What is the prescribed punishment for a free, non-married man (Bakr) who commits fornication (Zina)?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Ḥudūd (Prescribed Penalties)
Primary text
A free, non-married man who commits fornication must receive one hundred lashes (Jald) and be exiled (Taghrib) for one year. There is no dispute regarding the obligation of flogging the fornicator if he is not married (Muhsan), as established in the Book of Allah: {The adulteress and the adulterer, flog each of them one hundred lashes} (Quran 2:2). The obligation of exile for one year alongside the flogging is the position of the majority of scholars, reported from the Rashidun Caliphs, and held by scholars such as Abu Ubayd, Abu Dawud, Ibn Mas'ud, Ibn Umar, 'Ata, Tawus, al-Thawri, Ibn Abi Layla, al-Shafi'i, Ishaq, and Abu Thawr. Evidence mandates exile based on the Hadith stating: 'The unmarried fornicator (Bakr) [must receive] one hundred lashes and exile for one year,' and the narration regarding the case of the servant where the Prophet (PBUH) decreed one hundred lashes and one year of exile.
Supporting text
Malik and al-Awza'i hold that only the man should be exiled, not the woman, due to her need for protection and the impossibility of exiling her without a guardian (Mahram), which is prohibited by the Prophet (PBUH) concerning a woman traveling a day and a night. Abu Hanifa and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan argue that exile is not obligatory because Ali (RA) stated that their banishment from the community is sufficient, and they cite the incident where Umar (RA) regretted exiling Rabi'a ibn Umayyah due to the resulting apostasy. They maintain that imposing exile adds to the explicit text of the Quran.