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One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalamu-a-likum brother...

My question to is- Please explain to me clearly the verses 3,4 and 5 of the sura An-nur(24th)... I would be very thankful to you if u would please provide me with the clear explanations.. Jazakallah... i really appreciate the work u r doin and hope allah would provide u the highest palace in akhirat

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Answer:

Punishment for fornication zina surah noor

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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 24 Surah Noor verses 3-5:

3 Let no man guilty of ‘zina’ (adultery or fornication) marry any but a woman similarly guilty or a disbeliever; nor let any but such a man or a disbeliever marry such a woman: to the believers such a thing is forbidden.

4 And those who launch a charge against chaste women and produce not four witnesses (to support their allegation) flog them with eighty stripes: and reject their evidence ever after: for such men are wicked transgressors

5 Unless they repent thereafter and mend (their conduct): for Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful.

Meaning Verse-3: Let no man guilty of ‘zina’ (adultery or fornication) marry any……

The commission of ‘zina’ is an absolute abomination in the Sight of Allah Subhanah, and the Lord Most Majestic guides the believers to treat this evil act of ‘zina’ as an abomination!

Such is the abomination of ‘zina’ in the Sight of the Lord Most Majestic, that He absolutely forbids the believers to seek to marry spouses who are known to be immoral or unchaste. An immoral or unchaste woman is a fit match only for an immoral and an unchaste man, or a disbeliever; and similarly, an immoral and unchaste man is a fit match only for an immoral or an unchaste woman, or a disbeliever……it simply does not behove or befit a believer who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day to seek to marry a spouse who is known to be or is proven guilty of the abomination of ‘zina’!

The absolute majority of the scholars and the jurists in Islam are of the opinion that this restriction and prohibition of seeking to marry one who is immoral or unchaste applies only to those men and women who persist in their evil ways, not to those who sincerely repent and amend their conduct, for sincere repentance in Islam indeed wipes out and obliterates one’s past evil deeds.

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2357 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "He who repents of a sin is like him who has committed no sin."

Meaning Verse 4: And those who launch a charge against chaste women and produce not four witnesses…..

One person describes another person’s affairs (true or false) before others, and the others pass on this information to still others invariably with one’s own additions and variations….thus causing the filth which was once a secret and in one place to all of society. This Shariah Law intends to stop the spread of this evil gossip and/or slander!

Even if one is an actual eye-witness to another’s crime of ‘zina’, one has absolutely no right to start accusing or launch or publicize the charge of ‘zina’ against them….unless and until the person can produce four eye-witnesses who actually witnessed the abomination.

If any person in society accuses a chaste woman of being immoral or an adulteress, and is unable to bring forth four reliable eye-witnesses to back up his charge in a court of law, absolutely regardless of whether or not the accusation is true or false….the one who makes the accusation but is unable to bring forth four witnesses, will be guilty of ‘qazf’ and the Shariah Court will prescribe that he be flogged eighty lashes for his unsubstantiated allegation against a chaste believer!....and this person will be forbidden to bear witness ever again in a Shariah Court of Law.

Meaning Verse-5: Unless they repent thereafter and mend (their conduct)…..

The majority of the scholars and jurists in Islam are of the opinion that if one accuses a chaste woman of being immoral and is unable to substantiate his accusation in a court of Shariah Law by bringing forth four witnesses…..his sincere repentance will relieve him of his sin in the Sight of Allah Subhanah, but his repentance will not be able to relieve him of his crime of ‘qazf’ or unsubstantiated accusation against a chaste woman in a court of law in this world and the person will thus be prescribed eighty lashes by the Judge for his ‘qazf’ in accordance with Shariah Law.

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

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan