His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And those who accuse their wives and have no witnesses except themselves, the testimony of one of them is four testimonies by Allah that he is indeed one of the truthful. And the fifth (testimony) is that the curse of Allah is upon him if he is among the liars. And it will avert the punishment from her if she testifies four testimonies by Allah that he is indeed one of the liars. And the fifth (testimony) is that the wrath of Allah is upon her if he is among the truthful. And if it were not for the favor of Allah upon you and His mercy, and that Allah is Accepting of Repentance, Wise."

This verse was revealed regarding those who accuse chaste women. Its apparent meaning includes both spouses and others. Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah said: "O Messenger of Allah, if I find with my wife a man, should I wait until I bring four (witnesses)? By Allah, I will strike him with the sword without hesitation." The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "Are you amazed at the jealousy of Sa'd? I am more jealous than him, and Allah is more jealous than me." In the words of Sa'd, there are differing narrations, this is approximately its meaning. Then after that, Hilal ibn Umayyah, the Waqifi, accused his wife of Sharik ibn al-Sahma' al-Balawi. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, intended to impose the punishment for slander on him, so this verse was revealed. At that time, the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, gathered them in the mosque, and they exchanged curses. The woman hesitated at the fifth (testimony) when she was admonished and it was said: "This is obligatory," she said: "I will not expose my people today," and she persisted. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, separated between them, and she gave birth to a boy who was like a beautiful camel. Then after that, the boy became a leader in Egypt while he did not know his father. Also came 'Uwaymir al-'Ajlani, who accused his wife and exchanged curses. It is well-known that the incident of Hilal was prior and that it was the reason for the verse. It is said that the incident of 'Uwaymir was prior, and he was the one who sent to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, 'Asim ibn 'Adi.

And "the spouses" in this ruling includes Muslim women, non-Muslim women, and female slaves. All of them can be cursed by their husbands to deny paternity, and the free woman is specifically responsible for repelling the punishment of slander from herself.

The majority read: "four testimonies" in the accusative, which is the source's construction, and the acting phrase in this is his saying: "the testimony." The nominative of "the testimony" is on the news of the subject, which could be interpreted as: "the ruling" or "the obligation," or on the subject with the interpretation: "they must testify," or by the interpretation of omitting the news and its interpretation at the end of the verse: "sufficient" or "obligatory."

And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "by Allah" is from the connection of "testimonies," and it may be from the connection of "the testimony."

Hamzah, al-Kisai, and Hafs from 'Asim read: "four testimonies" in the nominative, and that is on the news of His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "the testimony." Abu Hatim said: There is no justification for the nominative because the testimony is not "four testimonies." And "by Allah" - on this reading - is from the connection of "testimonies," and it is not permissible for it to be from the connection of "the testimony" because you would separate between the connection and the relative with the news which is "four testimonies."

And His saying, exalted is He: "Indeed, he is among the truthful" in the saying of one who established "four testimonies" may be connected to "testimony," and it is a phrase in the position of being in the accusative because "the testimony" has placed it in the position of the object. As for the one who raised "four testimonies," his saying: "Indeed, he is among the truthful" is connected to "testimonies" due to the reason of the preceding separation in His saying: "By Allah."

And Hafs from Asim read: "and the fifth" in the accusative in the second instance. Talhah ibn Musarif, Abu Abdur-Rahman, Al-Hasan, and Al-Amash also read it in the accusative in both instances. The majority read it in both instances: "and the fifth" in the nominative. As for the one who has read it in the accusative, if his reading of His saying: "four witnesses" is in the accusative, then he has connected "the fifth" to that because it is among the testimonies. And if he reads: "four testimonies" in the nominative, then he has made the accusative of his saying: "and the fifth" dependent on an action indicated by the preceding words, its estimation being: "and the fifth testifies."

As for the one who raised his saying: "and the fifth," if he reads: "four testimonies" in the nominative, then his saying: "and the fifth" is an addition to that. And if he reads "four testimonies" in the accusative, then he has taken his saying: "and the fifth" based on the meaning; because the meaning of his saying: "So the testimony of one of them is four testimonies" is: they have four testimonies, and the fifth. Abu Ali supported this with the poet's saying:

And it is a chain, as for the equal... the house...

Upon his saying:

... except the stagnant embers of them are dust.

Because the meaning is: then stagnant. And there is no disagreement in the raising of His saying, exalted is He: "and the fifth" in the first instance. The disagreement is only in the second instance. Thus, his accusative is based on his saying: "that you testify four," and "and the fifth" is based on the separation and the meaning.

And Nafi' read: "that the curse of Allah" and "that the wrath of Allah," and Al-A'raj, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Abu Rajaa, and Isa read: "that the curse of Allah" and "that the wrath of Allah," and this is based on the implicit command, and it is the softened form as it is in the poet's saying:

In a youth like the swords of India, they have known that all who are barefoot and wear sandals are doomed.

And the remaining seven read: "that the curse of Allah" and "that the wrath of Allah" with the emphasis on the noon in both and the accusative of the curse and the wrath. Al-Akhfash preferred the reading with the emphasis on the noon because the softened form is intended to be emphasized, and the command and the matter are implied with it, and what does not require an implicit command is the first.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

Certainly, and the light reading - according to the recitation of Nafi' - in His saying, the Most High: "that the anger of Allah has come upon him" has the verb following it. Abu Ali said: The people of Arabic find it distasteful for the verb to follow it unless something separates between them, like His saying, the Most High: "He knew that there would be" [Al-Muzzammil: 20], and His saying, the Most High: "Do they not see that they will not return to them a saying" [Ta-Ha: 89]. As for His saying: "And that man has nothing except what he strives for" [An-Najm: 39], that is due to the lack of the ability of "not" in verbs. As for His saying, the Most High: "Blessed is He who is in the fire" [An-Naml: 8], then "blessed" is in the meaning of supplication, so the separation is not permissible lest it spoil the meaning.

And "the punishment that is averted" in the words of the scholars means the limit. Al-Tabari reported from others that it means confinement. This is the saying of the people of opinion, and that there is no limit upon her if she does not invoke the curse, and the husband's saying does not necessitate it.

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

And the apparent meaning of the hadith is the standing in the fifth when she hesitated, then she proceeded in her invocation of the curse that she was to limit it by the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to her: "So the punishment of this world is easier than the punishment of the Hereafter."

And the curse was made for the lying man because he is an accuser who boasts with his words, so he is distanced by the curse. And the anger which is more severe is upon the woman who committed the sin by action, then lied and boasted with her words. This is the meaning of these words, and Allah knows best.

And we must mention in the interpretation of this verse what relates to it from the issues of invoking the curse, as it cannot be dispensed with in knowing its ruling and where it is required. Malik and his companions agreed on the obligation of invoking the curse upon claiming to have seen adultery, not intercourse from the husband. Likewise, this is the famous opinion. And Malik's saying is that invoking the curse is obligatory upon denying a pregnancy claimed before it is established. Al-Lakhmi reported from Malik that he once said: The child is not denied by establishing purity because menstruation comes during pregnancy. This was also said by Ashhab in the book of Ibn al-Mawaz, and it was said by Al-Mughira, who said: The child is not denied except after five years.

And the opinion differs on whether the man can accuse or deny a pregnancy without justifying that by seeing or establishing purity. Most of Malik's narrators hold that this does not necessitate invoking the curse, but the husband is punished. This was said by Ibn al-Qasim, and it was also narrated from him that he said: He invokes the curse and is not asked about anything.

And there was a difference - after this statement regarding invoking the curse by establishing purity - about the extent of the establishment of purity. Malik and Al-Mughira - in one of his sayings - said: One menstruation suffices for that. Malik also said: The child is not denied except after three menstruations.

As for the place of invoking the curse, it is in the mosque and before the judge. It is preferred that it be in the mosque in the presence of the judge, and it is also preferred that it be after the afternoon prayer as a strengthening of the time. And any time is sufficient.

And whoever accuses his wife while she is an adult and does not bear a child, the lian is for raising the limit, and it is for averting punishment. If she is a minor and does not bear a child, the accuser is for repelling the limit, and she does not perform lian because if she admits, nothing is required of her. Ibn al-Majashun said: There is no limit on the accuser of one who has not reached maturity. Al-Lakhmi said: Based on this, there is no lian for the husband of a minor who does not bear a child.

It is recommended from the words of lian that he follows the order of the Qur'an and its wording. The husband should say: 'I bear witness by Allah that I have seen this woman committing adultery, and I am indeed among the truthful in this.' Then he says in the fifth: 'The curse of Allah be upon me if I am among the liars.' Asbagh said: He must say: 'Like the rod in the kohl.' It was said: This is not required of him. Similarly, Ashhab said: He must say: 'By Allah, there is no deity but Him.' As for in the lian of denying the pregnancy, it is said: The man should say: 'This child is not mine, and she has committed adultery.' Ibn al-Qasim said in the comparison: He should not say 'and she has committed adultery' from the perspective that she might become angry. Then he says: 'The anger of Allah be upon me if he is among the truthful.' If their ignorance prevents them from following this order of words and they come with what is in its meaning, that is sufficient.

Al-Lakhmi narrated from Muhammad ibn Abi Safrah that he said: The lian does not lift the marital bond due to the saying of Uwaymir: 'I have lied about her, O Messenger of Allah, if I keep her.' He said: 'Then I will initiate a divorce.' The well-known position is that the very completion of the lian between them is a separation, and there is no need for a judge to separate them. Ibn Abi Safrah is not a number that competes with the majority. The position of al-Shafi'i is that the separation occurs after the husband's lian alone. Abu Hanifah and his companions said: There is no separation except by the judgment of the sultan after the completion of their lian. If one of them dies after the completion of their lian and before the judgment of the judge, the other inherits him. The position of 'al-Mudawwana' is that the lian is a ruling of separation equivalent to the ruling of divorce, and the one who has not been entered upon is given the same dowry. In the summary of Ibn al-Jallab: She has nothing. This is based on the fact that the separation of lian is a nullification. Ibn al-Qasar said: The separation of lian, in our view, is a nullification.

The prohibition of lian is eternal by consensus, as far as I recall from the position of Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, and among the jurists of Kufa and others who do not see it as eternal. If he lies about himself after the lian, he does not benefit from that. It was narrated from Abdul Aziz ibn Abi Salamah that if he lies about himself after the lian, he is among the accusers. If the woman precedes in the lian, Ibn al-Qasim said: She does not repeat. Ashhab said: She repeats.

The answer to His saying, the Exalted: 'And if it were not for the favor of Allah upon you and His mercy,' is omitted. Its estimation is: to expose the adulterers more easily than this, or to punish them from Him, or something similar to these meanings that necessitated the estimation of the ambiguity of the answer.