whether he was married or unmarried, and whether he committed the act with his own male slave or with someone else. For in their view, both the active and passive participants are to be put to death.

This is recorded in the Sunan collections from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—who said:

“Kill the one who does it and the one to whom it is done.”

It was narrated by Abū Dāwūd and others (1).

This is also Ahmad’s position according to the report explicitly transmitted from him (2), and it is one of the two positions of al-Shāfiī. How, then, could someone whose school holds this act to be graver than unlawful sexual intercourse be reported to have permitted it? Nor did any of the other scholars (3) permit it; rather, they unanimously agree that it is forbidden. There are, however, many acts whose prohibition they (4) agree upon while differing over whether the prescribed penalty should be imposed upon the perpetrator, or whether he should instead receive a discretionary punishment short of that penalty—as in the case of a man who has intercourse with his slave woman who is his daughter through nursing.

As for his statement:

“and permitting entertainments such as chess and singing,”

it may be answered: The majority of scholars (5) hold that chess is forbidden. It has been authentically reported from