Punishment for Zinā by Slaves and Bondwomen: Half the Ḥadd
By: Imrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
❖ Qur’ānic Basis
Allāh Almighty says:
﴿فَعَلَيْهِنَّ نِصْفُ مَا عَلَى الْمُحْصَنَاتِ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ﴾ [al-Nisā’: 25]
“Then upon them (bondwomen) is half the punishment of free women.”
❖ Prophetic Ḥadīth
➊ ʿAlī (RA):
The Prophet ﷺ sent me to flog a bondwoman who had committed zinā. When I saw she was in postpartum bleeding, I informed the Prophet ﷺ. He ﷺ said:
“Idhā taʿālat min nifāsihā fajlid’hā khamsīn.”
“When she recovers from her postpartum bleeding, flog her fifty lashes.”
[Muslim: 1705; Musnad Aḥmad: 1/156; ʿAbd Allāh b. Aḥmad in Zawā’id al-Musnad: 1/135]
➋ ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿIyāsh al-Makhzūmī:
ʿUmar (RA) commanded me along with some Qurashī youths, and we flogged government bondwomen fifty lashes each for committing zinā.
[Muwaṭṭa’: 2/827]
❖ View of Ibn ʿAbbās (RA)
He held that a slave who is not married has no ḥadd, citing:
﴿فَإِذَا أُحْصِنَّ﴾
“When they are married…” [al-Nisā’: 25]
[Tafsīr Fatḥ al-Qadīr: 1/450]
Response: Here iḥṣān means Islam. In Arabic, iḥṣān is used for chastity, marriage, freedom, and Islam. Multiple Qur’ānic usages show this diversity. Thus, the general scholarly position is that iḥṣān here does not only mean marriage.
[al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 7/593–594]
❖ Juristic Opinions
- Jumhūr (Majority): A bondwoman is punished with fifty lashes, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, married or unmarried.
[Tafsīr Fatḥ al-Qadīr: 1/451] - Rājiḥ View: The majority’s opinion is strongest.
❖ Supporting Ḥadīth
The Prophet ﷺ was asked about a bondwoman committing zinā while unmarried. He ﷺ said:
“In zanat fajlidūhā, thumma in zanat fajlidūhā, thumma in zanat fabīʿūhā wa law bi-ḍafīr.”
“If she fornicates, flog her. If she does so again, flog her. And if she repeats again, sell her even if for a rope of hair.”
[al-Bukhārī: 2153; Muslim: 1704; Aḥmad: 4/116; Abū Dāwūd: 4469; al-Tirmidhī: 1433; Ibn Mājah: 2565]
This establishes that even an unmarried bondwoman is flogged with fifty lashes.
Conclusion:- The punishment for a slave/bondwoman who commits zinā is half the ḥadd of a free person (50 lashes).
- This applies regardless of marital status, based on Qur’ān, Sunnah, and the practice of the Companions.
