Conditions for the Implementation of Hudud Punishments.
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The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. I do not know whether we know the conditions for implementing the hudud punishments or not? The conditions?
All right, it is required that the person be of legal age, sane, aware of the prohibition, and committed to the laws, meaning that the perpetrator must be bound by the rulings of the Muslims, whether he is a Muslim or a dhimmi (a non-Muslim under Muslim protection).
So there is no hudud punishment except upon: one who is of legal age, sane, aware of the prohibition, and committed. Four conditions.
There is no hudud punishment for a minor, nor for a person of unsound mind, nor for one who is not committed, such as a hostile disbeliever, for example. Nor is there a hudud punishment for one who is ignorant of the prohibition. However, a claim of ignorance regarding the prohibition is not accepted from one who lived among the Muslims regarding a sin that is known to be forbidden.
So if a man who lived among the Muslims claims that he was ignorant of the prohibition of zina (unlawful sexual intercourse), it is not accepted from him. But if he recently converted to Islam, we accept it from him. We mentioned this because some people are confused about whether a person who commits zina, who is of legal age, sane, and married, should be stoned or not.
He is stoned, and she is not subjected to the hudud punishment. Why? Because she has not reached legal age.
All right, if a man who is married, meaning he has previously been married, commits zina with a virgin woman who is of legal age, is he stoned?
He is stoned, and she is not stoned. She is flogged.
The conditions we mentioned—that they must be of legal age, sane, and free—apply to the muhsan (one who is married). One is not considered muhsan unless he marries a woman, and both are of legal age, sane, and free. So these attributes are not for the adulterers, but for the spouses, so that a person may be considered muhsan. Thus, the muhsan is one who has intercourse with his wife in a valid marriage, and both are of legal age, free, and sane.
All right, it is required that the person be of legal age, sane, aware of the prohibition, and committed to the laws, meaning that the perpetrator must be bound by the rulings of the Muslims, whether he is a Muslim or a dhimmi (a non-Muslim under Muslim protection).
So there is no hudud punishment except upon: one who is of legal age, sane, aware of the prohibition, and committed. Four conditions.
There is no hudud punishment for a minor, nor for a person of unsound mind, nor for one who is not committed, such as a hostile disbeliever, for example. Nor is there a hudud punishment for one who is ignorant of the prohibition. However, a claim of ignorance regarding the prohibition is not accepted from one who lived among the Muslims regarding a sin that is known to be forbidden.
So if a man who lived among the Muslims claims that he was ignorant of the prohibition of zina (unlawful sexual intercourse), it is not accepted from him. But if he recently converted to Islam, we accept it from him. We mentioned this because some people are confused about whether a person who commits zina, who is of legal age, sane, and married, should be stoned or not.
He is stoned, and she is not subjected to the hudud punishment. Why? Because she has not reached legal age.
All right, if a man who is married, meaning he has previously been married, commits zina with a virgin woman who is of legal age, is he stoned?
He is stoned, and she is not stoned. She is flogged.
The conditions we mentioned—that they must be of legal age, sane, and free—apply to the muhsan (one who is married). One is not considered muhsan unless he marries a woman, and both are of legal age, sane, and free. So these attributes are not for the adulterers, but for the spouses, so that a person may be considered muhsan. Thus, the muhsan is one who has intercourse with his wife in a valid marriage, and both are of legal age, free, and sane.