Muslims should witness this event.
9.Flogging should be inflicted with a leather whip which is neither totally new nor very old. Flogging with a stick is not allowed
10.Flogging should be on the fleshy part of the body only affecting the skin and avoiding the head and the sensitive areas. Flogging has to spread over – and should not be done in one place so as to make the flesh come out. A man is flogged in a standing position while a woman should be flogged in a sitting position.
Accepting this punishment is conditional to Emaan – If you feel pity for the fornicator or fornicatress - that may lead to not approving the flogging punishment then you don’t believe in Allah and the Akhira ( You leave the fold of Islam)
Ibn Mas’ood said: It is not prescribed in our religion to make the offender lie down or to tie him up or remove his clothing. The companions of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) flogged offenders but there is no report that any of them made the offender lie down or tied him up or removed his clothing.
For People in Non-Muslim Countries:
No one should carry out the hadd punishments without the permission of the ruler. If there is no ruler who rules according to sharee’ah then it is not permissible for the ordinary people to carry out the hadd punishments. Whoever does that is sinning, because carrying out the hadd punishments requires examining the matter and requires shar’i knowledge in order to know the conditions of proof.
