Punishment for an Unmarried Fornicator: 100 Lashes and One Year Exile
By: Imrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
❖ Linguistic Clarification
The word ḥudūd is the plural of ḥadd, which means “barrier.”
- Ḥadda – yaḥuddu (naṣr): to set a limit.
- Ḥaddada – yuḥaddidu (tafʿīl): to enforce the limits.
[al-Munjid: p. 143; al-Qāmūs al-Muḥīṭ: p. 250; Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/533]
❖ Sharʿī Definition
It refers to a punishment fixed by Allāh as His right. This excludes taʿzīr (non-fixed punishments), qiṣāṣ, etc.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/533; al-Mabsūṭ: 9/36; Fatḥ al-Qadīr: 4/112; Badā’iʿ al-Ṣanā’iʿ: 7/33; Tabyīn al-Ḥaqā’iq: 3/163; Mughni al-Muḥtāj: 4/155]
Qur’ānic Ruling
Allāh says:
﴿الزَّانِيَةُ وَالزَّانِي فَاجْلِدُوا كُلَّ وَاحِدٍ مِّنْهُمَا مِائَةَ جَلْدَةٍ ۖ وَلَا تَأْخُذْكُم بِهِمَا رَأْفَةٌ فِي دِينِ اللَّهِ إِن كُنتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ ۖ وَلْيَشْهَدْ عَذَابَهُمَا طَائِفَةٌ مِّنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ﴾ [al-Nūr: 2]
“Flog each of the male and female fornicators one hundred lashes. Do not let pity for them prevent you from carrying out Allah’s law, if you truly believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let a group of believers witness their punishment.”
Sunnah Evidence
➊ Abū Hurayrah (RA) and Zayd ibn Khālid (RA):
A Bedouin came to the Prophet ﷺ with a case of his son committing fornication with a man’s wife. Initially he thought the punishment was stoning, but later scholars informed him it was 100 lashes and one year exile for the son (unmarried), and stoning for the married woman.
The Prophet ﷺ confirmed:
“…On your son is 100 lashes and one year exile…”
[al-Bukhārī: 6842, 6843; Muslim: 1697–1698; Abū Dāwūd: 4445; al-Tirmidhī: 1433; al-Nasā’ī: 8/240; Ibn Mājah: 2549; Aḥmad: 4/115]
➋ ʿUbādah ibn al-Ṣāmit (RA):
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Al-bikr bi-l-bikr jald mi’ah wa nafī sanah, wa al-thayyib bi-l-thayyib jald mi’ah wa al-rajm.”
“If an unmarried man commits fornication with an unmarried woman, his punishment is 100 lashes and one year exile. If a married man commits fornication with a married woman, their punishment is 100 lashes and stoning.”
[Muslim: 1690; Abū Dāwūd: 4415; al-Tirmidhī: 1434; Ibn Mājah: 2550; al-Nasā’ī: 4/270; Aḥmad: 5/313]
➌ Another narration:
“…Bi-nafī ʿām wa bi-iqāmat al-ḥadd ʿalayh.”
“He is to be exiled for one year and the ḥadd carried out upon him.”
[al-Bukhārī: 6833, Kitāb al-Ḥudūd]
Consensus and Practice
➊ The Khulafā’ al-Rāshidūn, the Companions, Tābiʿīn, and majority of Fuqahā’ implemented the ruling of exile.
[Sharḥ al-Sunnah al-Baghawī: 10/278]
➋ Ijmāʿ: Exile of the unmarried fornicator is agreed upon.
[Ijmāʿ Ibn al-Mundhir: p. 142; Sharḥ Fatḥ al-Qadīr: 5/26]
Differences Among Jurists
- Abū Ḥanīfah (رحمه الله): Exile is not obligatory.
[al-Mabsūṭ: 9/44; Bidāyat al-Mujtahid: 2/436; al-Umm: 6/133; al-Mughnī: 12/322] - Imām al-Shawkānī (رحمه الله): Refuted Abū Ḥanīfah’s view, affirming that all previous aḥādīth and reports prove exile is part of the punishment.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/535]
Exile for Women
- Shāfiʿī (رحمه الله): Exile applies to both men and women.
- Mālik (رحمه الله), al-Awzāʿī (رحمه الله), Abū Ḥanīfah (رحمه الله): Exile does not apply to women.
Their evidence:
“Idhā zanat amat aḥadikum falyaḥdud’hā.”
“When the bondwoman of any one of you fornicates, let him carry out flogging upon her.”
[al-Bukhārī: 2153, Kitāb al-Buyūʿ]
- al-Shawkānī (رحمه الله): This applies only to bondwomen. In general, exile applies to both men and women as no distinction was made by the Prophet ﷺ.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/535; Sabil al-Salām: 4/1672]
Conclusion (Rājiḥ Opinion)
The strongest view is that of Imām al-Shawkānī (رحمه الله): both men and women who are unmarried fornicators are punished with 100 lashes and one year exile, in line with Qur’an, Sunnah, and ijmāʿ.
