I Have been Accused of Adultery by my Sister In-Law & Mother In-Law by Using Amulets and Other Methods

The Shariah has laid down certain methods and ways that serve as basis in establishing whether a person is guilty of fornication, theft or other such crimes. Hence, accusing someone of a crime without establishing it through the required methods prescribed by the Shariah would be wrong and unlawful. Moreover, only an Islamic government and those in authority are responsible to use these methods and establish whether one was guilty of a crime or otherwise, so that the legal penalty for the crime can be enforced.

In order to establish whether one was guilty of theft, the jurists (fuqaha) state that it will be established by self-admittance (iqrar) once or by the testimony of two adult males. The witnesses will be questioned regarding the relevant details of the incident, as not to make an error. (See: al-Ikhtiyar li ta’lil al-Mukhtar, P341-351)

Similarly, in order to establish whether one is guilty of committing fornication or otherwise, the jurists (fuqaha) have laid down certain extremely strict conditions. Without such conditions being met, it will not be permitted to consider someone guilty of having committed such a crime.

Fornication and adultery (zina) is proven by four people testifying that they clearly observed the couple engaged in unlawful sexual intercourse without any doubt or ambiguity. They are able to say that they saw their private parts meet like the Kohl needle entering the Kohl bottle. They will be asked about the various details concerning the time and location of the incident, and who were the people involved and other such matters, in order to remove any doubt. These four witnesses themselves must be pious and upright both privately and publicly. (See: al-Ikhtiyar li ta’lil al-Mukhtar, 2/311-316 & other major Hanafi Fiqh references)

As far as using amulets (ta’wizes) and/or predicting something by looking at certain verses of the Qur’an, etc, this has no basis in Shariah, insofar as proving someone to be guilty of a crime is concerned. Some people come to conclusions by carrying out certain practices such as opening the Qur’an and concluding something based on the verse that first appeared when opening the Qur’an. This and other similar methods are used in order to determine the thief or to identify who was guilty of some other crime.

Imam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (Allah have mercy on him) and others have considered using such methods to predict the past or the future to be unlawful, for they are not a source of evidence in Shariah. It will be sinful to have a bad opinion about someone or to accuse someone of committing a crime based purely on such practices. (See: al-Fatawa al-Hadithiyya, P: 641)

Having a good opinion about others is always necessary and bad opinion is condemned in Shariah until proven otherwise with the required evidence.

In the sixth Hijri year, the blessed wife of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace), Sayyida A’isha (Allah be pleased with her) was wrongly accused by the hypocrites (munafiqun) of Madina to have committed adultery, hence Allah Most High revealed many verses in defence of her innocence, honour and integrity. Allah Almighty categorically condemned those who accused her of this evil sin and were not able to provide four witnesses.

Allah Most High says:

“Verily those who brought forward the lie are a body amongst you. Think it not to be an evil to you; on the contrary, it is good for you. To every man among them (will come the punishment) of the sin that he earned, and to him who took on himself the lead among them, will be a penalty grievous.

Why did not the believers – men and women – when you heard of the matter, think well of their own people and say: “This (charge) is an obvious lie”?

Why did they not bring four witnesses to prove it? When they have not brought the witnesses, such men, in the sight of Allah, (stand forth) themselves as liars!

Were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah on you, in this world and the Hereafter, a grievous penalty would have seized you in that you rushed glibly into this affair.

Behold, you received it on your tongues, and said out of your mouths things of which you had no knowledge; and you thought it to be a light matter, while it was most serious in the sight of Allah.

And why did you not, when you heard it, say? – “It is not right of us to speak of this. Glory to Allah, this is a most serious slander!” (Surah al-Nur, Vs: 11-16)

In the above verses, Allah Most High categorically condemns those who spread rumours about others without concrete evidence. The statement of Allah “Why did they not bring four witnesses to prove it?” is quite clear, in that if one is unable to bring concrete evidence to prove someone guilty of fornication, then the one accusing will himself be guilty of a great crime.

Therefore, it is unlawful to decisively prove someone to be guilty of a crime based on such methods. Those who carry out such practices must at once abstain from doing so, and others should avoid seeking their services and believing in them. As explained earlier, the Shariah has set down certain methods of proving a crime; hence, the methods used by these individuals are no evidences. It will be unlawful to accuse someone of committing fornication or theft based purely on such methods. One will be guilty of falsely accusing a fellow Muslim of committing a crime and also hurting his/her feelings. It is completely unlawful to humiliate and disgrace an individual and accusing him/her of doing something wrong without having the concrete evidences required in Shariah. (See: Fatawa Mahmudiyya, 15/27)

Having said that, certain methods may serve as pointing towards the right direction, in that they may help one in arriving at a correct conclusion. At times, a particular method may be used in order to scare the perpetrator, so that he/she may come forward and admit to the crime. However, one will still be required to provide the concrete evidence required by Shariah, and without such evidence, it will be wrong and sinful to accuse someone of being guilty of committing a crime.

In light of the above explanation, it becomes clear that those who have accused you of committing fornication and adultery by using methods such as prediction and taking omens from the Qur’an, etc, are without doubt in the wrong and they should at once abstain from such practices. They should be explained that these methods are not in any way sufficient evidences to prove someone to be guilty or otherwise.

The best thing to do would be to get some respectable members of the family and relatives (and also a local scholar of knowledge and piety, if possible) involved and the issue should be discussed in an amicable manner. The relevant parties should forgive one another and seek forgiveness from one another (and from Allah) for breaking ties with fellow relatives. The past should be forgiven and all should look towards the future with an open and clear mind. May Allah make matters easy for all those involved, Ameen.

And Allah knows best