29/6. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 1703c — Unmarried Slave-Woman Zina Ruling
Stoning Jews and Ahl Adh-Dhimmah for Zina
Unmarried Slave Woman Zina Hadith: Flogging and Sale After Repetition
Sahih Muslim : 1703c
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 1703c
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْلَمَةَ الْقَعْنَبِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا مَالِكٌ، ح وَحَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ يَحْيَى، - وَاللَّفْظُ لَهُ - قَالَ قَرَأْتُ عَلَى مَالِكٍ عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم سُئِلَ عَنِ الأَمَةِ إِذَا زَنَتْ وَلَمْ تُحْصِنْ قَالَ " إِنْ زَنَتْ فَاجْلِدُوهَا ثُمَّ إِنْ زَنَتْ فَاجْلِدُوهَا ثُمَّ إِنْ زَنَتْ فَاجْلِدُوهَا ثُمَّ بِيعُوهَا وَلَوْ بِضَفِيرٍ " . قَالَ ابْنُ شِهَابٍ لاَ أَدْرِي أَبَعْدَ الثَّالِثَةِ أَوِ الرَّابِعَةِ . وَقَالَ الْقَعْنَبِيُّ فِي رِوَايَتِهِ قَالَ ابْنُ شِهَابٍ وَالضَّفِيرُ الْحَبْلُ .
Abu Hurairah Narrated from:
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) was asked about the slave-woman who committed adultery and was not protected (married). He said: If she commits adultery, then flog her and if she commits adultery again, then flog her and then sell her even for a rope. Ibn Shihab said: I do not know whether he said this (his statement pertaining to the sale of slave-woman) at the third or the fourth time. Ibn Shihab said that the word dafir (used in the text) means rope.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 1703cIn-book reference : Book 29, Hadith 50USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 17, Hadith 4221
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 1703c
This unmarried slave woman zina hadith answers a direct question asked to the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم. He was asked about a slave-woman who committed adultery and was not protected by marriage. The answer was simple and repeated: if she commits zina, flog her; if she does it again, flog her; if she does it again, flog her; then sell her, even for a rope. The report also keeps a careful note from Ibn Shihab, who said he did not know whether the sale was mentioned after the third or the fourth time. It also explains that the word dafir means rope. This makes the hadith useful for people searching for the meaning of rope in this narration and the repeated offence ruling.
What we learn from this hadith
- The ruling in the text is given as an answer to a specific question.
- Repeated proven zina is treated with repeated punishment before sale is mentioned.
- The narrator carefully preserves uncertainty about whether sale came after the third or fourth time.
