سُوْرَةُ النِّسَآءِ
Surah An-Nisaa (4) — Ayah 16
وَٱلَّذَانِ يَأْتِيَـٰنِهَا مِنكُمْ فَـَٔاذُوهُمَا ۖ فَإِن تَابَا وَأَصْلَحَا فَأَعْرِضُوا۟ عَنْهُمَآ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ تَوَّابًا رَّحِيمًا ﴿16﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And the two persons (man and woman) among you who commit illegal sexual intercourse, hurt them both. And if they repent (promise Allâh that they will never repeat, i.e. commit illegal sexual intercourse and other similar sins) and do righteous good deeds, leave them alone. Surely, Allâh is Ever All-Forgiving (the One Who forgives and accepts repentance), (and He is) Most Merciful.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَٱلَّذَانِ
wa-alladhāni
And the two who
يَأْتِيَـٰنِهَا
yatiyānihā
commit it
مِنكُمْ
minkum
among you
فَـَٔاذُوهُمَا ۖ
faādhūhumā
then punish both of them
فَإِن
fa-in
But if
تَابَا
tābā
they repent
وَأَصْلَحَا
wa-aṣlaḥā
and correct themselves
فَأَعْرِضُوا۟
fa-aʿriḍū
then turn away
عَنْهُمَآ ۗ
ʿanhumā
from both of them
إِنَّ
inna
Indeed
ٱللَّهَ
l-laha
Allah
كَانَ
kāna
is
تَوَّابًۭا
tawwāban
Oft-Forgiving
رَّحِيمًا
raḥīman
Most-Merciful
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
And those among you who commit this act—whether men or women [28]—inflict harm upon them. But if they repent and reform, then leave them alone [29]. Surely, Allah is Most Accepting of repentance and Most Merciful.
[28] In this verse, the word ﴿والذان﴾ has been used, meaning whether it is a man and a woman committing adultery, or both are men and commit sodomy. This word accommodates both situations. So, the initial punishment for such men, or such a man and woman, was that they should be beaten, rebuked, and humiliated. Thus, this was the punishment for both the adulterous man and woman, and for the woman, there was the additional punishment that she should be confined to the house for life. And regarding the other punishment that Allah Almighty hinted at prescribing, consider the following hadith:
The Punishment of Rajm (Stoning):
It is narrated from Sayyiduna ‘Ubada bin Samit ؓ that one day revelation descended upon the Prophet ﷺ, and when the state of revelation ended, he said: Learn (Allah’s command) from me. Allah has prescribed a punishment for such women. If a married man and a married woman commit adultery, they should be given one hundred lashes, then stoned to death, and if an unmarried man and an unmarried woman commit adultery, then for them, it is one hundred lashes and one year of exile.
[مسلم، کتاب الحدود۔ باب حد الزنا]
Then, after this command, the punishment for the adulterous man and woman was prescribed in Surah An-Nur. This discussion will come in detail in Surah An-Nur. In the above verses, some people have taken the meaning of "wal-lati" not as man and woman, but as both women, who gratify themselves with each other (which is called "sihaq" in Arabic). For such two women, the punishment is permanent confinement, i.e., such women should be kept under strict supervision in the house. And this is not a hadd (fixed punishment), but a ta'zir (discretionary punishment), but this interpretation does not seem correct. Because later, the punishment that Allah Almighty prescribed was for both man and woman, whether they were unmarried or married, and a separate punishment was prescribed for each, as is clear from the above hadith of ‘Ubada bin Samit ؓ, which Muslim has narrated. However, it is possible that if women gratify themselves with each other, their guardians may give them such a punishment. Similarly, ﴿والَّذَانِ﴾ has been taken to mean "ighlam" or sodomy, i.e., such indecency that two men commit with each other. And for them, too, there is no hadd, but ta'zir, and that ta'zir is that they should be beaten with shoes. Regarding the hadd for sodomy, in Tirmidhi, Abwab al-Hudud, there is a marfu‘ narration from Ibn ‘Abbas ؓ that both the active and passive partners should be killed, but this hadith is weak. Then, the Imams are of the opinion that such a couple should be stoned, and some say that their punishment is like that of an adulterer: if married, then stoning; otherwise, lashes. Whether it is adultery, sodomy, lesbianism, or mere accusation, in all these, the testimony of four men is necessary, and the reason for this is that in each of these claims, two individuals are involved, whether it is a man and a woman, or both women, or both men.
[29] That is, if during or after the beating, they truly repent for what they have done and reform themselves for the future, then it is not appropriate to reproach such people any further.
[28] In this verse, the word ﴿والذان﴾ has been used, meaning whether it is a man and a woman committing adultery, or both are men and commit sodomy. This word accommodates both situations. So, the initial punishment for such men, or such a man and woman, was that they should be beaten, rebuked, and humiliated. Thus, this was the punishment for both the adulterous man and woman, and for the woman, there was the additional punishment that she should be confined to the house for life. And regarding the other punishment that Allah Almighty hinted at prescribing, consider the following hadith:
The Punishment of Rajm (Stoning):
It is narrated from Sayyiduna ‘Ubada bin Samit ؓ that one day revelation descended upon the Prophet ﷺ, and when the state of revelation ended, he said: Learn (Allah’s command) from me. Allah has prescribed a punishment for such women. If a married man and a married woman commit adultery, they should be given one hundred lashes, then stoned to death, and if an unmarried man and an unmarried woman commit adultery, then for them, it is one hundred lashes and one year of exile.
[مسلم، کتاب الحدود۔ باب حد الزنا]
Then, after this command, the punishment for the adulterous man and woman was prescribed in Surah An-Nur. This discussion will come in detail in Surah An-Nur. In the above verses, some people have taken the meaning of "wal-lati" not as man and woman, but as both women, who gratify themselves with each other (which is called "sihaq" in Arabic). For such two women, the punishment is permanent confinement, i.e., such women should be kept under strict supervision in the house. And this is not a hadd (fixed punishment), but a ta'zir (discretionary punishment), but this interpretation does not seem correct. Because later, the punishment that Allah Almighty prescribed was for both man and woman, whether they were unmarried or married, and a separate punishment was prescribed for each, as is clear from the above hadith of ‘Ubada bin Samit ؓ, which Muslim has narrated. However, it is possible that if women gratify themselves with each other, their guardians may give them such a punishment. Similarly, ﴿والَّذَانِ﴾ has been taken to mean "ighlam" or sodomy, i.e., such indecency that two men commit with each other. And for them, too, there is no hadd, but ta'zir, and that ta'zir is that they should be beaten with shoes. Regarding the hadd for sodomy, in Tirmidhi, Abwab al-Hudud, there is a marfu‘ narration from Ibn ‘Abbas ؓ that both the active and passive partners should be killed, but this hadith is weak. Then, the Imams are of the opinion that such a couple should be stoned, and some say that their punishment is like that of an adulterer: if married, then stoning; otherwise, lashes. Whether it is adultery, sodomy, lesbianism, or mere accusation, in all these, the testimony of four men is necessary, and the reason for this is that in each of these claims, two individuals are involved, whether it is a man and a woman, or both women, or both men.
[29] That is, if during or after the beating, they truly repent for what they have done and reform themselves for the future, then it is not appropriate to reproach such people any further.
