Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (13/297)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

Chapter

If a man accuses his minor wife or his insane wife of adultery, he is subject to discretionary punishment, but there is no liʿān (mutual imprecation). One of its conditions is that he explicitly accuse her of fornication, such as by saying, “You have committed fornication,” “O fornicatress,” or, “I saw you committing fornication in the front or rear passage.” But if he says, “You were penetrated through a mistaken intercourse,” or, “while coerced,” or, “while asleep,” …

His statement, “If he accuses his wife”: It has previously been explained that qadhf (a false accusation of unlawful sexual intercourse) is to accuse someone of fornication or sodomy. In the case of a woman, however, sodomy is not conceivable; rather, fornication is.

His statement, “his minor wife”: this means one under nine years of age—that is, one not deemed capable of intercourse. What is not meant by “minor” is one who has not reached puberty, because a girl who has not reached puberty may nevertheless be capable of intercourse and fornication may be conceivable in her case. Thus, what is intended here by a minor is one under nine, as stated in al-Iqnāʿ and other works.

His statement, “or his insane wife”: even if she is an adult. This is because a minor not deemed capable of intercourse is not disgraced by such an accusation as one capable of intercourse is, and likewise an insane woman is not disgraced by it as a woman of sound mind is. Therefore, the prescribed punishment for false accusation is not due from him. This is why the author says:

“he is subject to discretionary punishment.” Linguistically, taʿzīr (discretionary punishment) is used in several senses, including support, as in Allah’s saying: “That you may believe in Allah and His Messenger, and support him” [al-Fatḥ 48:9]. It also means discipline, which is what is intended here. Thus, “he is given discretionary punishment” means that he is disciplined.

According to the well-known position of the madhhab, discretionary punishment must not exceed ten lashes, based on the Prophet’s saying: “No one is to be flogged with more than ten lashes except in one of the prescribed punishments set by Allah.” (1)

Accordingly, discretionary punishment is ten lashes or fewer. The sounder view is that discretionary punishment—as its name indicates—is whatever achieves discipline, whether it is ten lashes, fifteen lashes, twenty lashes, or more, except that discretionary punishment, if

(1) Narrated by al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Hudud (Prescribed Punishments), chapter: “How much may be administered as discretionary punishment and discipline?” (6848); and by Muslim, Kitab al-Hudud, chapter: “The number of lashes for discretionary punishment” (1708), on the authority of Abu Burdah.

فَصْلٌ وَإِنْ قَذَفَ زَوْجَتَهُ الصَّغِيرَةَ، أَوِ المَجْنُونَةَ عُزِّرَ، وَلَا لِعَانَ، وَمِنْ شَرْطِهِ قَذْفُهَا بِالزِّنَا لَفْظاً، كَزَنَيْتِ، أَوْ يَا زَانِيَةُ، أَوْ رَأَيْتُكِ تَزْنِينَ فِي قُبُلٍ، أَوْ دُبُرٍ، فَإِنْ قَالَ: وُطِئْتِ بشُبْهَةٍ، أَوْ مُكْرَهَةً، أَوْ نَائِمَةً، ........ قوله: «وإن قذف زوجته» تقدم أن القذف هو الرمي بالزنا أو اللواط، لكن بالنسبة للمرأة ما يتصور اللواط، ويتصور الزنا. قوله: «الصغيرة» وهي التي دون التسع، يعني التي لا يوطأ مثلها، وليس المراد بالصغيرة من دون البلوغ؛ لأن من دون البلوغ قد توطأ ويتصور منها الزنا، فالمراد بالصغيرة هنا من دون التسع، كما ذكره في الإقناع وغيره. قوله: «أو المجنونة» ولو كبيرة؛ وذلك لأن الصغيرة التي لا يوطأ مثلها لا يلحقها العار، كما يلحق التي يوطأ مثلها، والمجنونة كذلك لا يلحقها العار كما يلحق العاقلة، فلهذا لا يجب عليه حد القذف، ولهذا قال المؤلف: «عُزِّر» والتعزير في اللغة يطلق على عدة معانٍ، منها النصرة كما في قوله تعالى: ﴿لِتُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَتُعَزِّرُوهُ﴾ [الفتح: ٩]، ومنها التأديب وهو المراد هنا، فمعنى «عزر» أُدِّب. والتعزير على المشهور من المذهب لا يتجاوز به عشر جلدات؛ لقول النبي ﷺ: «لا يجلد أحد فوق عشرة أسواط إلا في حد من حدود الله» (١). فعلى هذا يكون التعزير من العشر فأقل، والصحيح أن التعزير ـ كما يدل عليه اسمه ـ ما يحصل به التأديب، سواء كان عشر جلدات أو خمس عشرة جلدة أو عشرين جلدة أو أكثر، إلا أن التعزير إذا

(١) أخرجه البخاري في الحدود/ باب كم التعزير والأدب؟ (٦٨٤٨)، ومسلم في الحدود/ باب قدر أسواط التعزير (١٧٠٨) عن أبي بُردة ﵁.