Is the legal punishment (Hadd) required if a man falsely accuses a non-mahram woman of adultery, and subsequently marries her?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Mutual Imprecation (Li'an)
Primary text
The prescribed punishment (Hadd) is obligatory if a man falsely accuses a non-mahram woman (ajnabiyyah) of adultery and then marries her. The Imām (ruler) does not engage in the *Li'an* (oath of imprecation) procedure because the grounds for the accusation existed when she was a non-mahram, meaning the right to invoke Li'an was not established at that time, similar to the situation where he never married her. This view is held by Mālik and Abū Thawr, and narrated from Sa'īd ibn al-Musayyab and al-Sha'bī.
Supporting text
If the accusation is made after the marriage but attributed to the time before the marriage, the Hadd is due, and Li'an is not performed, regardless of whether offspring resulted from the alleged prior adultery or not. This is the position attributed to Ahmad in one narration.