Does confession nullify the established legal evidence (Bayyinah) for the prescribed punishment (Hadd) for adultery (Zina)?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Ḥudūd (Prescribed Penalties)
Primary text
When the required legal evidence (four upright male witnesses) for Zina is complete and the accused admits to the act (confession), the prescribed punishment (Hadd) must still be implemented. This is based on the verse in Surah An-Nisa: 15, which mandates detaining the women in their homes until death or until Allah prescribes a way (sabil). The Prophet, peace be upon him, established this way through implementing the Hadd. Since the evidence (Bayyinah) was completed against him, the Hadd is obligatory, just as if he had not confessed. Furthermore, evidence (Bayyinah) is one of the two proofs for Zina, and its validity is not nullified by the presence of the other proof or part of it, such as a confession. The confession here reinforces and agrees with the evidence and does not contradict it, similar to the validation of witnesses. The requirement of denial for the validity of evidence is not accepted; rather, a complete confession suffices only in cases other than Hadd, and here the confession was incomplete, so it was necessary to accept the evidence and act upon it.
Supporting text
Abu Hanifa holds that the Hadd is nullified because the prerequisite for the validity of the evidence is the denial (of the accused), and a complete confession invalidates it. Furthermore, if the accused confesses once or less than the four required times, this does not prevent the evidence from being heard. If the evidence is completed against him, and he then makes a full confession and subsequently retracts it, the Hadd is not dropped due to his retraction.