What is the ruling concerning conflicting testimonies regarding the specifics of an alleged act of Zina (fornication/adultery)?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Judicial Rulings
Primary text
When two witnesses testify that a person committed Zina with a woman, and two other witnesses testify to Zina with another woman, or if the conflict pertains to the specific time or location (e.g., in the morning versus evening, or two distinct, distant corners of a house), all involved witnesses are considered slanderers (*Qadhif*) and are subject to the prescribed punishment (Hadd al-Qadhf). This ruling is established based on the impossibility of reconciling these contradictory accounts for a single act.
Supporting text
If the conflicting locations mentioned (e.g., two corners of a room) are close enough that the act could plausibly be attributed to either location, then the testimonies are considered to corroborate each other, and the testimony is accepted.