One Confession or Four for Proving Zinā? Juristic Disagreement and Research
By: Imrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
❖ Core Issue
Is a single confession of zinā sufficient to establish the ḥadd, or is fourfold confession necessary?
The correct position is that one confession is sufficient. The narrations mentioning repetition were only for the purpose of verification and certainty.
❖ Evidences
➊ The Prophet ﷺ said regarding a woman:
“Waghdu yā Unays ilā imra’ati hādhā, fa-in iʿtarafat farjumhā.”
“O Unays! Go to this man’s wife, and if she confesses, then stone her.”
[al-Bukhārī: 2147, Kitāb al-Wakālah]
➋ The Ghamīdiyyah woman was stoned by the Prophet ﷺ upon her first confession only.
[Muslim: 1695, Kitāb al-Ḥudūd]
➌ Khālid ibn Lijlāj narrates from his father that the Prophet ﷺ ordered stoning of a man after a single confession.
[Ḥasan: Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 3728, 4435; Musnad Aḥmad: 3/379]
➍ In the case of a woman who alleged forced zinā, the Prophet ﷺ pardoned her after another man confessed once, and he was ordered to be stoned.
[Ḥasan: Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 1175; Abū Dāwūd: 4379; al-Bayhaqī: 8/284]
❖ Scholarly Views
- Abū Ḥanīfah & Aḥmad (رحمهما الله): Four confessions required; otherwise, the ḥadd is dropped.
- al-Shāfiʿī & Mālik (رحمهما الله): One confession is sufficient.
[al-Umm: 6/133; al-Mabsūṭ: 9/91; al-Mughnī: 12/354] - Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān (رحمه الله): One confession suffices.
[al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/580] - al-Nawawī (رحمه الله): The Prophet’s repeated questioning of Māʿiz was only for verification.
[Sharḥ Muslim: 6/215] - al-Shawkānī (رحمه الله): One confession is enough; repetition in Māʿiz’s case was merely investigative.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/545]
❖ Clarification from Māʿiz’s Case
The Prophet ﷺ questioned him:
① “Hal bika junūn?” – “Are you insane?” [al-Bukhārī: 5271]
② “Asharibta khamran?” – “Did you drink wine?” [Muslim: 1695]
③ “Laʿallaka qabbalta aw ghamazta aw naẓarta?” – “Perhaps you only kissed, gestured, or looked?” [al-Bukhārī: 6824; Aḥmad: 1/238]
These questions were to ensure clarity, not to establish fourfold confession as a condition.
❖ Requirement of Witnesses
The Qur’an requires four witnesses to establish zinā, with explicit testimony of penetration:
﴿فَاسْتَشْهِدُوا عَلَيْهِنَّ أَرْبَعَةً مِّنكُمْ﴾ [al-Nisā’: 15]
﴿ثُمَّ لَمْ يَأْتُوا بِأَرْبَعَةِ شُهَدَاءَ﴾ [al-Nūr: 4]
❖ Conclusion (Rājiḥ View)
- A single confession is sufficient to establish zinā.
- Multiple confessions in narrations were only for confirmation and investigation.
- This is supported by Imām al-Shawkānī and aligns with the practice of the Prophet ﷺ in several cases.
