Surah 24. An-Nur

A SURAH [is this] which We have bestowed from on high, and which We have laid down in plain terms;¹ and in it have We bestowed from on high messages which are clear [in themselves], so that you might keep [them] in mind.

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., "the injunctions whereof We have made self-evident by virtue of their wording": thus, according to Bukhari (Kitab at-Tafsir), ~Abd Allah ibn 'Abbas explains the expression faradnaha in this context (cf. Fath al-Bari VIII, 361). The same explanation, also on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas is advanced by Tabari. It would seem that the special stress on God’s having laid down this surah "in plain terms" is connected with the gravity of the injunctions spelt out in the sequence: in other words, it implies a solemn warning against any attempt at widening or re-defining those injunctions by means of deductions, inferences or any other considerations unconnected with the plain wording of the Qur'an.

This is a Surah which We have revealed and made obligatory; its revelations contain clear verses, so that you may take heed.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

(Here is) a Surah which We have revealed and enjoined, and wherein We have revealed plain tokens, that haply we may take heed.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AS FOR the adulteress and the adulterer² - flog each of them with a hundred stripes, and let not com-passion with them keep you from [carrying out] this law of God, if you [truly] believe in God and the Last Day; and let a group of the believers witness their chastisement³

  - Mohammad Asad

The term zina signifies voluntary sexual intercourse between a man and a woman not married to one another, irrespective of whether one or both of them are married to other persons or not: hence, it does not - in contrast with the usage prevalent in most Western languages - differentiate between the concepts of "adultery" (i.e., sexual intercourse of a married man with a woman other than his wife, or of a married woman with a man other than her husband) and "fornication" (i.e., sexual intercourse between two unmarried persons). For the sake of simplicity I am rendering zina throughout as "adultery", and the person guilty of it as "adulterer" or "adulteress", respectively.

The number of those to be present has been deliberately left unspecified, thus indicating that while the punishment must be given publicity, it need not be made a "public spectacle".

As for the fornicatoress and the fornicator (a female and a male guilty of rape), flog each female and a male guilty of rape one hundred lashes and do not take pity in enforcing the law ordained by Allah, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day, and let a party of the believers witness their punishment.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

The adulterer and the adulteress, scourge ye each one of them (with) a hundred stripes. And let not pity for the twain withhold you from obedience to Allah, if ye believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let a party of believers witness their punishment.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[Both are equally guilty:] the adulterer couples with none other than an adulteress - that is, a woman who accords [to her own lust] a place side by side with God;⁴ and with the adulteress couples none other than an adulterer-that is, a man who accords [to his own lust] a place side by side with God: and this is forbidden unto the believers.⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

The term mushrik (fem. mushrikah), which normally signifies a person who associates in his or her mind all manner of imaginary deities or forces with God, or who believes that any created being has a share in His qualities or powers, is here evidently used in the widest metaphorical sense of this term, denoting one who accords to his or her desires a supremacy which is due to God alone, and thus blasphemes against the principles of ethics and morality enjoined by Him. The particle aw (lit., "or") which connects the word mushrikah with the preceding word zaniyah ("adulteress") has in this context - as well as in the next clause, where both these terms appear in their masculine form - an amplifying, explanatory value equivalent to the expression "in other words" or "that is", similar to the use of this particle in 23:6 . For a further elucidation of the above passage, see next note.

Some of the commentators understand this passage in the sense of an injunction: "The adulterer shall not marry any but an adulteress or a mushrikah; and as for the adulteress, none shall marry her but an adulterer or a mushrik." This interpretation is objectionable on several counts: firstly, the Qur'an does not ever countenance the marriage of a believer, however great a sin he or she may have committed, with an unbeliever (in the most pejorative sense of this term) secondly, it is a fundamental principle of Islamic Law that once a crime has been expiated by the transgressor's undergoing the ordained legal punishment (in this case, a hundred stripes), it must be regarded, insofar as the society is concerned, as atoned for and done with; and, lastly, the construction of the above passage is clearly that of a statement of fact (Razi), and cannot be interpreted as an injunction. On the other hand, since adultery is an illicit sexual union, the verb yankihu, which appears twice in this passage, cannot have the customary, specific meaning of "he marries" but must, rather, be understood in its general sense - applicable to both lawful and unlawful sexual intercourse - namely, "he couples with". It is in this sense that the great commentator Abu Muslim (as quoted by Razi) explains the above verse, which stresses the fact that both partners are equally guilty inasmuch as they commit their sin consciously - implying that neither of them can excuse himself or herself on the ground of having been merely "seduced".

The fornicator shall not marry any but a fornicatoress or a mushrik, and likewise to a fornicatoress, none shall marry her but a fornicator or a mushrik: such marriages are forbidden to the believers.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

The adulterer shall not marry save an adulteress or an idolatress, and the adulteress none shall marry save an adulterer or an idolater. All that is forbidden unto believers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And as for those who accuse chaste women [of adultery],⁶ and then are unable to produce four wit-nesses [in support of their accusation], flog them with eiphty stripes;⁷ and ever after refuse to accept from them any testimony-since it is they, they that are truly depraved"-

  - Mohammad Asad

The term muhsanat denotes literally "women who are fortified [against unchastity]", i.e., by marriage and or faith and self-respect, implying that, from a legal point of view, every woman must be considered chaste unless a conclusive proof to the contrary is produced. (This passage relates to women other than the accuser's own wife, for in the latter case - as shown in verses {6-9} - the law of evidence and the consequences are different.

By obvious implication, this injunction applies also to cases where a woman accuses a man of illicit sexual intercourse, and is subsequently unable to prove her accusation legally. The severity of the punishment to be meted out in such cases, as well as the requirement of four witnesses - instead of the two that Islamic Law regards as sufficient in all other criminal and civil suits - is based on the imperative necessity of preventing slander and off-hand accusations. As laid down in several authentic sayings of the Prophet, the evidence of the four witnesses must be direct, and not merely circumstantial: in other words, it is not sufficient for them to have witnessed a situation which made it evident that sexual intercourse was taking or had taken place: they must have witnessed the sexual act as such, and must be able to prove this to the entire satisfaction of the judicial authority (Razi, summing up the views of the greatest exponents of Islamic Law). Since such a complete evidence is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to obtain, it is obvious that the purpose of the above Qur'anic injunction is to preclude, in practice, all third-party accusations relating to illicit sexual intercourse - for, "man has been created weak" ({4: 28}) - and to make a proof of adultery dependent on a voluntary, faith-inspired confession of the guilty parties themselves.

Those who accuse a chaste woman of fornication and do not produce four witnesses to support their allegation, shall be flogged with eighty lashes and their testimony shall not be accepted ever after, for they are the ones who are wicked transgressors

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And those who accuse honorable women but bring not four witnesses, scourge them (with) eighty stripes and never (afterward) accept their testimony--They indeed are evildoers--

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

excepting [from this interdict] only those who afterwards repent and made amends:⁸ for, behold, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., who publicly withdraw their accusation after having suffered the punishment of flogging - which, being a legal right of the wrongly accused person, cannot be obviated by mere repentance and admission of guilt. Thus, the above-mentioned exemption relates only to the interdict on giving testimony and not to the punishment by flogging.

- except those who repent thereafter and mend their conduct; for Allah is surely Forgiving, Merciful.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Save those who afterward repent and make amends. (For such) lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall