The Book of Liʿān

Liʿān is derived from laʿn, a word that denotes banishment and expulsion.

Accordingly, this chapter is called “The Book of Liʿān” for one of two reasons: either because of the wording—since, in the fifth of his oaths, the husband calls Allah’s curse upon himself to affirm the truth of his claim—or because of the underlying meaning of banishment, for once the procedure is completed the spouses are permanently separated, never to be reunited.

Its legal definition: a set of sworn testimonies made by both spouses, each reinforced by an oath that invokes either a curse or divine wrath. Its authority is established by the Quran, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the scholars.

1. The Quranic basis is His statement: “And those who accuse their wives and have no witnesses except themselves…” (Q 24:6).
2. The Sunnah basis is found in the hadith that introduces this chapter, and the scholars are unanimously agreed on it in general.

Legislative wisdom

The general rule is that anyone who explicitly accuses a chaste person of adultery must produce proof in the form of four witnesses. If he fails to do so, he incurs the prescribed penalty for slander—eighty lashes—as the Exalted says: “And those who accuse chaste women and then fail to bring four witnesses—flog them with eighty lashes” (Q 24:4).

An exception to this rule is when a man accuses his own wife of adultery. He, too, must bring four witnesses. If he cannot, the penalty for slander is lifted from him when he swears four times by Allah that he is telling the truth about the adultery he alleges, and on the fifth oath he calls Allah’s curse upon himself if he is lying.

The rationale is that when a man sees indecency in his own wife, he cannot simply remain silent as he might were he to witness it from a stranger. Such an act brings him disgrace, public humiliation, and a violation of his honor. Moreover, no man would accuse his wife unless he were certain, for only an intense sense of protective jealousy would drive him to expose himself and her to mutual shame—something that in turn lends weight to the credibility of his claim.