Source: Fatāwā Amunpūrī by Shaykh Ghulām Muṣṭafā Ẓahīr Amunpūrī
What is the ruling for someone who accuses another of adultery but fails to produce four witnesses?
Such a person will be subjected to the ḥadd (prescribed punishment) for qadhf (false accusation).
وَالَّذِينَ يَرْمُونَ الْمُحْصَنَاتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَأْتُوا بِأَرْبَعَةِ شُهَدَاءَ فَاجْلِدُوهُمْ ثَمَانِينَ جَلْدَةً وَلَا تَقْبَلُوا لَهُمْ شَهَادَةً أَبَدًا ۚ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ
“And those who accuse chaste women but do not bring four witnesses—lash them with eighty lashes and never accept their testimony again. And those are the defiantly disobedient.”
— (Sūrat al-Nūr, 24:4)
✿ Punishment for False Accusation of Adultery Without Four Witnesses (Qadhf)
❖ Question:
What is the ruling for someone who accuses another of adultery but fails to produce four witnesses?
❖ Answer:
Such a person will be subjected to the ḥadd (prescribed punishment) for qadhf (false accusation).
The punishment is 80 lashes.
Even if three witnesses are produced and the fourth is missing, the accuser will still be punished.- His future testimonies will no longer be accepted in any legal matter.
Evidence from the Qur’an:
وَالَّذِينَ يَرْمُونَ الْمُحْصَنَاتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَأْتُوا بِأَرْبَعَةِ شُهَدَاءَ فَاجْلِدُوهُمْ ثَمَانِينَ جَلْدَةً وَلَا تَقْبَلُوا لَهُمْ شَهَادَةً أَبَدًا ۚ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ
“And those who accuse chaste women but do not bring four witnesses—lash them with eighty lashes and never accept their testimony again. And those are the defiantly disobedient.”
— (Sūrat al-Nūr, 24:4)
✔ Key Points:
Accusation of adultery (zinā) is a grave matter in Islamic law.- The accuser must bring exactly four reliable witnesses who saw the act directly.
- Failing to do so, even by one witness, invokes the ḥadd punishment for qadhf.
- This ensures protection of personal honor and prevents misuse of accusations in society.
- Those who make such accusations without proof are considered fāsiq (open sinners).
