'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'

Tafsir of Surah An-Nur

This surah is entirely Medinan.

His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿A surah We have sent down and prescribed, and We have sent down in it clear verses so that you may remember﴾ ﴿The adulteress and the adulterer, lash each one of them with a hundred lashes, and let not pity withhold you in their case in a punishment prescribed by Allah if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let a group of the believers witness their punishment﴾.

The majority read: "A surah" in the nominative, while 'Isa ibn 'Umar and Mujahid read: "A surah" in the accusative. This was also narrated from 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-Aziz and Abu Darda. The reason for the nominative is that it is the news of an implied beginning, which can be understood as: This is a surah, or it is a beginning and its news is presented, which can be understood as: In what is recited to you. It is possible that his saying: "A surah" is a beginning, and what follows it is a description of it, which removes it from being an absolute indefinite noun. Thus, the beginning is appropriate for that, and the news is in His saying, exalted is He: ﴿The adulteress and the adulterer﴾ and in what follows that. The meaning is: the surah that is sent down and prescribed as such and such; for the surah consists of verses that are arranged with a beginning and an end. However, this saying may be subject to the fact that the beginning as the news is not clear unless the news is estimated in the surah as a whole, and this is far-fetched in analogy.

And the reason for the accusative is the implied action that some of them estimated as: Recite a surah, or something like that. Some of them made it: We have sent down a surah that We have sent down. Al-Farra' said: It is a state of the "he" and the "alif"; the state of the implied can precede it.

The majority of the people read: "And We have prescribed it" with the lightening of the letter 'ra', and its meaning is affirmation and obligation in the most eloquent of ways, as it is likened to a duty in obligation. Mujahid and others, and Abu 'Amr, and Ibn Kathir, and 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-Aziz, may Allah be pleased with him, and Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, read: "And We have made it a duty" with the strengthening of the letter 'ra', and its meaning is: We have made it obligatory. From where it was repeated, it weakened the action for emphasis and abundance. Al-A'mash read: "And We have prescribed it for you", and Al-Zahrawi reported from some scholars that he said: Everything in the surah of command and prohibition is obligatory.

And "the clear verses": their examples, admonitions, and rulings. Al-Zahrawi said: The meaning is: There is nothing problematic in it; its interpretation is in agreement with its apparent meaning.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And this is an imposition.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿So that you may remember﴾ means: based on the expectation of humanity and their hope.

And the majority of the people read: "the female fornicator" with a nominative case, while 'Isa al-Thaqafi read: "the female fornicator" with an accusative case. This is one of the aspects according to Sibawayh because it is like saying: "I struck Zayd." The nominative case, according to him, indicates that it is an initial statement. Its estimation is: "the female fornicator and the male fornicator are recited to you." The people have unanimously agreed on the nominative case, even though the analogy according to Sibawayh is the accusative. As for al-Farra, al-Mubarrid, and al-Zajjaj, they hold that the nominative is the more preferable. The report in His saying, the Exalted, is: "So lash them," because the meaning is: "Indeed, the female fornicator and the male fornicator are to be lashed by the command of Allah, glorified and exalted is He." This is a good statement. It is the saying of most grammarians, and if you wish, you may estimate the report as: "They should be lashed." Ibn Mas'ud read: "and the fornicator" without a 'ya.' The female fornicator was mentioned first in the wording because, at that time, the fornication of women was more widespread. The slave women of the Arabs and the prostitutes of that time had banners, and they were openly engaging in that. The disgrace concerning women is more severe since their place is in seclusion and protection. Thus, their mention was prioritized for emphasis and concern. The definite article in His saying: "the female fornicator and the male fornicator" is for the general category, which indicates that it is general for all fornicators. This verse is unanimously abrogating the verse of confinement and the verse of harm that are in Surah An-Nisa. The majority of scholars agree on the generality of this verse and that the ruling for the chaste has been abrogated by it. They disagreed on what abrogated it. One group said: The abrogator is the mutawatir Sunnah regarding stoning. Another group said: Rather, it is the Quran, whose wording has been raised while its ruling remains. This is what 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, recited on the pulpit in the presence of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them: "The elderly man and the elderly woman, if they commit fornication, stone them both absolutely." He said: "Indeed, we recited it in the Book of Allah, the Exalted." Everyone agreed that its wording was raised while its ruling remains. Al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan and Ibn Rahawayh said: There is no abrogation in this verse, but the Sunnah of stoning came with an addition. Thus, the chaste—according to the view of this group—should be lashed and then stoned. This is the saying of Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, and he did it explicitly. Their evidence is the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "The married person with the married person is to be lashed one hundred times and stoned." They respond to them with the action of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, where he stoned and did not lash. The majority of the Ummah has said that his action is like his saying: He lifted the lashing from the chaste. Ibn Salam and others said: This verse is specifically for the unmarried. The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Because if there remains of this ruling except for the unmarried, they have used as evidence the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "The unmarried person with the unmarried person is to be lashed one hundred times and exiled for a year," and his saying: "For your son, the punishment is one hundred lashes." They have used as evidence that it is not general due to the exclusion of slave women and others from it. Much of this meaning has been elaborated upon in Surah An-Nisa.

The skin is present and the one being struck is seated with Malik. It is not permissible with him except on the back. The people of opinion and al-Shafi'i see that a man should be struck while standing. This is the saying of Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him. The beating should be distributed over all the limbs. Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, indicated striking at the legs of a female slave whom he flogged for adultery. The consensus is on exposing the face, the private parts, and the vital areas. The saying of Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, is preferred by the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: 'Or a punishment on your back.' And the saying of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him: 'Or I will surely strike your back.' The man is to be stripped according to Malik, al-Nakha'i, Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, Ibn Mas'ud, Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, al-Hasan, al-Sha'bi, and others. They see that he should be struck while wearing a shirt. This is the saying of Uthman and Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with them both. As for the woman, she covers herself according to one saying.

The majority read: 'ra'fa' with a silent hamzah on the pattern of fa'lah. Ibn Kathir read: 'ra'fa' on the pattern of fa'lah with a fatha on the 'ain. Al-Asim also read: 'ra'fa' on the pattern of fa'al, like sama'ah and ka'abah. These are the sources I mention first, from 'ra'uf' when he softens and has mercy. The majority read: 'ta'khudhukum' with a ta from above. Abu Abdur-Rahman read: 'ya'khudhukum' with a ya from below.

People differed regarding the forbidden ra'fa. What is it? Abu Mijlaz, Lahik ibn Hamid, Mujahid, Ikrimah, and Ata said it is in dropping the punishment, meaning: impose it without fail. This is the interpretation of Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, Ibn Jubair, and others. Their opinion is that the punishment for adultery, slander, and wine is in one manner. Qatadah, Ibn al-Musayyib, and others said that the forbidden ra'fa is in lightening the beating for adultery. Their opinion is that the beating for wine and slander should be lightened while the beating for adultery should be intensified. Suleiman ibn Yasar said: Ra'fa is forbidden in both cases. Abu Mijlaz said: We will certainly stone the one subject to punishment, but we do not drop the punishment. 'And the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, regarding the whip: 'Less than this' is a type of ra'fa. Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: Strike and do not reveal your armpit. People agreed that the beating is with a whip between two whips. Al-Zuhri said: The beating for adultery and slander is intensified because they are of one meaning, and the beating for wine is lightened. His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'in the religion of Allah' means: in violating the religion of Allah, that is: by His law. It is possible that the religion here means the ruling.

Then they confirmed it with the meaning of affirmation and encouragement by His saying: 'If you believe in Allah.' This is like saying to a man you encourage: 'If you are a man, do such and such,' meaning: these are the actions of men.

'And His saying, exalted is He: "And let a group of the believers witness their punishment". The aim of the verse is to be severe towards the adulterers and to reprimand them in the presence of the people. There is no disagreement that the larger the group, the more suitable they are to comply with the command. The people have differed regarding the minimum number that suffices. Al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan said: There must be the presence of ten. He said: This number is a contract outside of the individual cases and is the least number of a group. Ibn Zayd and others said: There must be the presence of four. They viewed that the testimony of adultery is likewise and that this is a category of it. Az-Zuhri said: A group is three or more. Al-Ata and Ikrimah said: There must be two. This is the well-known opinion of Malik. He viewed it as a place of testimony. Mujahid said: One is sufficient and is called a group. This was also said by Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them. They supported it with His saying, exalted is He: "So let a group from every division of them go forth to gain understanding in religion" [At-Tawbah: 122], and His saying: "And if two groups of the believers should fight" [Al-Hujurat: 9], which was revealed regarding the fighting of two men.

The scholars have differed regarding exile. Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, exiled to Fadak, and this is the opinion of Umar, Uthman, Ali, Abu Dharr, Ibn Mas'ud, and Ubayy ibn Ka'b, may Allah be pleased with them. However, Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, after he exiled a man who then joined the Romans, said: I will not exile anyone after that. And there are two sayings from Malik regarding it, and he does not see the exile of women and slaves. He argued with his saying, blessings and peace be upon him: "A woman should not travel a day's journey except with a mahram." Among those who completely rejected exile are the people of opinion. Al-Shafi'i said: The unmarried person is to be exiled, whether male or female. And Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, exiled a woman to Basrah.