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:

assalamualiakum to one and all! first of all, i must say what a great website this is for all; muslims and non-muslims alike- to understand islam better and pose questions. my question is about a recent happening in Pakistan that truly sickened me ..... a woman accused her brother-in-law of raping her.now, instead of the man being convicted of rape, the woman was jailed and set to die by stoning for commiting adultry. they would not accept her accusations because she did not have the aliby of four male witnessess. what kingd of justice is this? in this sense, how can ignorant muslims take the word of the quran so literaly that they do not realise what they are doing is wrong? is there any way that this so called rule be bended? thank you so much for answering this! 

(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:

Women raped and sentenced for zina

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.

Beloved Sister, we are aware of this case, as this was well publicized in the local media. Obviously, we only know what has been said in the media, and thus our comments and opinions can only be based on the evidence presented by the media. Allah Alone knows what exactly transpired.

Allah and His Messenger (saws) have decreed capital punishment for the heinous sin of adultery; and thus have kept very strict conditions for one to prove or prosecute someone for adultery:

Four honorable and righteous witnesses who actually eye-witnessed the actual act of adultery (not heresay, not circumstantial evidence, but the actual act of insertion of the male organ into the female organ!)

or, self-confession.

If one of the above two are not available, the Judge cannot sentence the people for the crime of adultery!

Thus, from the evidence available in the quoted case in Pakistan, it is evident that the Judge, for reasons best known to him and Allah, has severely erred!

If a woman claims she was raped, there will be no punishment on her in Shariah. If the woman claims she was raped by so and so, then she will have to produce the four witnesses to prove her claim that so and so raped her for the man to receive the prescribed punishment. If she is unable to produce the witnesses and if the man does not confess to his sin himself; only on her accusation, the man will not be punished; but rather the woman will be punished for ‘slander’ because she could not prove her accusation.

In the above case, where the woman claimed she was raped by her brother-in-law, but was unable to produce four witnesses, or a self-confession by the brother-in-law; the maximum the Judge should have done was to prescribe the punishment for ‘kazaf’ or slander, ie. 80 lashes in public, for the woman.

But for the Judge in Pakistan to prescribe the sentence of ‘zina’ on the woman, who claimed that she was raped, is definitely an error on part of the Judge! If she accused someone of raping her, then she will have to prove it by providing four witnesses, or a self confession by the rapist. In such a case, the Judge will sentence the man for adultery, and the woman will be blameless. But if the woman cannot produce the evidence, then the Judge will have to hold the man innocent, and the maximum he can do is sentence the woman for the crime of ‘kazaf’ or slander, which is 80 lashes. In Shariah, under no circumstances can a Judge prescribe the punishment for adultery on a woman who claims she was raped!

The above are all the scenarios in the life of this world; in the life of the Hereafter the Absolute Truth will be presented, and only The Absolute Justice will prevail.

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