Ibn Majah

Benefits and Issues:

➊ Jealousy (ghayrah) is a good quality in a man, but it is not permissible to kill someone because of it. If a man has strong suspicion about his wife's character, he should divorce her.

➋ The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) disliked this question because, in the Prophet’s (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) view, no such incident had occurred. And it is not possible to punish someone merely on the basis of suspicion.

➌ If a man accuses his wife of adultery, the woman should be questioned; if she confesses, she should be stoned (rajm), and in this case, the man will not receive any punishment. Similarly, if four witnesses are presented, then the woman and her guilty partner will both deserve punishment.

➍ If the woman does not admit to the accusation, the man should be told that making an accusation is a crime—repent. If he admits that he made a false accusation, then he will be given the punishment for slander (hadd al-qadhf), which is eighty (80) lashes. And the woman will not receive any punishment.

➎ If the man insists on the truth of his accusation and the woman does not admit, then li'an should be carried out. The method of li'an is mentioned in the next hadith.

➏ By “a child with a bad appearance” is meant a child whose features and resemblance proved the woman’s crime, but even then she was not stoned, because after li'an, neither is the man subjected to the punishment for slander (hadd al-qadhf), nor is the woman subjected to the punishment for adultery.

Hadith Commentary:
➊
If a separate courthouse (dar al-qada) has not been constructed for the adjudication of cases, then sitting in the mosque to deliver judgments has been an ancient practice among Muslims. However, according to Imam Shafi‘i rahimahullah, if a judge happens to do so incidentally, there is no significant harm, but to make it a regular practice is considered undesirable in his view. His reasoning is that among the litigants there may be a menstruating woman (ha’idhah). Therefore, sitting in the mosque to settle their cases is contrary to its sanctity and respect. But Imam Bukhari rahimahullah does not agree with this position; rather, through this chapter heading, he seeks to establish its permissibility. Thus, in the aforementioned hadith, it is mentioned that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam performed li‘an, and li‘an occurs between a wife and husband. Therefore, the ruling for performing li‘an in the mosque and for adjudicating between a man and a woman in the mosque is both understood.

➋
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has mentioned a brief narration at this point. In the Book of Divorce (Kitab al-Talaq), the Book of Tafsir, and other places, this narration will appear in detail through multiple chains, and Imam Bukhari rahimahullah will deduce various rulings from it. Li‘an is when a husband sees another man involved with his wife or attains such certainty through other means, but he does not have valid testimony. In view of the special relationship between husband and wife, the Shari‘ah has specifically permitted that both present their claims before the judge (qadi), each take four oaths against the other, and on the fifth time, invoke a curse upon themselves if they are lying. Then, separation will be effected between them. Its details will be mentioned in the relevant chapters. A detailed discussion regarding the issue under consideration will also come in Kitab al-Ahkam, Hadith 7165, insha’Allah ta‘ala.

It should be noted that when li‘an took place between the wife and husband in the mosque, at that time, Sahal ibn Sa‘d radi Allahu anhu was fifteen years old and was an eyewitness to this event.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Ahkam, Hadith: 7165)