Quran 24:33 – Why No Punishment Mentioned For Forced Prostitution?
Running prostitution as an institution goes one step ahead of fornication and falls in Muharabah, which has even severe punishment ( in extreme cases ) than merely committing fornication. And forcing this on others adds to the severity of this crime and can lead to extreme punishments of Muharabah as mentioned in Quran: إِنَّمَا جَزَاءُ الَّذِينَ يُحَارِبُونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَيَسْعَوْنَ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَسَادًا أَنْ يُقَتَّلُوا أَوْ يُصَلَّبُوا أَوْ تُقَطَّعَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَأَرْجُلُهُمْ مِنْ خِلَافٍ أَوْ يُنفَوْا مِنْ الْأَرْضِ ذَلِكَ لَهُمْ خِزْيٌ فِي الدُّنيَا وَلَهُمْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ تَابُوا مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ تَقْدِرُوا عَلَيْهِمْ فَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ The punishments of those who wage war against Allah and His Prophet and strive to spread anarchy in the land are to execute them in an exemplary way or to crucify them or to amputate their hands and feet from opposite sides or to banish them from the land. Such is their disgrace in this world, and in the Hereafter, theirs will be an awful doom except those who repent before you overpower them, then you should know that Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Ever-Merciful . (Quran 5:33-34) The Prophet (sws) while deciding the fate of such criminals invoved in the business of prostitution said that since they were not merely guilty of fornication but were also guilty of spreading disorder in the society as they had adopted profligacy as a way of life, those among them who deserved any mitigation should be administered the punishments of a hundred stripes according to the second verse of Surah Nur because of committing fornication and exiled according to verse 33 of Surah Maidah to protect the society from their dissolute practices, and those among them who did not deserve any leniency, they should be stoned to death according to the directive of taqtil of the same verse of Surah Maidah. Please also refer to the following response of Ghamidi Sahab : Discussion 64662 • Reply 64707 Details on Muharabah : Discussion 27167