ADULTERY

(Zina)
Adultery is a sexual
intercourse by a person
whether man or woman, with
someone to whom they are
not married.”
 QUR’AN
"Do not go near to adultery. Surely it is a
shameful deed and evil, opening roads (to
other evils)" (Qur’an 17:32).

"Those who commit adultery, men or women,

give each of them a hundred lashes" Qur'an
24: 2.
 Hadith

1. Sahih Muslim (17:4196) - A married man confesses to

adultery. Muhammad orders him planted in the ground and
pelted with stones.

2. Abu Hurayrah, a companion of the Prophet, stated that the

Prophet, in a case of intercourse between a young man and a
married woman, sentenced the woman to stoning and the young
man to flogging and banishment for a year.
Evidentiary requirements

Confession

Witnesses
 1. Confession
• A clear, free, and willful confession by the
person guilty of the act of Zina.

• Must be repeated freely four different times

For the confession to be admitted, the
accused must:
Possess full presence of mind and
Undertake the confession by himself consciousness at the time of
confession
Be beyond puberty at the time of
confession Not to be known to make false
Be sane at the time of the statements out of sarcasm
confession
Confess to the act no fewer than 4
Possess free will times
2. Testimony of Four Witnesses
As for those of your women who are guilty of gross immoral conduct, call
upon four from among you to bear witness against them. (Qur’an 4:15)
Who can be a witness?
 Must be adult Must be a Muslim

They must personally testify

Must be sane

Must remain in sound condition

Must be male

Must be known to be fair and possess

Must have integrity
a good reputation

Must not be involved in any kind of

Must be free dispute with the accused
The Strict Evidentiary requirements to prove
Zina demonstrate that Islam takes a lenient
and merciful approach in the interpretation of
the offense and application of punishment.
 Philippine Criminal Law
Art. 333. Who are guilty of adultery.
— Adultery is committed by any
married woman who shall have sexual
intercourse with a man not her
husband and by the man who has
carnal knowledge of her knowing her
to be married, even if the marriage be
subsequently declared void.
Art. 334. Concubinage. — Any
husband who shall keep a mistress in
the conjugal dwelling, or shall have
sexual intercourse, under scandalous
circumstances, with a woman who is
not his wife, or shall cohabit with her
in any other place, shall be punished
by prision correccional in its minimum
and medium periods.chanrobles
virtual law library
 Penalty

Adultery Concubinage

Prision Correcional in its medium and Prision correctional in its minimum

maximum period ( range of 2 years, 4 and medium period ( ranges from 6
months and 1 day to 6 years months and 1 day to a maximum of 4
imprisonment). years and 1 day).
Adultery is considered as an unforgivable crime,
due to its calamitous consequence which affects
the person involved, family unit and the society in
general. It leads to betrayal and infringes the faith
and harmony which is the basis for a satisfying
family life; it fritters away the vigor; it knocks off
balance; it deteriorates the purity of the
character and obliterates the feelings of devotion
and loyalty and consequently the individual has
to face the fury of Allah and punishment in
various forms.
 Brutal punishments are given to men and women who
get involved in the sinful act of zina.

According to Islamic laws, for premarital sex, the

chastisement is 100 lashes, while for adultery the
adulterers are punished by stoning to death which is
also known as Rajm or severe flogging. However,
stoning as punishment for extramarital sex is not stated
in Quran but is prescribed in Hadith. Hadith are the
verbal mores connecting to the words and conduct of
the Islamic prophet Mohammad.
It should be equally noted that both men and
women are penalized for adultery, unlike what
is generally assumed, namely that only
women are blamed and responsible for
adultery.
 HOW TO PROVE ADULTERY:
• They should describe zina in clear terms, such as saying: “I saw his penis in
her vagina”. There is no alternative to that. If they say: “We saw him on
top of her and they were naked”, that is not acceptable. Even if they say
“We saw him doing with her what a man does with his wife,” that is not
sufficient as testimony. They must say “We bear witness that his penis was
in her vagina.” And this is very difficult, as the man said who was testified
against at the time of ‘Umar: “If you were among the (four) thighs you
would never be able to give this testimony.” Hence Shaykh al-Islam Ibn
Taymiyah mentioned that at his time no case of zina was proven by means
of testimony from the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) until the time of Ibn Taymiyah. If no case was proven from
that time until the other, then we do not know of any case that was
proven by testimony up till our own times, because it is very difficult.
• And moreover, for zina, it is four (not two) sound witnesses of upright
character (i.e. should not be known as a faasiq (sinful) person).
• Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahmaan al-Sa’di said in his Tafseer (1/563):
• “Why did they not produce four witnesses?” [al-Noor
24:13], i.e., why did the accusers not bring witnesses to the
things they accused them of? “four witnesses” i.e., of good
character. “Since they (the slanderers) have not produced
witnesses! Then with Allaah they are the liars” – even if
they are certain about that in themselves, they are liars in
Allaah’s judgement, because Allaah has forbidden them to
speak of that without four witnesses. Hence Allaah says:
“Then with Allaah they are the liars”, and He did not say
“Then they are the liars”. All of this points to the grave
sanctity of the Muslim’s honour, so it is not permissible to
make accusations against it without establishing testimony.
Moreover, you should be careful if you are giving
false witness because that will be a slander.
And if it is really a slander, the hadd
punishment will be upon the witness.
• Adultery must be proved by the testimony of four eyewitnesses to
the actual act of penetration, or a confession repeated four times
and not retracted later.
• If someone saw them hugging or even lying on each other, naked
but not penetrating, his testimony won't be accepted (but can
entail some disciplinary punishment). Also, the eyewitness must
have a clean character record.
• Some legal school also allows an unmarried woman's pregnancy to
be used as evidence, but the punishment can be averted by a
number of legal "semblances" (shubuhat), such as existence of an
invalid marriage contract.
• Digital records (image or video) can also be used as evidence.
• If the accusation of adultery proven wrong, the accuser will be
punished with 80 lashes.
• Adultery must be proved by the testimony of four eyewitnesses to
the actual act of penetration, or a confession repeated four times
and not retracted later.
• If someone saw them hugging or even lying on each other, naked
but not penetrating, his testimony won't be accepted (but can
entail some disciplinary punishment). Also, the eyewitness must
have a clean character record.
• Some legal school also allows an unmarried woman's pregnancy to
be used as evidence, but the punishment can be averted by a
number of legal "semblances" (shubuhat), such as existence of an
invalid marriage contract.
• Digital records (image or video) can also be used as evidence.
• If the accusation of adultery proven wrong, the accuser will be
punished with 80 lashes.
• There are three methods in which adultery is proven.
• Firstly, confession. The adulterer confesses to his or her crime.
• Secondly, witnesses. If four pious male witnesses have seen the act,
they may testify in court against the adulterers. It must be four, no
less. If say three men found two adulterers, they can try to find a
fourth one to witness as well if the adulterers didn’t notice.
• Thirdly, evidence. Pregnancy in an unmarried woman is proof of
fornication. Pregnancy in a married woman who her husband has
not had relations with is also proof. DNA evidence may be take of
the child and compared to the husband. If it doesn't match, even
after multiple tests, then that is evidence that she has committed
adultery and must be punished for it. Video footage and cameras
are also viable evidence.