Suspension of Ḥadd for Zinā Due to Inability to Perform Intercourse
By: Imrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
❖ Principle
If a person is naturally incapable of sexual intercourse, then the ḥadd punishment for zinā does not apply to him or her.
- ʿAdhrāʾ (عذراء): A virgin woman.
- Rataqāʾ (رتقاء): A woman whose private part is sealed/closed such that intercourse is impossible.
- Majbūb (مجبوب): A man whose organ has been severed.
- Impotent man: One unable to perform intercourse.
All such people are not legally capable of committing zinā. Therefore, even if they confess, the ḥadd is not applied, since their confession is considered false.
❖ Evidence
A narration states:
The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ sent ʿAlī (RA) to execute a man who used to frequently visit Māriyah al-Qibṭiyyah.
“…Fa-atāhu ʿAlī, fa-idhā huwa fī rukiyyin yatabarrad fīhā, faqāla lahu ʿAlī: ukhruj. Fanāwalahu yadahu fa-akhrajahu, fa-idhā huwa majbūb laysa lahu dhakar. Fakaffa ʿanhu ʿAlī, thumma atā al-Nabiyya ﷺ faqāla: innahu majbūb mā lahu dhakar.”
“When ʿAlī (RA) found him, he was bathing in a cistern. ʿAlī told him to come out, and when he helped him out, he saw that the man was castrated and had no male organ. So ʿAlī (RA) refrained from executing him and returned to inform the Prophet ﷺ.”
[Muslim: 2771, Kitāb al-Tawbah: Bāb Barā’at Ḥaram al-Nabī min al-Raybah]
Conclusion
- The ḥadd of zinā is dropped for those who are physically incapable of committing intercourse.
- Their confession carries no weight, since it cannot be true in reality.
