When Does Fornication Obligate a Hadd Punishment?
Question: What extent of fornication obligates the hadd punishment? What if one is not sure it occurred?
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
Short Answer
There is no legal punishment due in this circumstance due to the following reasons:
Detailed Answer
When it comes to legal punishments (hudud), the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) gave us the following principle:
He (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Avert legal punishments (hudud) from the Muslims as best as you can…” [Tirmidhi]
With that being said, you need not worry over legal punishments; your concern should be with repenting to Allah Most High. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]
Conditions of a Sound Repentance
[Nawawi, Riyadh al-Salihin]
All Sound Repentance is Accepted
The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “The one who repents (sincerely) from a sin is like one with no sin.” [Ibn Majah, Tabarani in al-M’ujam al-Kabir, and Bayhaqi in Sh’ib al-Iman]
I hope this helps,
Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a graduate from Tarim; a student of Habib Umar and other luminaries; and authorized teachers of the Qur’an and the Islamic sciences
