What is the ruling when four witnesses testify that a man committed Zina with a woman, and four other witnesses testify that the first set of witnesses are the adulterers themselves?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Ḥudūd (Prescribed Penalties)
Primary text
No punishment (Hadd) is incumbent upon any of the individuals involved in this scenario. This is the position of Abu Hanifa. The reasoning is that the second group of witnesses has discredited the first group through their testimony against them, rendering the testimony of the first group invalid. Furthermore, the second group of witnesses becomes subject to suspicion themselves.
Supporting text
Abu al-Khattab preferred that the Hadd be applied to the first set of witnesses because the testimony of the second group is sound and must be acted upon, which is also the view of Abu Yusuf. Abu al-Khattab also mentioned a related point that no one should receive the Hadd for Zina in this specific situation.