Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Asalaamalaikum,

We have been regular readers of your mails and highly appreciate the beautiful insights of the Holy Quran. It has been very enlightening to us. This is with regard to ''Question No. 116: Why carry out punishments in public?'' The stoning to death of a person committing adultery in public is a Law laid by Allah Subannah.

We would like to enquire what has Allah Subannah said in the Holy Quran for the wife and the children of the man who has committed adultery and has not been given the punishment by the law abiding citizens of the country. What relationship should be shared by the wife and the children with such a person.

Regards,

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

What if Adulterer is not Punished?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

The punishment of the grave sin of committing ‘zina’ will only be given in a Islamic Society that judges according to the Shariah. This is the punishment a righteous Islamic society extracts from a person who transgresses the boundary set by Allah and His Messenger (saws).

But if the person who commits ‘zina’ does not live in an Islamic society, there might be no punishment for him in the life of this world; but if he does not turn to Allah Subhanah in sincere repentance before his appointment of death, he will have a very severe accounting for his evil deed in the Just Court of Allah Subhanah.

Regarding the wife and children of the person who commits adultery, they still remain his wife and children; whether Shariah extracts punishment from him or not in the life of this world.

If the wife feels that her husband was swayed by emotion and committed the evil sin of ‘zina’, and is sincerely repentant and has turned to Allah Subhanah in Taubah; she may choose to be patient and forgive him. Allah will bestow upon her a great reward for her patience.

But if a wife feels that the husband does not fear the Accounting of Allah Subhanah, and is constantly involved in his evil deeds of adultery after being regularly warned, and does not seek forgiveness from Allah Subhanah; the wife is well within her rights to seek a divorce from such an evil person.

The children have no bearing with the evil deeds of their father…. They will remain his children no matter what the father does. They are not to break relationship with their father under any circumstances; and it is their duty that they respect, honor, and obey their father in everything; except if he tells them to worship or associate another god/s with Allah Subhanah; or disobey any command of Allah and His Messenger (saws).

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan