What is the prescribed punishment for the sexual misconduct of a slave (Abd or Ammah) concerning intoxicants, based on the established punishment for a free person?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Beverages (Intoxicants)
Primary text
If the established punishment for a free person regarding the drinking of intoxicants is eighty lashes, then the prescribed punishment for a slave (male or female) is half that amount, which is forty lashes. This division is based on the principle of halving the prescribed punishment for slaves as mentioned in the text.
Supporting text
Another narration holds that the punishment for a slave is twenty lashes, half the punishment of a free person, applied with a whip less severe than that used for a free person, analogous to how Ta'zir is lesser than Hudud. However, it is plausible that the slave’s whip should be the same as the free person's whip, because true halving is only achieved when the instrument causing the pain is identical, whereas halving both the number and softening the instrument results in a reduction of less than half. This latter view adheres to the Quranic verse stating that women shall receive half the punishment of free married women: "Then upon them is half the punishment due to free married women" (Quran 4:25).