Answer by: Fadhīlat al-Shaykh ʿAbd al-Wakīl Nāṣir (ḥafiẓahullāh)
❖ Question:
If the punishment of a slave or bondwoman is half, then how is half of stoning (rajm) to be carried out?
❖ Clarification Regarding the Punishment of Slaves and Bondwomen:
The punishment for male and female slaves is only flogging (lashes)—not stoning. The Sharʿi principle is that their punishment is half of that of free individuals. That is, if a free person is to receive 100 lashes, a slave or bondwoman will receive 50 lashes.
❖ Qur’anic Evidence:
“فَإِذَا أُحْصِنَّ فَإِنْ أَتَيْنَ بِفَاحِشَةٍ فَعَلَيْهِنَّ نِصْفُ مَا عَلَى الْمُحْصَنَاتِ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ”
[Sūrah al-Nisā’: 25]
“Then when they are married, and commit indecency, they shall receive half the punishment of free (married) women.”
❖ Key Points:
◈ The punishment of stoning (rajm) does not apply to slaves and bondwomen.
◈ “Half the punishment” refers only to flogging, and not to capital punishments like rajm, as such punishments cannot be halved.
◈ For further details on this subject, one may refer to the tafsir “Taysīr al-Qur’ān” and the book “Āʾinah Parwēziyyat” by Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Kīlānī (رحمه الله).
❖ Conclusion:
The punishment for a slave or bondwoman is half the number of lashes compared to a free individual. Rajm (stoning) is not applicable to them.
