Muslim scholars have historically considered
zinā a
hudud sin, or crime against God. It is mentioned in both Quran and in the
Hadiths.
Introduction and definition The Quran deals with
zinaʾ in several places. First is the Qur'anic general rule that commands
Muslims not to commit
zina: In the
Hadiths, the definitions of
zina have been described as all the forms of
sexual intercourse, penetrative or non-penetrative, outside of marriage. However, sex between a man and his female slave was not defined as extramarital sex; a man having the right to sexual intercourse with his own
female slave.
Adultery and fornication Quran Stoning punishment, a form of capital punishment for adultery, is not mentioned in the canonical text of the Quran. Most of the rules related to fornication, adultery and false accusations from a husband to his wife or from members of the community to chaste women can be found in Surah an-Nur (the Light). The
surah starts by giving very specific rules about punishment for
zina: According to
Jonathan A.C. Brown, Surah an-Nisa verse 4:25 prescribes punishment for a female slave guilty of a sexual offense as half of the punishment of a free woman:
Hadith The public lashing punishment for fornication and adultery are also prescribed in
Hadiths, the books most trusted in Islam after Quran, particularly in
Kitab Al-Hudud.
Hadith Sahih al Bukhari, another authentic source of sunnah, has several entries which refer to death by
stoning. For example, Other
hadith collections on
zina between men and woman include: • The stoning (
Rajm) of a Jewish man and woman for having committed illegal sexual intercourse. •
Abu Hurairah states 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. (Sahih Muslim 17:4209)
Rape Rape has been defined as
zina al-jabr (forceful illicit sex) in the traditional Islamic texts. Few
hadiths have been found regarding rape in the time of Muhammad. The most popular transmitted hadith given below indicates the ordinance of stoning for the rapist but no punishment and no requirement of four eyewitnesses for the rape victim. The hadiths declare rape of a free or slave woman as
zina. However, despite the power imbalance between a master and his slave, making it impossible for a slave to give true consent, sex between a man and his female slave was not define as rape nor as zina; a man having the right to sexual intercourse with his own
female slave.
View of scholars If a confession or the four witnesses required to prove a
hadd crime are not available, but rape can be proved by other means, the rapist is sentenced under the ''
ta'zir'' system of judicial discretion. According to the eleventh-century Maliki jurist
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr: Some Quranic verses are used to propose a prohibition of homosexual activities, including: In another verse, the statement of the prophet Lot has also been pointed out, Some scholars indicate this verse as the prescribed punishment for homosexuality in the Quran: However, there are different interpretations of the last verse where the Quran refers to as "two among you". Pakistani scholar
Javed Ahmed Ghamidi sees it as a reference to premarital sexual relationships between men and women. In his opinion, the preceding Ayat of Sura Nisa deals with prostitutes of the time. He believes these rulings were temporary and were abrogated later when a functioning state was established and society was ready for permanent rulings, which came in Sura Nur, Ayat 2 and 3, prescribing flogging as a punishment for adultery. He does not see stoning as a prescribed punishment, even for married men, and considers the Hadiths quoted supporting that view to be dealing with either rape or prostitution, where the strictest punishment under Islam for spreading "fasad fil ardh", meaning corruption in the land, referring to egregious acts of defiance to the rule of law was carried out. Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali jurists insist that anal sex between men is a
hudud crime punished with death, however Hanafi jurists argue that the act is immoral and forbidden but does not qualify as a
hudud violation. The Hadiths consider homosexuality as
zina. For example, Abu Dawud state, The discourse on homosexuality in Islam is primarily concerned with activities between men. There are, however, a few hadith mentioning homosexual behavior in women; The jurists are agreed that "there is no hadd punishment for lesbianism, because it is not zina. Rather a ta’zeer punishment must be imposed, because it is a sin..'". Although punishment for lesbianism is rarely mentioned in the histories,
al-Tabari records an example of the casual execution of a pair of lesbian slavegirls in the
harem of
al-Hadi, in a collection of highly critical anecdotes pertaining to that
Caliph's actions as ruler. Some jurists viewed sexual intercourse as possible only for an individual who possesses a
phallus; In contrast, according to Twelver Shia Muslim jurists, anal sex is considered
makruh (strongly disliked) but is permissible with the consent of the wife. Many scholars point to the story of
Lot in the Quran as an example of sodomy being an egregious sin. However, multiple others hold the view that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was not specifically due to the sodomy practiced in those towns but as a combination of multiple transgressions. The death by stoning for people of Sodom and Gomorrah is similar to the stoning punishment stipulated for illegal heterosexual sex. There is no punishment for a man who sodomizes a woman because it is not tied to procreation. However, other jurists insist that any act of lust in which the result is the injection of semen into another person constitutes sexual intercourse. Sodomy often falls under that same category as sex between an unmarried man and woman engaging in sexual acts. Male-male intercourse is referred to as
liwat while female-female intercourse is referred to as
sihaq. Both are considered reprehensible acts, but there is no consensus on punishment for either. Some jurists define
zināʾ exclusively as the act of unlawful vaginal penetration, hence categorizing and punishing anal penetration in different ways. Other jurists included both vaginal and anal penetration within the definition of
zināʾ and hence extended the punishment of the one to the other. Religious discourse has mostly focused on such sexual acts, which are unambiguously condemned. The Quran refers explicitly to male-male sexual relations only in the context of the story of Lot, but labels the Sodomites's actions (universally understood in the later tradition as anal intercourse) an "abomination" (female-female relations are not addressed). Reported pronouncements by Muhammad (
hadith) reinforce the interdiction on male-male sodomy, although there are no reports of his ever adjudicating an actual case of such an offence; he is also quoted as condemning cross-gender behaviour for both sexes and banishing them from local places, but it is unclear to what extent this is to be understood as involving sexual relations. Several early caliphs, confronted with cases of sodomy between males, are said to have had both partners executed by a variety of means. While taking such precedents into account, medieval jurists were unable to achieve a consensus on this issue; some legal schools prescribed capital punishment for sodomy, but others opted only for a relatively mild discretionary punishment. There was general agreement, however, that other homosexual acts (including any between females) were lesser offences, subject only to discretionary punishment.
Incest Hadith forbids incestuous relationship (''zinā bi'l-mahārim
), sexual intercourse between someone who is seen as your mahram and prescribes execution as punishment. A few hadiths'' underline this view.
Muhammad is reported to have said that "it is your fluid, or your member, so do whatever you like, as it were." To prohibit masturbation, scholars (ulama) of
fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) may have invoked the Qur'anic proclamation (Quran 23:1–6) that Muslims must protect their sexual organs, except from their legal spouses (
azwājihim) or what their right hands own. The
Mālikīs jurists follow suit and seem to categorically prohibit masturbation. Abū Bakr b. al-ʿArabī goes as far as to demonize this practise, stating that it was introduced by
šayṭān (devil). The
Shafi'i school agree with the Mālikīs, and some of them consider masturbation a lesser form of
zinā. The founder
al-Shafi'i argued that this encourages men to neglect their wives and may cause the termination of family lineage. The
Ḥanafīs have mixed opinions. Most of them are rather critical about, but generally allow for unmarried people and even obligatory if the alternative is illicit sex. Similarly, diverse are opinions among the
Ḥanbalīs.
Ibn Taimiyya's statement, a proto-Salaf Hanbalite scholar, states that the consensus of early and later jurists (salafan wa-ḫalafan) was to categorically prohibit masturbation, is clearly an overstatement. Due to a lack of concern about masturbation from Quran and
hadiths, Ḥanbalīs generally disliked (
makrūh), but did not forbid masturbation. However, if one couldn't find a spouse, one would be encouraged to masturbate. Those who didn't adhere to any of these four major schools are often going into more detail.
Ibn Ḥazm explains that "a woman who rubs something against herself (without inserting it) until she climaxes is not guilty of sin; the same is true of a man who masturbates. No scholar, he points out, disagrees that it is perfectly lawful for a person to touch their sex organ (specifying the use of the left hand for men), and since no scriptural text explicitly prohibits masturbation, it must be lawful". However, he adds that it is not appropriate for civilized people to do this.
Bestiality According to the hadith, bestiality is defined under
zina and its punishment is execution of the accused person along with the animal. ==Inclusions in the definition==