Discussion of Questions Raised from Surah An-Nur (Verses 1 to 4)
In this lecture, we discussed about Qazaf, the act of accusing someone as having committed Zina without having four witnesses. The punishment will fall upon the accuser not the accused in such situations, and the penalty is 80 strokes of the cane. I will address a few questions raised for this topic.
Hudud for Zina During the Life of the Prophet
Q: Were there incidents in the life of the Prophet SAW where someone earned the penalty of being caned 100 times?
A: Yes, within the Muwatta by Imam Malik, a hadith was narrated describing such an incident that did occur. A man came to Rasulullah SAW to say that he had performed Zina. Rasulullah SAW tried to ignore him but he stood resolute in saying that he did commit Zina. To shorten the story, Rasulullah SAW eventually requested for a whip to be brought to him.
A whip was brought to him SAW that was worn down from overuse. It was a whip that would cause negligible pain if used. Rasulullah SAW asked for something above that. A new whip was brought that was brand new and stiff – using this whip would cause considerable injury to the man.
Rasulullah SAW asked for something below that. A used whip was brought that was neither too firm nor too light. Rasulullah SAW then ordered for the companion to be flogged a hundred times with that whip, as per instructed by the Hudud law.
So that is the answer to this first question.
Do Not Ask to be Punished for Zina
There is an interesting follow-up to this hadith. Rasulullah SAW then said:
أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدْ آنَ لَكُمْ أَنْ تَنْتَهُوا عَنْ حُدُودِ اللَّهِ مَنْ أَصَابَ مِنْ هَذِهِ الْقَاذُورَاتِ شَيْئًا فَلْيَسْتَتِرْ بِسِتْرِ اللَّهِ فَإِنَّهُ مَنْ يُبْدِي لَنَا صَفْحَتَهُ نُقِمْ عَلَيْهِ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ
"O People! The time has come for you to stop asking to be punished by the Hudud law. Whoever has had any of these dirty things befall him should cover them up with the veil of Allah. Whoever reveals to us his wrong action, we perform what is in the Book of Allah against him."
Rasulullah SAW was not saying that the Hudud should no longer be applied, he SAW said that people should not come to him demanding to be punished. The case was not that people were getting caught performing Zina and being brought to court, it was that people were turning themselves in for Zina.
What does the ‘covering up with the Veil of Allah’ mean? It means that when someone commits a sin, and no one else knows of it and there is nobody to witness the act besides Allah SWT, then Allah SWT has protected the person’s sin from being known. Rasulullah SAW is saying that if that is the case, then they should not lift the veil and expose themselves, even to Rasulullah SAW.
There is no reason to come forth and surrender yourself or plead guilty to the deed. Someone who has done the act just needs to turn to Allah SWT himself to repent and seek forgiveness. But if he insists on declaring his sins, then the punishment prescribed by the Book of Allah will be carried out.
Rasulullah SAW is saying that if you were not caught in the act, then do not expose yourselves and request to be punished. Rasulullah SAW did not want to perform the penalty. He would rather have the perpetrator repent and seek punishment.
Self-harm is not a pre-requisite for Taubah in Islam. The conditions for Taubah are clear: (1) To stop performing the deed, (2) To regret the action, (3) To plant a resolution not to commit the sin again. If in fact one does slip and performs the act again, then make a new Taubah.
There is no fourth condition of hitting yourself or surrendering yourself to be punished by the law. So, for every mistake that you do, treat it as something that is between you and Allah SWT.
Covering Up the Sin of a Fellow Believer
Q: What is the ruling for covering up the shame of someone who has committed Zina without reporting them to the authorities?
A: It is Wajib upon us to cover up the faults of others, regardless of what that sin may be. The exception is that if the sin goes unreported, it will bring about great harm to society or will take away the rights of others or will oppress others. If exposing the sin will help to restore someone else’s rights, then it must be done.
If the flaw is something that does not affect anyone, then it is something that is between them and Allah SWT. If we were to find out about it, then it is our job to keep it to ourselves.
Even your own faults are to be kept hidden. Why do I say so? Rasulullah SAW did not want to hear of the sins of others, even if it came from the mouth of the person who committed the sin himself. Let that be the general ruling, that whatever the faults of others may be, do not make them known to others.
This is no longer a common practice. We live in a world where it is commonplace to expose the flaws of others. What we often do today is to write it out on Facebook, spreading news on WhatsApp, at work, and at home, we talk about the misdeeds of others. This is not needed. Stay away from it. Let me bring an example to demonstrate how important it is to protect the Aib (shame) of your brother.
The Story of Ma’iz bin Malik Al-Aslami
Three weeks ago, I brought up the Hudud penalty for the perpetrator of Zina. We talked about how the punishment for Zina is that the perpetrators are to be lashed a hundred times. And there is another separate penalty that was not mentioned in the verse, and that is to stone someone to death for Zina under certain conditions.
It is narrated in the Sahih Hadith of Rasulullah SAW that such a case does exist where the Rajm penalty is imposed upon someone who has committed adultery. Rajm is performed upon someone who commits Zina despite being married already.
Go Home, Seek Forgiveness and Repent!
There is a story relating to this with multiple narrations to it. According to the story, Rasulullah SAW had been sitting in the mosque when Ma’iz bin Malik Al-Aslami approached him saying, “O Rasulullah, cleanse me!”. He was not asking Rasulullah to give him a shower.
Rasulullah SAW knew that he had come to confess a sin of some sort. He SAW did not want to hear of it, immediately turning him away. Rasulullah said ‘Waihak!” which is an expression used to mean something like ‘Don’t be ridiculous!’. Rasulullah SAW said, “Waihak, Return (home)! Seek forgiveness from Allah and make Taubah (repentance) to Him.”.
Not long after, Ma’iz returned to Rasulullah SAW requesting the same thing. Rasulullah SAW replied in the same manner, “Waihak, Return (home)! Seek forgiveness from Allah and make Taubah (repentance) to Him.”. Ma’iz returned home. Not long after, he came back to Rasulullah saying the same thing and receiving the same reply.
Make Excuses and Find Justifications for Your Brother
At the fourth instance of his coming to Rasulullah SAW, Rasulullah SAW asked him, “What is it that you want?”. At that moment, Ma’iz revealed his story, explaining that he had committed Zina. As Ma’iz was from amongst the Ansar, Rasulullah SAW turned to the Ansar amongst the companions and asked them, “Is he crazy?”. They replied, “No Rasulullah, he is not someone known to be crazy.”.
Rasulullah SAW then asked them, “Is he drunk?”. Is there a way for him to be high, causing him to speak nonsense? One of the companions walked up to Ma’iz to smell his breath, and said, “O Rasulullah, there is no sign of alcohol intoxication. He is not drunk.”
Rasulullah SAW then asked them, “Who are his family and friends? Do you know if he might be intellectually disabled?”. His companions replied, “O Rasulullah, Ma’iz is amongst the brightest of us.”. Rasulullah SAW then turned to Ma’iz and asked him, “Are you sure that what you performed was like when the kohl stick enters its container? And like the string has entered the well?” Rasulullah SAW gave a visual metaphor for the act. Ma’iz replied in the affirmative,
“That is exactly what I did!”
Rasulullah SAW then said, “Could it be that you were merely hugging and kissing?”. Ma’iz replied, “No Rasulullah, I did perform Zina!”. Rasulullah then asked again, “O Ma’iz, you have been saying that you committed Zina. Do you really understand what Zina is?”. Ma’iz replied, “I know O Rasulullah, it is the relations between a male and female that is Haram, even though that same act if performed by a husband and wife is Halal.”.
Rasulullah SAW tried his best to make excuses and find justifications for Ma’iz. He started with denying Ma’iz from even speaking of his sins. He SAW then tried to find reasons to not impose the penalty on Ma’iz. Only after this proved futile, did Rasulullah SAW ask Ma’iz, “O Ma’iz, what is it that you want?”. Ma’iz replied, “I want to be purified by Allah SWT in the cleanest way possible. I do not want to be punished in the hereafter, so I want to receive my
punishment in this world.”.
If we were to be the judge and someone comes up to us and declares he is guilty of committing a crime, even without going through the trial process, we would immediately rush to punish him. Rasulullah SAW was not like that.
When Ma’iz had sworn that he committed the act, Rasulullah SAW then proceeded to give the punishment. He asked Ma’iz, “Are you married?”. To which Ma’iz replied, “Yes, O Rasulullah.”. Ma’iz was then sentenced to Rajm, being pelted with stones until his death. In a narration, Rasulullah SAW did not have to dig a hole and bury him in it. He himself readily volunteered to be pelted. And so that was how he died.
Hiding the Sin of Your Brother would Have been Better for You
I would like to add on another aspect to this story. After Ma’iz had committed Zina, his deed had become known to another companion named Hazzal. Hazzal was the person who advised Ma’iz to confess his sin to Rasulullah SAW and ask for punishment.
After the stoning had been done, Rasulullah SAW approached Hazal and said to him, “By Allah, O Hazzal, if you had hidden the sin of Ma’iz even with your cloak, then that would have been much better than what you had advised him to do.”
In such a case, the best thing a friend could have done would be to hide the sin and to not listen to his confession. As a friend, you do not get curious and dig for more information.
A friend should not advise someone who has sinned to confess to a religious figure and see what they will do. This is not what Islam teaches us. Even worse than this, some friends then proceed to share what they heard with other people. This is strongly forbidden by Allah SWT.
If a friend were to come to you to confess his sins, reply to him saying you do not want to listen. Say, “I am not in the position to listen to your confession because I have no authority to give you a punishment.”.
Tell your friend to make Taubah, to deal with whoever’s rights had been violated and make amends. If he would like to ask for advice and opinion, then you can give what is good. There is no need to probe further or to know the details of the story.
This was the advice of Rasulullah SAW to Hazzal. In a narration it was stated that Hazzal was the owner of the slave that had committed Zina with Ma’iz. Hazzal was aware of what had been done. And yet he was told not to say anything. So, the answer to the question that was raised is that it is only right for you not to tell the authorities. Advise the person to make sincere repentance and keep the secret to yourself.
Even today, after almost a year of my stepping down as the Mufti, I still get messages and reports from people complaining about the deeds of such and such a person. My response is simple, I do not want to know. I am not of the authority or position to do anything.
If you know of something that you feel might interfere with the Maslahah of the community, then make the report to someone in the position to act. Do not come to me. I fear receiving such stories. They affect my thinking such that I end up thinking poorly of someone who previously had not had a bad name. This is not right, my brothers and sisters.
Speaking Ill of Your Brother is Worse than Eating Rotting Flesh
There is another follow-up to Ma’iz story. After Ma’iz had been stoned to death and buried, two believing men were having a discussion. One of them said, “Look at that Ma’iz, he could not control himself. Why did he have to share what he had done with Rasulullah SAW? Look at what happened, he was stoned to death like how a dog would have been stoned!”. Rasulullah SAW overheard the conversation and remained silent.
As he walked away with the rest of the companions, they passed by the carcass of a donkey whose legs were stiff and upright. Rasulullah SAW then called out to the crowd, “Where is so-and-so and so-and-so? (referring to the two men having the earlier conversation)”. The two men stepped forward.
Rasulullah commanded them, “Crouch down and eat the flesh of this carcass!”. They responded, “O Rasulullah, nobody would eat the rotting flesh of such a putrid thing!”. Rasulullah SAW then said, “Whatever you have said that had tarnished the dignity of your companion is worse than eating part of the rotting flesh of this carcass. And I swear by Allah, in whose Hands my life lies, Ma’iz is now enjoying himself in the rivers of Jannah.” Subhanallah!
The takeaway for us is that there are rules and they are to be executed by the judge. The role of the judge is not to happily sentence people to punishments. Wherever possible, they are to give concessions for the mistakes of others. However, do not ever speak nonsense or ruin the dignity of others. Even if the sin had really been committed, like in Ma’iz situation.
Do not ever speak poorly of others. Why is this so? Ma’iz really wanted to make repentance, he had sought forgiveness for his actions and his repentance had been accepted by Allah SWT before his death. As a result, he was being rewarded in the hereafter.
Take care of your tongues, dear brothers and sisters. Perhaps you know of someone who has been sentenced to imprisonment for some crime. It is ok to speak of the incident that has happened as a lesson to learn from, but what is not ok is to mock or criticise the person.
Someone who has committed a sin and received his punishment in this world could find sincere repentance and forgiveness while he is going through his punishment. Do not speak nonsense about our fellow brothers and sisters. Their sins are theirs to bear.
The judge will carry out his duty and execute the suitable punishment. It is not our position to blame or judge them. We are part of the community; we too do sins of our own. It is not our role to give commentary. Leave the judgement to the judges.
Clarifications on Qazaf
Q: Can someone who has done Qazaf use the Li’an oath to avoid being sentenced to 80 strokes of the cane?
A: If it is him alone who has witnessed the act and is accusing the perpetrator, then the first question to ask is if he is the husband of the perpetrator. If a husband is accusing his wife of Zina with another man, then the Li’an oath applies as per last week’s lecture.
However, if the perpetrator is not the spouse of the accuser, then he has nothing to do with the perpetrator. There is no Li’an or oath to be taken by anyone who is not a spouse of the perpetrator.
Someone who accuses someone else of Zina and is not believed because of his lack of witnesses cannot use the oath to free himself from the punishment of Qazaf. As a witness to Zina, if you know you cannot get four witnesses to support your claim, then what is best is for you to remain silent and to cover up your brother or sister’s flaws – keep the act a secret.
Q: If someone were to have only three witnesses, does it still count as Qazaf?
A: Even if one of the three witnesses were to be an Imam or a Mufti, for as long as you are short of one witness, the punishment of Zina cannot be executed to the accused.
On Love Charms
Q: Is there such a thing as a Love Charm (Ayat Pengasih)?
A: I do not see the relevance of this question to the verses that we went through. But I will answer this anyway. There are several ways I can interpret this question.
(1) Are the verses of Surah An-Nur linked to Love Charms? If this is the question, then the answer is ‘No.’ There is no link between these verses with Love Charms.
(2) Do Love Charms exist? If this was the question, then the answer is ‘Yes.’ In Islam, there are mentions of Love Charms in the Hadith. One such hadith is the following Sahih hadith:
إِنَّ الرُّقَى وَالتَّمَائِمَ وَالتِّوَلَةَ شِرْكٌ
“Verily, spells, amulets, and charms are acts of idolatry.” [Abu Daud]
‘Ar-Ruqo’ refers to spells – words said that are not based on the hadith or Qur’an. These are nonsensical words that are used to summon or call upon certain names or beings. There are some phrases that are taught as part of our Malay culture that do not make any sense. This is Ar-Ruqo and it is an act of Syirk. These words are used to call upon other than Allah SWT.
‘Tamaa’im’ are amulets, or what we call as ‘tangkal’ in Malay. They can come in the form of cloth that are tied, or metal nails that are placed at the armpits or tied to certain places or hung from the neck… some even hang the amulet close to their private parts between their legs. These amulets are also Syirk and are forbidden.
‘At-Tiwalah’ are charms or potions, used to make someone obedient to you. They are referred to as ‘Ilmu pengasih’ in Malay. It can be used by a spouse to his or her spouse, or to someone else outside of marriage. A wife could use it on her husband to make him weak and obedient to her. This too is a form of Syirk that is forbidden in Islam.
Now if I try to relate this question to the context of the verses, perhaps the question is (3) If a woman commits Zina because she has been put under a Love Charm, will she still be punished for Zina?
Perhaps she might have been put under a kind of spell that has made her lost her consciousness and ability to think logically, such that she became obedient to a man and followed his wishes as he took advantage of her. We hear of cases where someone puts a certain oil called ‘minyak dagu’ on a girl’s chin to make her lose her mind, or ‘buluh perindu’ to make her fall in love and follow the whiff of smell of a person mindlessly… there are all
sorts of knowledge out there from our pre-Islamic historical traditions.
A Judge Judges Based on Empirical Evidence Presented
The judge, when giving his sentence, will do so based on the evidence he has been presented and the witnesses he hears. If he were to be presented with four witnesses who have seen the act being performed, or she ends up pregnant without having been married before…
If, when questioned, she says that she did not understand how she could have performed Zina with a man… If she claims that whatever he had asked of her she had just blindly followed and was unable to go against it… Whatever her claims may be, the judge can only decide based on what he knows and sees. There is no way for him to prove that a charm had been in place.
An example is if a wife comes to the court and tells the judge that her husband has said Talaq on her, and he says “I did not say Talaq on her! I have another wife, who is a spiritual being, a Bunian (mythical being)”. The Judge cannot decide based on something that is unseen. All that he sees is the human wife, and so he can only make judgement based on her. So, the Talaq applies and the divorce is official.
Likewise, if there were to be four witnesses to the act and they had seen the Zina being performed, and there is no evidence that a charm had been applied onto her, then the punishment still applies based on what is evident. The judge is limited to what he sees and what he knows.
Discussion of Issues Raised from Surah An-Nur (Verses 5 to 10)
Q: This is not a question, rather a comment. This week’s lecture seems a bit too heavy and technical. I will have to listen again to understand as I am confused.
A: I can summarise the whole lecture in this way. In Islam, Zina is a grave sin. Anyone who is caught performing Zina is sentenced to 100 whips. If the person who is caught performing Zina is already married, then the punishment on him is Rajm or stoning to death. However, as has been previously discussed, in today’s context, such a punishment no longer exists.
The second thing we learnt is about Qazaf, accusing someone of Zina without proof. The punishment for that is 80 whips. A man or woman cannot accuse someone of Zina. They will have to be held responsible for the sin of not keeping a fellow believer’s sin a secret.
The third thing we learnt is about Li’an, where a spouse catches his spouse performing Zina and he is unable to produce four witnesses to support his claim. If there had been no way out of this, then the husband would be punished under Qazaf and flogged for speaking up for what he had claimed to have seen.
There are many implications for this: (1) The husband can no longer trust and love a wife that he has seen to have been unfaithful to him and (2) he will not have the capacity to love and raise a child whom he is not certain is his own; the child cannot receive his name and sustenance.
To escape from being punished for this, he can make a Li’an oath, saying that Allah SWT’s curse be upon him if he is lying. Now his wife, if she says that she is not guilty, she can avoid the punishment of Zina by responding to the Li’an with another oath to prove herself innocent.
It is not that complicated. Anyway, what you need to know is that flogging for Zina and Qazaf, as well as the Li’an oath, are not in practice in our country today. These matters are presented just as knowledge for you to learn and know.
Q: Does the Li’an oath still apply if it is the wife who accuses the husband of Zina without the presence of any witnesses to support her claim?
A: Scholars have explained that Li’an is given by Allah SWT as an exception to Qazaf. It applies only when it is the husband who is accusing his wife because of the implications raised when it comes to a child who is born to a cheating wife. A child cannot be expected to receive child support and inheritance from a man who is not certain to be his father.
The same implications do not apply when it comes to a wife catching her husband performing Zina. If she were to see him cheating on her, and she deems herself no longer compatible with her husband, she is not helpless. She can go to the court and demand to be given Talaq by her husband if there is no possible reconciliation. She does not have to mention that he has performed Zina.
She can say to the court that, “I wish to be divorced from my husband because he is not a good man. I have no feelings for him anymore.”. The word ‘Zina’ is not necessary to be spoken. Likewise, a husband who does not want to utter the Li’an oath can easily go to the court and request for Talaq saying, “She is not a good wife, I want a divorce.”.
It is unfair to claim that Islam is an unjust religion that prioritises the husband over the wife. It is not true that a wife has no choice but to be trapped in an unhappy marriage if her husband is oppressive towards her. Both the husband and wife do have the freedom to leave the marriage.
The way out is through a judge’s ruling, be it through Talaq or Fasakh, there is a way out. However, the way out of a marriage through Li’an does not exist because there is no way for a husband to get pregnant.
Q: There is a man who likes to hold bad thoughts of his wife whenever she goes to work, because his wife has had a bad past before their marriage. The husband had found out about the wife’s history through a friend. What are your comments regarding the wife’s actions?
A: I do not have any answers. When we speak of a specific case, it is for the judge to make a specific ruling on a case-by-case basis. The mediator or counsellor will advise as needed. This is not the platform for me to comment on such a case because this is a public platform. I will feel guilty for making any statements about such a case.
For example, “the wife had a bad past before their marriage”, what does this even mean? Does this refer to Zina, or dating, or her having once been engaged to someone else’s husband? I cannot give a comment based on such a vague statement. I cannot make this a platform for counselling of individual personal cases.
In cases involving marital conflict between spouses, look for someone qualified to give you some advice. Look and Insha’Allah, Allah SWT will provide a way out of the problems you are facing. I am not qualified to comment at such a public platform.
Final Takeaways
Wallahu’alam bissawab. May Allah SWT protect us and our families from falling into disgrace out of our own carelessness. The hukum that we learnt is only for our own knowledge.
The summary is that as a Muslim Ummah, this is a value that cannot change. The relations between a husband and wife are Halal and very much honoured and beautified. The act of Zina, performed under whatever the circumstances may be, is something that is disdainful and ugly. As a society, we need to take care of our tongues and ensure that we do not falsely accuse people of Zina, unless we are sure to be able to fulfil certain conditions.
As a final word, look once again at that in the case of Ma’iz and also a similar case of Al-Ghamiriyyah, a lady who had asked to be punished for Zina even after being turned away repeatedly by Rasulullah SAW. In these cases, why did Rasulullah SAW refuse to proceed with the punishment? Why did he insist that they go home and repent to Allah SWT instead of reporting their sin to him SAW? Why did he try to cover things up?
The Story of Fatimah Al-Makhzumiyyah
On the other hand, when it came to other cases, of stealing for example, Rasulullah SAW was quick to execute the Hudud. In the case of Fatimah Al-Makhzumiyyah, someone accused of theft, she had been sentenced to Hudud.
The Hudud penalty for stealing is that a person’s hand (below the wrist) is to be chopped off. If her primary hand is her right hand, then her left hand is to be chopped. In the case of Fatimah, her people discussed extensively in order to find ways to spare her from punishment.
Nobody could come up with a solution except for Usama bin Zaid, an adopted child of Rasulullah SAW, someone beloved to him. Usama went to Rasulullah SAW to appeal for Fatimah’s pardon from Hudud. When he made the appeal to Rasulullah SAW, Rasulullah SAW’s face changed. He did not accept such a request.
Rasulullah SAW said, “The people of the past were destroyed because of this. When someone who had status and wealth made a mistake, they were pardoned, but when someone without wealth and status made a mistake, they were punished. And I swear by Allah, if it had been Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad that had stolen, then I would have chopped her hand off!”
Why did Rasulullah SAW not hide Fatimah Al-Makhzumiyyah’s faults and make excuses for her? Why was theft not treated in the same manner as Zina? There is in fact a difference in the two cases. In the case of the theft, Fatimah had not turned herself in and confessed.
She had been reported. There was evidence and witnesses present. Once the sentence has been declared, the decision cannot be retracted. In this case, Fatimah had not been remorseful at all. She refused to plead guilty.
In the case of Zina, they had not been reported. They themselves had come forth to say that they were guilty. There had not been four witnesses. If Fatimah Al-Makhzumiyyah had herself come to Rasulullah SAW to confess her sin and ask for punishment, she would have received a much different response. Islam prioritises taking care of a person’s dignity and honour. Take good care of the name and honour of people and of yourselves.
I hope that my responses to the questions posed suffice and are clear enough. Insha’Allah, we will continue to the next verses of Surah An-Nur in the next lecture. May we meet again next week at the same time and platform Insha’Allah.
My dear brothers and sisters, I love you all for the sake of Allah SWT. May Allah SWT grant us barakah in our friendship. Ameen.
