What is the Punishment for Adultery?

In one of the criticisms[1]

posted at ‘Answering Islam’, the author has pointed out a contradiction in Al-Nisaa

4: 15 — 16 and Al-Noor 24: 2. Al-Nisaa 4: 15 — 16 read as:

And for the harlots among your women, call four witnesses, from among your

people, against them. Thus, if they testify, then confine them to their houses

until death claims them or God ordains for them another way. And for the two,

who are guilty of lewdness from among you, punish them both [with a beating].

Then if they repent and [promise to] correct their behavior, then let them be.

Indeed God accepts repentance most; Infinitely Merciful.

Al-Noor 24: 2 reads as:

For the male and the female guilty of fornication, flog them both a hundred

stripes. Let not mercy for them overtake you in the implementation of God’s

law, if you truly believe in God and the Final Day. And let the implementation

of the punishment be witnessed by a group of believers.

The author of the referred criticism, Mr. Jochen Katz writes:

… there is the contradiction whether for a female adulteress the is

punishment one hundred stripes [Sura 24:2] or confinement in the house until

death [4:15].

If 4:16 does not speak only about homosexual acts but also about adultery

of man and woman, then another contradictory element is added: If they repent

they can get off the hook without punishment? Who will not repent with the

prospect of a hundred stripes waiting for them?

Apart from the question whether the punishment should be as in 24:2 or

4:15, how come the man and woman are treated equal in 24:2, but seemingly

different in 4:15?

A thorough understanding of the two verses should sufficiently answer the

questions raised by Mr. Katz. A brief explanation of the verses follows:

1. Al-Nisaa 4: 15 relates to the crime of prostitution. This is

   precisely the reason why only women have been mentioned;

2. The punishment for the crime is given as house arrest till death, so that

   the woman in question is effectively hindered from spreading mischief and

   lewdness in the society;

3. The last words of the verse — ‘until God ordains for them another way’ —

   clearly implies that the stipulated punishment (of house arrest) is for a

   period of time, after which, when the society is prepared and organized for

   it, the permanent law shall be given;

4. Al-Nisaa 4: 16 relates to a male and a female involved in

   fornication;

5. Immediately succeeding the words ‘until God ordains for them another way’,

   it was clear that the stipulated punishment was also effective for a

   temporary phase, till the time that the society was prepared and organized

   for the permanent punishment to be given;

6. The punishment stipulated in the verse is of an undefined beating, which

   is in keeping with the fact that during the initial phase, the punishment

   for the crime was not strictly prescribed;

7. The above points should also explain why the punishment in the first case

   is more severe than that in the second case. The two crimes, as should be

   clear, belong to two different categories. The consequence of the latter of

   the two is restricted to the two individuals involved in it; while the

   former, if allowed to flourish, results in the moral degeneration of the

   society.

8. Al-Noor 24: 2 (and the verses that follow) prescribe the final and

   the permanent punishment for the crime of fornication;

As far as the final and permanent punishment for prostitution is concerned,

it is not given in Al-Noor 24: 2. However, besides these verses, Al-Maaidah

5: 33 — 34 prescribed punishments for crimes that were of the nature of

spreading disorder and anarchy in the land or of religious persecution or in any

other way effecting the well being of the society at a macro level. Explaining

the penal law of Islam, I had written in my response to a question:

It must be understood at the outset that Islam, in its injunctions

regarding the penal law, has classified crimes into two major categories:

• Normal crimes; and
• Extra-ordinary crimes.

Examples of the first category may include crimes against someone’s

property, i.e. theft, crimes against someone’s life, i.e. murder or physically

harming a person and crimes against chastity and respect, i.e. fornication and

defamation. Besides this classification, Islam has given another class of

crimes, that may appear to be of the same nature as given above, but are

committed with an absolutely different psyche.

For example, a person may quietly enter someone’s premise and steal

something from there, and in another case, a few people may form a gang of

robbers and rob market places, houses and automobiles on the highway. Now, if

you would consider closely, although a crime has been committed against

property in both the cases, but the psyche of the criminals is quite different

in the two cases. The first case entails a psyche of a simple criminal while

the second case entails a psyche of a person who wants to create unrest and

disorder in the society, as a whole. Like wise, in case of murder, a person

may kill another person on provocation, in hot blood or only to “get

even” for an insult, or to settle the score of an old enmity. While on

the other hand, a person may install a bomb in a public place and thereby kill

anyone — man, woman or child — that comes within the range of the blast.

Now, again, even though the two acts have resulted in the same thing — that

is loss of life — but still the psyche in the two acts is absolutely

different. The same is the case with crimes against chastity and respect. A

man and a woman may indulge in the act of fornication or adultry, while in

another case, a man may rape a woman or a woman may open a brothel.

Crimes of the first category are basically against the person, property,

respect and morality of individuals, while crimes of the second category are

basically against the society, as a whole. The crimes relating to the second

category are called “fasaad fil-ardh” in the Qur’an.

Regarding the punishment of ‘Fasaad fil Ardh’, the Qur’an (Al-Maaidah

5: 33 — 34) says:

The punishment of those, who declare a war against God and His messenger

and try to spread unrest in the land is nothing but that they be sentenced to

a painful death or to crucifixion or that their one hand and one foot of the

opposite side be amputated or that they be sent in exile. This punishment is a

disgrace for them in the life of this world, and in the hereafter, a great

punishment awaits them. Except for those who repent [and correct their

behavior] before you catch them. Be mindful that God is Forgiving, Merciful

[for the repentant].

Explaining the penal law of Islam, I had written in my referred response:

Islam, in its penal law, has proposed two different kinds of punishments

for the crimes of the two categories… the punishment for “fasaad

fil-ardh” has been mentioned in Al-Maaidah 5: 34. In this

verse the Qur’an says that such individuals should slain in a painful manner (taqteel)

or should be crucified (tasleeb) or one of their hands and one of their

feet should should be amputated or they should be sent in exile (they should

be removed from their society and thereby from the influence of bad company).

It is obvious from this verse that the court has been given the authority to

decide and implement from amongst these four punishments according to the

gravity of the crime and according to the psyche of the criminal.

In view of the above explanation, it is clear that the final and permanent

punishment of prostitution (for which a temporary punishment was stipulated in Al-Nisaa

4: 15), rape etc. was derived from the given verse. Stoning to death was, in

fact, one of the methods adopted by the Prophet (pbuh) for implementing ‘taqteel’

(slaying in a painful manner).

Thus, the punishments mentioned in Al-Nisaa 4: 15 — 16 were, in fact,

given for a temporary period, during which the newly formed society was

organized and groomed. During this time, lighter forms of punishments were

administered to the criminals[2].

However, later on, as the moral standard of the society elevated and as it

became more organized, stricter punishments were prescribed for these crimes.

The latter punishments replaced and abrogated the previous order.

© Copyright December 2000. All Rights Reserved with the Author