by the roadside. Then come the words:

“Accursed.”

The verse then specifies:

“Wherever they are found”—committing this act of forcing themselves upon women.

Al-Suddī said: This is a ruling in the Quran that is not being applied. If one man or more were to follow a woman, overpower her and rape her, the ruling concerning them would be neither flogging nor stoning, but that they be seized and beheaded.

Al-Suddī said: His words, “Established way,” mean that this was how the preceding nations were treated. He said: Whoever forces himself upon a woman and is killed, no blood money is due from his killer, because he is a violent aggressor.

I say: This may take two forms. The first is that he is killed to repel his assault upon her, as when he overpowers her. This falls under the statement:

“Whoever is killed defending his honour is a martyr.”

She is entitled to repel him by killing him. If, however, she consented, the matter involves disagreement and distinctions; there are two well-known rulings concerning this from ʿUmar and ʿAlī. But if he has intercourse with her against her will, and she finds no one to help her against him, such offenders are of two types:

The first is one who has force at his disposal, like brigands who seize property. These are brigands whose purpose is sexual outrage, and they are to be put to death. Al-Suddī said this, and others have said it too. Abū al-Lūbī mentioned that such a case had arisen before him, and considered these offenders even more deserving of being classed as brigands.

The second is that they have no such force at their disposal, but instead do this through treachery