Chapter on the Ḥadd-Penalty for Slander (Qadhf)
Introduction
Linguistically, qadhf means “to throw something.” One says, “He hurled (qaḍhfa) a thing”; the active participle is qādhif, and its plurals are qadhaf and qadhfa.
In the Sharīʿah it denotes accusing someone of fornication (zinā) or sodomy (liwāṭ).
Qadhf is of two categories:
- Slander for which the perpetrator is subject to the ḥadd-penalty.
- Slander for which he is punished with discretionary measures (taʿzīr).
The slander that incurs the ḥadd is: accusing a chaste person of zinā, denying his lineage, or charging him with sodomy.
What falls under taʿzīr is any accusation that is not an explicit claim of the foregoing, or any other form of abuse.
Qadhf is prohibited by the Quran, the Sunnah, and the unanimous agreement of the scholars.
From the Quran:
“Those who accuse chaste women and then fail to produce four witnesses—lash them with eighty lashes, and never again accept their testimony; such people are indeed evildoers.” ⦗al-Nūr 24:4⦘
From the Sunnah:
What is recorded in both Ṣaḥīḥ collections from Abū Hurayrah, that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Avoid…”