Al-Qur'an Surah An-Nisa Verse 15

Mufti Taqi Usmani

Those of your women who commit the shameful act, have four witnesses (against them) from among you. So, if they testify, then confine those women to their homes until death overcomes them, or Allah prescribes a way for them.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

˹As for˺ those of your women who commit illegal intercourse—call four witnesses from among yourselves. If they testify, confine the offenders to their homes until they die or Allah ordains a ˹different˺ way for them.

Ruwwad Translation Center

Those of your women who commit adultery, call four witnesses against them from amongst you. If they testify, confine them to their homes until they die or Allah ordains for them [another] way.

A. J. Arberry

Such of your women as commit indecency, call four of you to witness against them; and if they witness, then detain them in their houses until death takes them or God appoints for them a way.

Abdul Haleem

If any of your women commit a lewd act, call four witnesses from among you, then, if they testify to their guilt, keep the women at home until death comes to them or until God shows them another way.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

As for those of your women who may commit whoredom, call against them four witnesses from among them if they testify, confine you them to their houses till death complete their turn of life, or Allah appoint for them some other way.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

If any of your women are guilty of lewdness, Take the evidence of four (Reliable) witnesses from amongst you against them; and if they testify, confine them to houses until death do claim them, or Allah ordain for them some (other) way.

Abul Ala Maududi

As for those of your women who are guilty of immoral conduct, call upon four from amongst you to bear witness against them. And if four men do bear witness, confine those women to their houses until either death takes them away or Allah opens some way for them.

Ahmed Ali

If any of your women is guilty of unnatural offence, bring four of your witnesses to give evidence; if they testify against them, retain them in the houses until death overtakes them or God provides some other way for them.

Ahmed Raza Khan

And take testimony from four chosen men amongst you, against the women among you who commit adultery; and if they testify, confine those women in the houses until death takes them away or Allah creates a solution for them.

Ali Quli Qarai

Should any of your women commit an indecent act, produce against them four witnesses from yourselves, and if they testify, detain them in [their] houses until death finishes them, or Allah decrees a course for them.

Ali Ünal

Such of your women as have committed indecency (unlawful sex), there must be four male witnesses of you who (having seen them in the act) will testify against them (within one succeeding month in towns and six months in the rural areas). If they do bear witness, then confine those women to their houses until death takes them away or God opens some way for them.

Amatul Rahman Omar

As to those of your women who commit sexual perversity, call in four of you to witness against them, and if they bear witness then confine them to their houses, until death overtakes them or Allâh makes for them a way out.

English Literal

And those who came/do/commit (F) with the enormous deed/atrocious deed/ugly deed/saying/adultery/fornication/homosexuality from your women, so call a witness on them (F), four from you, so if they witnessed , so hold them (F) in the houses/homes until the death makes them (F) die, or God makes/manipulates for them (F) a way/means.

Faridul Haque

And take testimony from four chosen men amongst you, against the women among you who commit adultery; and if they testify, confine those women in the houses until death takes them away or Allah creates a solution for them.

Hamid S. Aziz

Allah is only bound to forgive those who do evil through ignorance and then repent. Surely, these are the ones to whom Allah is relenting. Allah is Knower Wise.

Hilali & Khan

And those of your women who commit illegal sexual intercourse, take the evidence of four witnesses from amongst you against them; and if they testify, confine them (i.e. women) to houses until death comes to them or Allah ordains for them some (other) way.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and goes beyond His limits, He will make him enter fire to abide in it, and for him is an abasing chastisement.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And as for those who are guilty of an indecency from among your women, call to witnesses against them four (witnesses) from among you; then if they bear witness confine them to the houses until death takes them away or Allah opens some way for them.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

As for those of your women who are guilty of lewdness, call to witness four of you against them. And if they testify (to the truth of the allegation) then confine them to the houses until death take them or (until) Allah appoint for them a way (through new legislation).

Muhammad Sarwar

Those of your women who commit fornication, let four (Muslim) witness testify to their act. If there is sufficient testimony, confine them to their homes until they die, or until God provides a way for their freedom.

Qaribullah & Darwish

If any of your women commit indecency, call in four witnesses from among yourselves against them, if they testify, confine them to their houses till death overtakes them or till Allah makes for them a way.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And those of your women who commit illegal sexual intercourse, take the evidence of four witnesses from among you against them; and if they testify, confine them (i.e. women) to houses until death comes to them or Allah ordains for them some (other) way.

Wahiduddin Khan

If any of your women commit fornication, call in four male witnesses from among yourselves against them; if they testify to their guilt, confine them to the house until death releases them or until God gives them another way out.

Talal Itani

Those of your women who commit lewdness, you must have four witnesses against them, from among you. If they testify, confine them to the homes until death claims them, or God makes a way for them.

Tafsir jalalayn

As for those of your women who commit lewdness, adultery, call four, Muslim men, of you to witness against them; and if they witness, against them such [lewdness], then detain them in their houses, and prevent them from mixing with people, until, the angels of, death take them or, until, God appoints for them a way, out of it. This was stipulated for them at the very beginning of Islam, but then a way out was appointed for them through [the stipulation] that the virgin should receive a hundred lashes and be banished for a year, and the married woman be stoned. The prescribed punishment was explained thus in the hadth, `Come listen to me! Come listen to me! God has now made a way out for them', as reported by Muslim.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

The Adulteress is Confined in her House; A Command Later Abrogated

At the beginning of Islam, the ruling was that if a woman commits adultery as stipulated by sufficient proof, she was confined to her home, without leave, until she died.

Allah said,

وَاللَّتِي يَأْتِينَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مِن نِّسَأيِكُمْ فَاسْتَشْهِدُواْ عَلَيْهِنَّ أَرْبَعةً مِّنكُمْ فَإِن شَهِدُواْ فَأَمْسِكُوهُنَّ فِي الْبُيُوتِ حَتَّىَ يَتَوَفَّاهُنَّ الْمَوْتُ أَوْ يَجْعَلَ اللّهُ لَهُنَّ سَبِيلً



And those of your women who commit illegal sexual intercourse, take the evidence of four witnesses from among you against them; and if they testify, confine them (i.e. women) to houses until death comes to them or Allah ordains for them some (other) way.

`Some other way' mentioned here is the abrogation of this ruling that came later.

Ibn Abbas said,

"The early ruling was confinement, until Allah sent down Surah An-Nur (Surah 24) which abrogated that ruling with the ruling of flogging (for fornication) or stoning to death (for adultery)."

Similar was reported from Ikrimah, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Al-Hasan, Ata Al-Khurasani, Abu Salih, Qatadah, Zayd bin Aslam and Ad-Dahhak, and this is a matter that is agreed upon.

Imam Ahmad recorded that Ubadah bin As-Samit said,

"When the revelation descended upon the Messenger of Allah, it would affect him and his face would show signs of strain. One day, Allah sent down a revelation to him, and when the Messenger was relieved of its strain, he said,

خُذُوا عَنِّي قَدْ جَعَلَ اللهُ لَهُنَّ سَبِيلً الثَّيِّبُ بِالثَّيِّبِ وَالْبِكْرُ بِالْبِكْرِ الثَّــيِّبُ جَلْدُ مِايَةٍ وَرَجْمٌ بِالْحِجَارَةِ وَالْبِكْرُ جَلْدُ مِايَةٍ ثُمَّ نَفْيُ سَنَة

Take from me;Allah has made some other way for them. The married with the married, the unmarried with the unmarried. The married gets a hundred lashes and stoning to death, while the unmarried gets a hundred lashes then banishment for a year."

Muslim and the collectors of the Sunan recorded that Ubadah bin As-Samit said that the Prophet said,

خُذُوا عَنِّي خُذُوا عَنِّي قَدْ جَعَلَ اللهُ لَهُنَّ سَبِيلً الْبِكْرُ بِالْبِكْرِ جَلْدُ مِايَةٍ وَتَغْرِيبُ عَامٍ وَالثَّيِّبُ بِالثَّيِّبِ جَلْدُ مِايَةٍ وَالرَّجْم

Take from me, take from me. Allah has made some other way for them;the (unmarried) gets a hundred lashes and banishment for one year, while the (married) gets a hundred lashes and stoning to death.

At-Tirmidhi said, "Hasan Sahih".

Allah said