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2066. It was narrated that Sahl bin Sa'd As-Sā'idi said: "Uwaimir came to 'Āsim bin 'Ādi and said: 'Ask the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ for me: "Do you think that if a man finds another man with his wife and kills him, he should be killed in retaliation, or what should he do?" 'Āsim asked the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ about that, and the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ disapproved of the question. Then 'Uwaimir met him ('Āsim) and asked him about that, saying: 'What did you do?' He said: 'I did that and you have not brought me any good. I asked the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ and he disapproved of this question.' 'Uwaimir said: 'By Allāh, I will go to the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ myself and ask him.' So he went to the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ and found that Qur'ān had been revealed concerning them, and the Prophet ﷺ told them to go through the procedure of Li'ān. 'Uwaimir said: 'O Messenger of Allāh, by Allāh if I take her back, I would have been telling lies about her.' So he left her before the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ told him to do so, and that became the Sunnah for two who engage in the
procedure of Li'ân. Then the Prophet ﷺ said: 'Wait and see. If she gives birth to a child who is black in color with widely-spaced dark eyes and large buttocks, then I think that he was telling the truth about her, but if she gives birth to a child with a red complexion like a Wahrah,[1] then I think that he was lying.' Then she gave birth to a child with features resembling those of the man concerning whom she was accused." (Sahih)
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Footnotes
1
[1] An oath which is taken by both the wife and the husband when he accuses his wife of committing illegal sexual intercourse. See Surat An-Nur (24:6-9).
Commentary
The characteristic of self-esteem in a man is a good quality, but killing someone because of self-esteem is illegal. If one has strong doubt in the character of one's wife, then one should divorce her.
The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ disliked this question, because according to his knowledge, this type of incident had not happened, and it was impossible to inflict punishment based purely on doubt.
If a husband accuses his wife of committing adultery, then the woman should be questioned, and if she admits to it, she should be stoned, and the husband will not be entitled to any punishment. Likewise, if four witnesses bear witness against her, then this woman and her fornicator mate will deserve punishment.
If a woman does not admit her sexual offence, then the man should be told that the accusation is a crime and should be asked to repent. If he admits that he accused her wrongly, then he will be inflicted with the punishment of accusation, which is eighty lashes, and the woman will have no punishment.
