He—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—was also asked:
A woman has a father and a brother, and her father’s representative in matters of marriage and other affairs is present. She went to the witnesses, gave a different name for herself and her father, and claimed that a man who had divorced her wished to renew their marriage. She brought an unrelated man and stated that he was her brother. The witnesses drew up her marriage contract on that basis. What she had done was subsequently discovered and established before the court.
Should she receive a discretionary punishment for this? Must those who vouched for the identities, the man who claimed to be her brother, and the person who supplied the witnesses with the information mentioned also receive discretionary punishment? Is imposing such punishment the exclusive prerogative of the judge, or may a public authority, such as an officer responsible for upholding public order or another official, punish them?
He replied:
Praise be to Allah. She should receive a severe discretionary punishment. It would be appropriate for the public authority to punish her on several occasions, just as ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb would impose repeated discretionary punishments for an act involving several prohibited offences. He would administer one hundred lashes on the first day, one hundred on the second, and one hundred on the third, spreading out the punishment so that it would not damage any bodily organs.
This woman has claimed descent from someone other than her father and appointed her purported brother to act on her behalf. This is among the major sins. It is authentically established that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“Whoever claims descent from someone other than his father, or declares allegiance to patrons other than his own, incurs the curse of Allah, the angels, and all people. Allah will accept neither voluntary nor obligatory worship from him.”
Indeed, it is authentically established that Sa‘d and Abū Bakrah heard the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say: “Whoever claims descent from someone other than his father