What is the ruling if a man accuses his wife, and she confesses to adultery less than four times?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Mutual Imprecation (Li'an)
Primary text
If a man accuses his wife, and she confirms his accusation by confessing to adultery once, twice, or three times, the Hadd punishment is not incumbent upon her because the Hadd requires four confessions. If her confirmation occurs before her husband performs Li'an, there is no mutual Li'an between them, as Li'an is only applicable when denial is present, similar to evidence. If her confirmation occurs after his Li'an, she does not perform Li'an because she cannot swear an oath while admitting guilt. In this scenario, her ruling is treated as if she refused to swear the oath.
Supporting text
If she confesses four times, the Hadd is incumbent, and there is no Li'an if there is no paternity to deny. If she retracts her confession, the Hadd is dropped without disagreement, and the husband cannot perform Li'an solely for the Hadd, as it was not established by his accusation but by her admission. Regarding the negation of paternity, the prevailing view suggests the husband cannot perform Li'an in these situations unless paternity is intended to be denied, based on the argument that denying paternity requires mutual Li'an, which is rendered impossible by her admission.