Surah An-Nur 24:2

Which was Revealed in Al-Madinah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

The Importance of Surat An-Nur

سُورَةٌ أَنزَلْنَـهَا

(A Surah which We have sent down) Here Allah is pointing out the high esteem in which He holds this Surah, which is not to say that other Surahs are not important.

وَفَرَضْنَـهَا

(and which We have enjoined,) Mujahid and Qatadah said, "This means: We have explained what is lawful and unlawful, commands and prohibitions, and the prescribed punishments." Al-Bukhari said, "Those who read it: Faradnaha, say that it means: "We have enjoined them upon you and those who come after you."

وَأَنزَلْنَا فِيهَآ ءَايَـتٍ بَيِّنَـتٍ

(and in it We have revealed manifest Ayat,) means, clearly explained,

لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ

(that you may remember.)

The Explanation of the Prescribed Punishment for Zina (Illicit Sex)

Then Allah says:

الزَّانِيَةُ وَالزَّانِى فَاجْلِدُواْ كُلَّ وَاحِدٍ مِّنْهُمَا مِاْئَةَ جَلْدَةٍ

(The Zaniyah and the Zani, flog each of them with a hundred stripes.) This honorable Ayah contains the ruling on the law of retaliation for the person who commits illegal sex, and details of the punishment. Such a person will either be unmarried, meaning that he has never been married, or he will be married, meaning that he has had intercourse within the bounds of a lawful marriage, and he is free, adult and of sound mind. As for the virgin who is unwedded, the prescribed punishment is one hundred stripes, as stated in this Ayah. In addition to this he is to be banished from his homeland for one year, as was recorded in the Two Sahihs from Abu Hurayrah and Zayd bin Khalid Al-Juhani in the Hadith about the two bedouins who came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. One of them said, "O Messenger of Allah, this son of mine was employed by this man, and committed Zina with his wife. I paid a ransom with him on behalf of my son one hundred sheep and a slave-girl, but when I asked the people of knowledge, they said that my son should be given one hundred stripes and banished for a year, and that this man's wife should be stoned to death." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَأَقْضِيَنَّ بَيْنَكُمَا بِكِتَابِ اللهِ تَعَالى، الْوَلِيدَةُ وَالْغَنَمُ رَدٌّ عَلَيْكَ، وَعَلى ابْنِكَ جَلْدُ مِائَةٍ وَتَغْرِيبُ عَامٍ، وَاغْدُ يَا أُنَيْسُ لِرَجُلٍ مِنْ أَسْلَمَ إِلَى امْرَأَةِ هذَا،فَإِنِ اعْتَرَفَتْ فَارْجُمْهَا»

(By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, I will judge between you both according to the Book of Allah. Take back the slave-girl and sheep, and your son is to be given one hundred stripes and banished for one year. O Unays -- he said to a man from the tribe of Aslam -- go to this man's wife, and if she confesses, then stone her to death.) Unays went to her and she confessed, so he stoned her to death. This indicates that if the person who is guilty of illegal sex is a virgin and unmarried, he should be banished in addition to being given one hundred stripes. But if married, meaning he has had intercourse within the bounds of lawful marriage, and he is free, adult and of sound mind, then he should be stoned to death. Imam Malik recorded that `Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, stood up and praised and glorified Allah, then he said; "O people! Allah sent Muhammad with the truth, and revealed to him the Book. One of the things that was revealed to him was the Ayah of stoning to death, which we have recited and understood. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ carried out the punishment of stoning and after him we did so, but I am afraid that as time goes by, some will say that they did not find the Ayah of stoning in the Book of Allah, and they will go astray because they abandoned one of the obligations revealed by Allah. Stoning is something that is prescribed in the Book of Allah for the person -- man or woman -- who commits illegal sex, if he or she is married, if decisive evidence is produced, or if pregnancy results from that, or if they confess to it." It was also recorded in the Two Sahihs in the lengthy Hadith of Malik, from which we have quoted briefly only the portion that is relevant to the current discussion.

Do not feel pity for Them when carrying out the Prescribed Punishment

وَلاَ تَأْخُذْكُمْ بِهِمَا رَأْفَةٌ فِى دِينِ اللَّهِ

(Let not pity withhold you in their case, in a punishment prescribed by Allah,) Meaning, with a ruling prescribed by Allah. So the meaning of the Ayah is: "Do not feel too sorry for them where the laws of Allah are established." This does not mean that we should not naturally feel pity when carrying out the punishment. What is prohibited here is the kind of pity that may make the judge ignore the punishment altogether. This is what is not permitted for the judge. Mujahid said,

وَلاَ تَأْخُذْكُمْ بِهِمَا رَأْفَةٌ فِى دِينِ اللَّهِ

(Let not pity withhold you in their case, in a punishment prescribed by Allah,) "If the matter is taken to the ruling authority, the punishment has to be carried out and cannot be stopped." This was also narrated from Sa`id bin Jubayr and `Ata' bin Abi Rabah. It was recorded in a Hadith:

«تَعَافَوُا الْحُدُودَ فِيمَا بَيْنَكُمْ، فَمَا بَلَغَنِي مِنْ حَدَ فَقَدْ وَجَبَ»

(Compromise with the matter of prescribed punishment mutually sorting it out among yourselves, for once a matter where the prescribed punishment is required reaches me, I am obliged to carry it out.) Allah's saying:

إِن كُنتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الاٌّخِرِ

(if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. ) means, then do that, carry out the punishments on those who commit illegal sex, and strike them hard without causing any wound, so that he and others like him will be deterred by the terror of that. In Al-Musnad, it was recorded that one of the Companions said, "O Messenger of Allah, when I slaughter a sheep I feel pity for it." He said,

«وَلَكَ فِي ذلِكَ أَجْرٌ»

(You be rewarded for that.)

Carry out the Prescribed Punishment in Public

وَلْيَشْهَدْ عَذَابَهُمَا طَآئِفَةٌ مِّنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

(And let a party of the believers witness their punishment.) This is more humiliating for the people who are guilty of illegal sex, if they are flogged in front of the people. This is because it is more effective as a deterrent and it conveys the sense of scandal and rebuke. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said,

وَلْيَشْهَدْ عَذَابَهُمَا طَآئِفَةٌ مِّنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

(And let a party of the believers witness their punishment.) "Publicly."

Pada ayat ini Allah menerangkan bahwa orang-orang Islam yang berzina baik perempuan maupun laki-laki yang sudah akil balig, merdeka, dan tidak muhsan hukumnya didera seratus kali dera, sebagai hukuman atas perbuatannya itu. Yang dimaksud dengan muhsan ialah perempuan atau laki-laki yang pernah menikah dan bersebadan. Tidak muhsan berarti belum pernah menikah dan bersebadan, artinya gadis dan perjaka. Mereka bila berzina hukumannya adalah dicambuk seratus kali. Pencambukan itu harus dilakukan tanpa belas kasihan yaitu tanpa henti dengan syarat tidak mengakibatkan luka atau patah tulang.

Bagi orang-orang yang beriman kepada Allah dan hari akhirat, tidak dibenarkan bahkan dilarang menaruh belas kasihan kepada pelanggar hukum itu yang tidak menjalankan ketentuan yang telah digariskan di dalam agama Allah. Nabi Muhammad harus dijadikan contoh atau teladan dalam menegakkan hukum. Beliau pernah berkata:

Dari 'Aisyah berkata Rasulullah bersabda, "Andaikata Fatimah binti Muhammad mencuri, pasti saya potong tangannya." (Riwayat asy-Syaikhan)

Hukuman cambuk itu hendaklah dilaksanakan oleh yang berwajib dan dilakukan di tempat umum dan terhormat, seperti di masjid, sehingga dapat disaksikan oleh orang banyak, dengan maksud supaya orang-orang yang menyaksikan pelaksanaan hukuman dera itu mendapat pelajaran, sehingga mereka benar-benar dapat menahan dirinya dari perbuatan zina. Adapun pezina-pezina muhsan baik perempuan maupun laki-laki hukumannya ialah dilempar dengan batu sampai mati, yang menurut istilah dalam Islam dinamakan "rajam". Hukuman rajam ini juga dilaksanakan oleh orang yang berwenang dan dilakukan di tempat umum yang dapat disaksikan oleh orang banyak. Hukum rajam ini didasarkan atas sunnah Nabi saw yang mutawatir.

Diriwayatkan dari Abu Bakar, Umar, Ali, Jabir bin Abdillah, Abu Said Al-Khudri, Abu Hurairah, Zaid bin Khalid dan Buraidah al-Aslamy, bahwa seorang sahabat Nabi yang bernama Ma'iz telah dijatuhi hukuman rajam berdasarkan pengakuannya sendiri bahwa ia berzina. Begitu pula dua orang perempuan dari Bani Lahm dan Bani Hamid telah dijatuhi hukuman rajam, berdasarkan pengakuan keduanya bahwa mereka telah berzina. Hukuman itu dilakukan di hadapan umum. Begitulah hukuman perbuatan zina di dunia. Adapun di akhirat nanti, pezina itu akan masuk neraka jika tidak bertaubat, sebagaimana sabda Nabi saw.

"Jauhilah zina karena di dalam zina ada empat perkara. Menghilangkan kewibawaan wajah, memutus rezeki, membikin murka Allah, dan menyebabkan kekal di neraka." (Riwayat ath-thabrani dalam Mu'jam al-Ausath, dari Ibnu 'Abbas)

Kenyataannya adalah bahwa budaya pergaulan bebas laki-laki dan perempuan telah menimbulkan penyakit-penyakit yang sulit disembuhkan, yaitu HIV/AIDS, hilangnya sistem kekebalan tubuh pada manusia pada akhirnya yang bersangkutan akan mati secara perlahan. Juga telah memunculkan banyaknya bayi lahir di luar nikah, sehingga mengacaukan keturunan dan pada gilirannya mengacaukan tatanan hukum dan sosial.

Perbuatan zina telah disepakati sebagai dosa besar yang berada pada posisi ketiga sesudah musyrik dan membunuh, sebagaimana dijelaskan di dalam hadis Nabi saw:

Berkata Abdullah bin Mas'ud, "Wahai Rasulullah! Dosa apakah yang paling besar di sisi Allah?" Rasulullah menjawab, "Engkau jadikan bagi Allah sekutu padahal Dialah yang menciptakanmu," Berkata Ibnu Mas'ud, "Kemudian dosa apalagi?", jawab Rasulullah, "Engkau membunuh anakmu karena takut akan makan bersamamu." Berkata Ibnu Mas'ud, "Kemudian dosa apalagi?" Rasulullah menjawab, "Engkau berzina dengan istri tetanggamu."

Senada dengan hadis ini, firman Allah:

Dan orang-orang yang tidak menyembah Tuhan yang lain beserta Allah dan tidak membunuh jiwa yang diharamkan Allah (membunuhnya) kecuali dengan (alasan) yang benar, serta tidak berzina. (al-Furqan/25: 68)

Hukuman di dunia itu baru dilaksanakan bila tindakan perzinaan itu benar-benar terjadi. Kepastian terjadi atau tidaknya perbuatan zina ditentukan oleh salah satu dari tiga hal berikut: bukti (bayyinah), hamil, dan pengakuan yang bersangkutan, sebagaimana sabda Nabi yang diriwayatkan oleh Huzaifah:

Hukum rajam dalam Kitabullah jelas atas siapa yang berzina bila dia muhsan, baik laki-laki maupun perempuan, bila terdapat bukti, hamil atau pengakuan. (Riwayat al-Bukhari dan Muslim)

Yang dimaksud dengan "bukti" dalam hadis tersebut adalah kesaksian para saksi yang jumlahnya paling kurang empat orang laki-laki yang menyaksikan dengan jelas terjadinya perzinaan. Bila tidak ada atau tidak cukup saksi, diperlukan pengakuan yang bersangkutan, bila yang bersangkutan tidak mengaku, maka hukuman tidak bisa dijatuhkan.

Hukuman di akhirat, yaitu azab di dalam neraka sebagaimana diterangkan dalam hadis yang diriwayatkan Huzaifah di atas, terjadi bila yang bersangkutan tidak tobat. Bila yang bersangkutan tobat dan bersedia menjalankan hukuman di dunia, maka ia terlepas dari hukuman akhirat, sebagaimana hadis yang mengisahkan seorang sahabat yang bernama Hilal yang menuduh istrinya berzina tetapi si istri membantahnya. Nabi mengatakan bahwa hukuman di akhirat lebih dahsyat dari hukuman di dunia, yaitu rajam, jauh lebih ringan. Tetapi perempuan itu malah mengingkari bahwa ia telah berzina.

Dari peristiwa itu dipahami bahwa bila orang yang berzina telah bertobat dan bersedia menjalankan hukuman di dunia, ia terlepas dari hukuman di akhirat.