In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, and may blessings and peace be upon the noblest of the prophets and messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon all his family and companions.
This is a summary of what was presented in this part of the explanation of Imam al-Shafi’i’s al-Risala, focusing on the important points and clarifications.
Chapter on the obligations whose text Allah revealed:
- The concepts of obligation and explicit text:
- Obligation (faridah): what Allah commanded in His Book, or His Messenger ﷺ commanded in his Sunnah, as a decisive command.
- Explicit text (nass): wording whose meaning is clear and does not require mental effort to understand, such as the verse “for the male, what is equal to the share of two females” (Al-Nisa 4:11).
- The aim of this chapter: to present some examples of rulings established by clear Qur’anic texts.
- The punishment for false accusation (hadd al-qadhf):
- The verse “And those who accuse chaste women and then do not produce four witnesses - lash them with eighty lashes and do not accept from them testimony ever after. And those are the defiantly disobedient” (Al-Nur 24:4) is cited as the evidence for the punishment for false accusation.
- Conditions for carrying out the punishment for false accusation: that the accusation be against muhsanat (adult, free, chaste women), and that the accuser not produce four upright witnesses.
- The qualities of the witnesses: uprightness (‘adalah), meaning acting in obedience to Allah and avoiding open sins and innovations that affect the religion.
- The penalties resulting from false accusation: eighty lashes, rejection of testimony, and being described as defiantly disobedient (fasiq).
- The aim of this ruling: protecting the honor of Muslim women and deterring slanderers.
- The importance of guarding the tongue and avoiding false accusation.
- Mutual imprecation (li’an):
- The revelation of the verses of li’an: “And those who accuse their wives [of adultery] and have no witnesses except themselves - then the witness of one of them [shall be] four testimonies [swearing] by Allah that indeed, he is of the truthful,” followed by the fifth oath invoking Allah’s curse upon himself if he is lying, and the wife’s averting the punishment from herself by four testimonies that he is lying and a fifth invoking Allah’s wrath upon herself if he is truthful (Al-Nur 24:6–9).
- The occasion of revelation of the verses of li’an: the story of Hilal ibn Umayyah with his wife and Sharik ibn Sahma’.
- Why is “the wrath of Allah be upon her” said regarding the woman, and not “the curse of Allah be upon her,” as regarding the man? Because it is hard for a man to accuse his wife of unlawful intercourse unless he is certain of it, so she would be denying what she knows, and she thereby deserves the wrath of Allah.
- The difference between the ruling on a husband who accuses and anyone else: the husband resorts to li’an, while anyone other than the husband is required to produce four witnesses or be flogged eighty lashes.
- There is no fixed formula for li’an; rather, the basis is testifying four times, with the fifth by the curse or the wrath.
- It is recommended to admonish the spouses before proceeding to the fifth.
- Rulings resulting from li’an: permanent separation between the spouses, negation of the child’s lineage from the husband, and the dower is not returned to the husband.
- The hadith “The child belongs to the bed, and for the adulterer is the stone.”
- A discussion of relying on genetic testing (DNA fingerprinting) to establish lineage, explaining that it is not permissible to rely on it as conclusive proof because of the possibility of error or manipulation.
- The story of the two women who disputed over a child, and the judgment of the prophets Dawud and Sulayman, peace be upon them.
- Circumstantial indications (qara’in) are not taken into account in li’an; reliance is on li’an alone. Outside li’an, however, circumstantial indications are taken into account, such as the smell of wine on the mouth of the drunkard, or the appearance of pregnancy in an unmarried woman.
- The story of the hypocrites, and the Prophet’s ﷺ judging them by their outward state despite his knowledge of their inner state.
- Rulers must stop where the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stopped in rulings, and must not invent new rulings.
Some important benefits:
- An explanation of the concepts of obligation and explicit text.
- The conditions for carrying out the punishment for false accusation.
- The occasion of revelation of the verses of li’an and its rulings.
- The difference between the ruling on a husband who accuses and anyone else.
- It is not permissible to rely on genetic testing as conclusive proof in establishing lineage.
- Circumstantial indications are taken into account outside li’an.
- The obligation to judge by outward appearances and leave inner secrets to Allah.
We ask Allah the Exalted for acceptance and ease.
All parts of Summary of the Explanation of al-Risala by Shaykh Dr. Ahmad al-Naqeeb