Punishment Of Zina For A Married And An Unmarried Person
… “The punishment of a fornicator, as prescribed in the Quran is a hundred lashes in public and a prohibition of marriage with a chaste person . This is mentioned in Surah Nur 24:2 . However, when a fornicator does not simply commit fornication rather forms a gang of rapists and sets the whole society in danger or when a woman not only commits fornication but opens a brothel and promotes and spreads lewdness in the society, the crime remains the same but its intensity is raised such that it isn’t against an individual but the whole society is targeted. Such crimes are classed by the Quran as Muharabah and Fasad Fil-ard ( waging war against Allah and spreading anarchy in the land ) for which the Holy Quran has prescribed specific punishments. The Holy Quran has ordered that these criminals should be executed in an exemplary manner, or crucified, or an opposite hand and feet should be amputated, or they should be exiled. These punishments are mentioned in Surah Maidah of the Holy Quran (5:33) . No such distinction between married and unmarried is observed in the Islamic Shariah . Some Muslim jurists believe that it does but the words of the Holy Quran don’t accept this interpretation. These jurists observed that the Prophet (sws) sometimes flogged the convict and sometimes him (or her) were stoned to death. They tried to reconcile the matter and came to the conclusion that when the convict was married the Prophet (sws) stoned him or her to death. This was because it was reported that in such cases the marital status of the criminal would be ascertained by the Prophet (sws). As pointed out above the basis of distinction in punishment was the intensity of the crime. Being married may make the crime grave in some instances. However, there may be several other reasons, some of which have been alluded above “ …. (Relevant excerpt from reponse given by Tariq Mahmood Hashmi ) Please see for details : Discussion 27167 Discussion 27225