Tafsir of An-Nur 24:3

Surah An-Nur (The Light): Verse 3

The Adulterer shall not marry except an adulteress or a polytheist, and the adulteress shall not be married except by an adulterer or a polytheist. And that has been forbidden to the believers.

It has been recited with jazm (jussive mood) for prohibition: {لَا يَنكِحُ} (lā yankiḥu - shall not marry). It has also been recited with fath (indicative mood) on the ḥā’: {وَحُرِّمَ} (wa ḥurrima - and it was forbidden).

There are several questions concerning this verse:

First Inquiry: The Apparent Meaning vs. Reality

The statement {الزَّانِي لَا يَنكِحُ إِلَّا زَانِيَةً أَوْ مُشْرِكَةً} (The adulterer shall not marry except an adulteress or a polytheist) appears to be a factual report (khabar). However, this apparent meaning contradicts reality, as we observe that an adulterer may marry a chaste believing woman, and an adulteress may be married by a chaste believer.

Second Inquiry: The Prohibition for Believers

The statement {وَحُرِّمَ ذَلِكَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ} (And that has been forbidden to the believers) also seems incorrect, as it appears permissible for a believer to marry an adulterous woman.

The commentators have offered several interpretations to address these two issues:

The First and Best Opinion (Attributed to Al-Qaffāl):

1. Regarding the scope of the statement: Although the wording is general, the intended meaning refers to the most common scenario (al-a'amm al-aghlab). A wicked fornicator, whose nature is characterized by adultery and corruption, typically does not desire to marry righteous women. Instead, he seeks a wicked adulteress like himself or a polytheist woman. Similarly, righteous men are repelled by and avoid marrying wicked adulteresses; only those of similar character (fornicators and polytheists) desire them. This is like saying, "Only the pious man does good deeds," even though some non-pious people might occasionally do good.
2. Regarding the prohibition for believers: This is answered in two ways:
   • First: The marriage of a believer (who is praised by God) to an adulteress, and his inclination towards her, thereby joining the ranks of the known fornicators, is forbidden because it involves imitating the wicked, exposing oneself to suspicion, causing gossip about him, and associating with sinners, which leads to committing sins. How much more so is this true for marrying adulteresses and libertines!
   • Second: The complete turning away of desire from righteous women and focusing solely on adulteresses is forbidden for believers. The phrase {الزَّانِي لَا يَنكِحُ إِلَّا زَانِيَةً} means the adulterer desires only the adulteress. This exclusivity of desire is forbidden for the believer. The prohibition of this specific inclination does not necessitate the prohibition of marrying an adulteress altogether. This is the relied-upon interpretation of the verse.

The Second Opinion (Specificity of Context):

The alif and lām (the definite article) in {الزَّانِي} and {وَحُرِّمَ ذَلِكَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ} might appear general, but here they are restricted to the specific people concerning whom the verse was revealed.

• Mujāhid, 'Aṭā' ibn Abī Rabāḥ, and Qatādah reported that when the Emigrants (Muhājirūn) arrived in Medina, some poor among them lacked wealth and kinship ties. In Medina, there were women known for prostitution (baghāyā), who rented themselves out. They were the most affluent people in Medina at that time, and each had a sign on her door, like a farrier's mark, to identify her as a prostitute. Only adulterers or polytheists would approach them.
• Some poor Muslims desired to marry these women temporarily, saying they would marry them until God enriched them. They sought permission from the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), and this verse was revealed.
• The interpretation then becomes: "Those fornicators shall not marry except those adulteresses, and those adulteresses shall not be married except by those fornicators, and their marriage was forbidden to the believers [who were not in that specific situation]."

The Third Opinion (The Command Interpretation):

The statement {الزَّانِي لَا يَنكِحُ إِلَّا زَانِيَةً} appears to be a factual report, but the intended meaning is a prohibition (nahy).

• The meaning is: Whoever is an adulterer should not marry except an adulteress, and this was forbidden to the believers. This was the ruling at the beginning of Islam.
  • First View within this opinion: This ruling remains in effect today, forbidding the adulterer/adulteress from marrying a chaste person, and vice versa. This is said to be the view of Abū Bakr, 'Umar, 'Alī, Ibn Mas'ūd, and 'Ā'ishah. Some among them equate the initial ruling with its perpetuity. They argue that just as it is unlawful for a believer to marry an adulteress, it is unlawful for him to remain married to her if she commits adultery while under his marriage.
  • Second View within this opinion: Some differentiate, arguing that some impediments to marriage (like iḥrām or waiting period) do not prevent the continuation of a valid marriage.

• The Second View (Abrogation): This ruling was abrogated (mansūkh).
  • Al-Jubbā'ī said its abrogator was the consensus (ijmā').
  • Sa'īd ibn al-Musayyab said it was abrogated by the general statement of God: {فَانكِحُوا مَا طَابَ لَكُم مِّنَ النِّسَاءِ} (Marry those that please you of [other] women) [An-Nisā': 3] and {وَأَنكِحُوا الْأَيَامَىٰ} (And marry the unmarried among you) [An-Nūr: 32].

• The Refutation of Abrogation Claims (By the Scholars): Both claims of abrogation are weak.
  • Against the Consensus: It is established in the principles of jurisprudence that consensus neither abrogates nor is it abrogated. Furthermore, a consensus reached after a dispute is not authoritative. Since the consensus on this issue was preceded by the dissent of Abū Bakr, 'Umar, and 'Alī, how can it be valid?
  • Against the General Verses: The verses {فَانكِحُوا مَا طَابَ لَكُم} cannot abrogate this, because they inherently require that there be no existing impediment to marriage (due to lineage, relationship, or other causes). One could argue that marrying an adulteress to a believer is not included, just as marrying her to a brother or nephew is not included. We maintain that adultery has a unique effect regarding separation that other matters do not, as seen in cases where accusing her of adultery leads to separation (in some views), which is not required for other offenses that incur a ḥadd punishment. Adultery inherently brings shame and affects the marital bond, distinguishing it from other sins.
  • Evidence cited by those claiming abrogation: Ibn 'Abbās was asked about a man who committed adultery with a woman; may he marry her? He permitted it, comparing it to someone stealing fruit from a tree and then buying it. The Prophet (PBUH) was asked about this and replied: "Its beginning is fornication, and its end is marriage. What is unlawful does not prohibit what is lawful."

The Fourth Opinion (Interpretation of Terms):

The word {النِّكَاحُ} (nikāḥ) should be interpreted as sexual intercourse (waṭ’).

• The meaning is: The adulterer does not have sexual intercourse, except with an adulteress or a polytheist woman (when that intercourse is illicit/adultery). Likewise for the adulteress.
• {وَحُرِّمَ ذَلِكَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ} means: And adultery is forbidden to the believers. This is the interpretation of Abū Muslim.
• Al-Zajjāj criticized this interpretation on two grounds:
  1. The word nikāḥ in the Book of God has only ever meant marriage contract (tazwīj), never sexual intercourse (waṭ’).
  2. It renders the statement pointless. If we say the adulterer only has intercourse with an adulteress, the problem returns: we see adulterers having intercourse with chaste women when they marry them. If we say the meaning is that the adulterer only has intercourse as adultery with an adulteress, then the statement is meaningless, as it only defines adultery as adultery.

What is the difference between {الزَّانِي لَا يَنكِحُ إِلَّا زَانِيَةً} (The adulterer shall not marry except an adulteress) and {وَالزَّانِيَةُ لَا يَنكِحُهَا إِلَّا زَانٍ} (And the adulteress shall not be married except by an adulterer)?

Answer: The first clause indicates that the adulterer desires only to marry an adulteress. This does not preclude the adulteress from being desired by someone other than an adulterer. The second clause clarifies this by stating that the adulteress is only married by an adulterer (or polytheist).

Why is the adulteress mentioned first in the preceding verse (referring to the prohibition of adultery), but here the adulterer is mentioned first?

Answer: The preceding verse was focused on the punishment for the crime, and the woman is often considered the material cause in adultery. This verse, however, is focused on marriage, and the man is the primary agent as he is the one desiring and seeking the union.

The Third Ruling: Slander (Qadhf)

{وَالَّذِينَ يَرْمُونَ الْمُحْصَنَاتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَأْتُوا بِأَرْبَعَةِ شُهَدَاءَ فَاجْلِدُوهُمْ ثَمَانِينَ جَلْدَةً وَلَا تَقْبَلُوا لَهُمْ شَهَادَةً أَبَدًا وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ * إِلَّا الَّذِينَ تَابُوا مِن بَعْدِ ذَلِكَ وَأَصْلَحُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ}

*And those who accuse chaste women [of adultery] and then do not produce four witnesses, then flog them eighty lashes and never accept their testimony. And those are the defiantly disobedient, Except for those who repent thereafter and reform, for indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.