Surah 24. An-Nur, Ayah 6
| وَالَّذِينَ يَرْمُونَ أَزْوَاجَهُمْ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُمْ شُهَدَاءُ إِلَّا أَنْفُسُهُمْ فَشَهَادَةُ أَحَدِهِمْ أَرْبَعُ شَهَادَاتٍ بِاللَّهِ ۙ إِنَّهُ لَمِنَ الصَّادِقِينَ |
| Transliteration | : | wa- 'alladhena yarmon azwaaj -hum wa- lam yakun la- -hum shuhadaa' 'illaa anfus -hum fa- shahaadah 'ah.ad -him arbac shahaadaat bi- 'allaah 'inna -hu la- min as.- s.aadiqen |
| Pickthall | : | As for those who accuse their wives but have no witnesses except themselves; let the testimony of one of them be four testimonies, (swearing) by Allah that he is of those who speak the truth; |
| Asad | : | And as for those who accuse their own wives [of adultery], but have no witnesses except them-selves, let each of these [accusers] call God four times to witness9 that he is indeed telling the truth, |
| Malik | : | Those men who accuse their own wives but have no witness except themselves, each one of them shall be made to swear four times by Allah that his charge is true, |
| Yusuf Ali | : | And for those who launch a charge against their spouses and have (in support) no evidence but their own their solitary evidence (can be received) if they bear witness four times (with an oath) by Allah that they are solemnly telling the truth; 2960 |
Note - 9Lit., "then the testimony of any of these shall be four
testimonies [or "solemn affirmations"] before God".
|
Note - 2960The case of married persons is different from that of
outsiders. If one of them accuses the other of
unchastity, the accusation partly reflects on the accuser
as well. Moreover, the link which unites married people,
even where differences supervene, is sure to act as a
steadying influence against the concoction of false
charges of unchastity particularly where divorce is
allowed (as in Islam) for reasons other than unchastity.
Suppose a husband catches a wife in adultery. In the
nature of things four witnesses-or even one outside
witness-would be impossible. Yet after such an experience
it is against human nature that he can live a normal
married life. The matter is then left to the honour of
the two spouses. If the husband can solemnly swear four
times to the fact, and in addition invoke a curse on
himself if he lies, that is prima facie evidence of the
wife's guilt. But if the wife swears similarly four times
and similarly invokes a curse on herself, she is in law
acquitted of the guilt. If she does not take this step,
the charge is held proved and the punishment follows. In
either case the marriage is dissolved, as it is against
human nature that the parties can live together happily
after such an incident.
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The case of married persons is different from that of outsiders. If one of them accuses the other of unchastity, the accusation partly reflects on the accuser as well. Moreover, the link which unites married people, even where differences supervene, is sure to act as a steadying influence against the concoction of false charges of unchastity particularly where divorce is allowed (as in Islam) for reasons other than unchastity. Suppose a husband catches a wife in adultery. In the nature of things four witnesses-or even one outside witness-would be impossible. Yet after such an experience it is against human nature that he can live a normal married life. The matter is then left to the honour of the two spouses. If the husband can solemnly swear four times to the fact, and in addition invoke a curse on himself if he lies, that is prima facie evidence of the wife's guilt. But if the wife swears similarly four times and similarly invokes a curse on herself, she is in law acquitted of the guilt. If she does not take this step, the charge is held proved and the punishment follows. In either case the marriage is dissolved, as it is against human nature that the parties can live together happily after such an incident. |
