الزّاني لا يَنكِحُ إِلّا زانِيَةً أَو مُشرِكَةً وَالزّانِيَةُ لا يَنكِحُها إِلّا زانٍ أَو مُشرِكٌ ۚ وَحُرِّمَ ذٰلِكَ عَلَى المُؤمِنينَ
The fornicator shall not marry anyone but a fornicatress or an idolatress, and the fornicatress shall be married by none except a fornicator or an idolater, and that is forbidden to the faithful.
EXEGESIS
Yankiḥu (marry) can mean either marriage or intercourse. Some have claimed that the original meaning of the word is intercourse,[1] while others have said it originally means marriage.[2] As Rāghib points out, reason demands that the original meaning is marriage and then it was used as innuendo for intercourse, because innuendo in language always tends towards replacing more crude meanings with something more polite and innocuous.[3]
It has also been said that yankiḥu here means intercourse and thereby God has informed that only a fornicator or an idolater would seek to practice zināʾ with such people.[4] In this sense it has been likened to the later verse, Vicious women are for vicious men, and vicious men for vicious women. Good women are for good men, and good men for good women (verse 26).[5] This interpretation has been criticised as the verse amounting to stating the obvious,[6] although that criticism only applies in the case of the fornicator, not the idolater. It has also been argued that the word nikāḥ is not used anywhere else in the Quran except in the meaning of marriage.[7]
EXPOSITION
As the previous verse spoke of the punishment of zināʾ, this verse now answers a natural question that might arise regarding conducting a legal Islamic marriage with such people: is such an action allowed? Is marriage with individuals known for adultery, or who have been punished for adultery, permissible? The verse answers that question by forbidding such marriages. The Muslims should not marry people known for adultery, at least not until they have made their repentance as known as they had made their zināʾ known. This all ties into the philosophy of the ruling laid out in the previous verse: zināʾ should remain a shameful act in a Muslim society and those who are unashamed about it should be ostracised by the Muslim community.
It is said that at the time of the revelation of this surah, there was a group of women in Medina who used to prostitute themselves and would hang up a sign on their door so that men would know to visit them. A Muslim man then came to the Prophet and informed him he was interested in marrying one of them and asked if he was allowed to do so. This verse was then revealed in reply to that question.[8]
According to another report, this verse was revealed about Marthad al-Ghanawī and a woman named ʿInāq. Marthad was a powerful man and was known by the name Duldul. He used to help incapable Muslims migrate to the Messenger of God. ʿInāq was his lover during the pre-Islamic period, and when he came to Mecca, ʿInāq invited him to herself. Marthad said: ‘Allah has forbidden adultery.’ She said: ‘Then marry me.’ He replied: ‘I will ask the Messenger of Allah about it.’ He asked him, and then God revealed this verse.[9] Some other narrations similar to the two aforementioned ones are also reported in other books.
It has been reported from Imam al-Bāqir (a) and Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) that if a person is known for zināʾ and they have been punished with the punishment for it, they should not be married until their repentance has been made known.[10] Keep in mind however that it is unlikely that the Quran would deem someone as a fornicator who has committed zināʾ previously and then repented sincerely for it.[11]
The fornicator shall not marry anyone but a fornicatress or an idolatress: even though the verse is formulated as declarative (lit. The fornicator does not marry …), it is actually an imperative, forbidding the believers from doing such a thing, similar to the verse regarding Masjid al-Ḥarām, and whoever enters it shall be secure (3:97) (lit. is secure), meaning they should not be harmed.[12] This understanding is supported by the later statement, and that is forbidden to the faithful.
And the fornicatress shall be married by none except a fornicator: unlike the previous verse, this verse now mentions the male first (fornicator) and then the female (fornicatress). This is because usually men are the ones who propose marriage.[13] This understanding is supported by the fact that this second clause describes the woman as the one being married (lā yankiḥuhā), as opposed to the first clause which describes the man as doing the marrying (lā yankiḥu).
Or an idolater: mentioning idolaters here is to imply that only an idolater or idolatress may see no problem in marrying a fornicator or fornicatress, and to remind that such indecency is forbidden for the believers. One might ask if, based on this verse, it is allowed for a Muslim man or woman who has committed zināʾ to marry an idolater? However, the statement should not be understood like that. Rather, it is meant to denigrate the one who has committed zināʾ to have lowered themselves to such a level to be equal to an idolater.[14] This is similar to verses 25:68 and 60:12, where zināʾ has been mentioned alongside shirk, to highlight the enormity of the sin.[15] The person who has committed zināʾ faces a choice then: either they repent for the sin and can return to the fold and marry whom they wish, or continue sinning, refusing to change their ways; or they can claim that their action is permissible, in which case they are guilty of denying God’s commands and have committed shirk.[16] This understanding can also be seen as being supported by traditions (see the next section) that explain a believer does not commit zināʾ while in the state of faith. It is also possible that this verse was revealed before marrying idolaters was made forbidden (see the Review of Tafsīr Literature section).
And that is forbidden to the faithful: that is here referring to marriage, meaning it is forbidden for the Muslims to marry fornicators or idolaters.[17] We know that keeping close friendship with someone who is an unrepentant sinner or an evil person will often lead the good person astray. What then may be said of someone who marries an immoral person? Surely this would have a devastating effect on a believer. The prohibition of marrying a fornicator is thus meant to prevent a Muslim from being lost down the same path.[18] The philosophy is similar to the prohibition of marrying someone who is not a Muslim.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- From Zurārah ibn Aʿyan, that he asked Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) about this verse, to which he replied: ‘It is referring to women and men who were known to commit zināʾ, they were infamous and known for it. There are people like that today too. So whoever is punished with the punishment for zināʾ or is known for it, no one should marry them until their repentance is known.’[19]
- From Muhammad ibn Sālim, that Imam al-Bāqir (a) related from the Prophet: ‘The fornicator does not fornicate while being a believer, nor does the thief steal while being a believer; rather, when he does that he has taken off his faith like the one who takes off their shirt.’[20]
Note: This narration points to the fact that anyone who has true faith in the harm of a sin would not do it. As such, when they commit a sin they have ignored or wilfully forgotten that reality, and disrobed themselves of faith at that moment. In this sense, we may understand another reason why this verse and many others have placed zināʾ and shirk in parallel to each other.[21]
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Some jurists have said that this verse was later abrogated by verse 32 of this surah, Marry off those who are single among you and the upright, which allowed marrying any Muslim.[22] However, this is very unlikely, and the ruling of the verse should be considered as remaining in effect. Verse 32 is general in its purport whilst this verse is specific, and the general cannot abrogate the specific.[23]
Although Tabatabai rejects that this verse is abrogated by verse 32 of this surah, he points out that it has been claimed that marrying polytheists was allowed until the sixth year after migration. As such, it is possible that this verse was revealed before that,[24] and that then ultimately marrying polytheists was made forbidden when verse 2:221 was revealed: Do not marry idolatresses until they embrace faith. A faithful slave girl is better than an idolatress, though she should impress you. And do not marry [your daughters] to idolaters until they embrace faith. A faithful slave is better than an idolater, though he should impress you.[25]
This verse has also been understood by some in a non-legal fashion. For example, Zamakhsharī has said that it means a fornicator would not desire to marry anyone except a fornicator, or even worse than that an idolater.[26] Or alternatively, it has been suggested that a fornicator does not deserve to marry anyone except a fornicator, or worse an idolater, much like verse 26.[27] These understandings are contrary to the apparent meaning of the statement and that is forbidden to the faithful.[28] However, there is no problem taking such understandings as complementary to the ruling of the verse while not superseding it.
It has also been mentioned from ʿĀʾishah that she thought the verse implied that if a man committed zināʾ with a woman he was not allowed to marry her anymore.[29] However, if anything, the apparent meaning of the verse says the opposite, that a fornicator should not marry anyone but another fornicator.
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- One may not pass by the door of a promiscuous woman [or: a prostitute], even four cubits distant. If one gazes even at the little finger of a woman with the intent to have pleasure from it, it is as though he gazed at her shameful place. It is forbidden to listen to the voice of an erva or to look at her hair. If one intentionally does one of these things, we give him lashes of rebellion. These things are also forbidden in the case of ordinary Biblical prohibitions.[30]
[1] Like Jawhari, 1/413.
[2] Like Lisan, 2/325.
[3] Raghib, p. 823.
[4] Tibyan, 7/407; Tabari, 18/58.
[5] Tabrisi, 7/198.
[6] Tibyan, 7/407.
[7] Zamakhshari, 3/212.
[8] There are many different versions of this report. Many of them mention that the man was one of the poor migrants to Mecca and wished for the woman to support him. In other versions it was many such men who asked about such an arrangement. In some versions they are specified to be the Aṣḥab al-Ṣuffah (the impoverished People of the Veranda). For some of these reports see for example Tibyan, 7/407; Tabrisi, 7/197; Tabari, 18/55-57; Bayhaqi, 7/153-154; Mustadrak.S, 2/396; Haythami, 7/73; Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Fatḥ al-Bārī fī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (Beirut: Dār al-Maʿrifah, n.d.), 9/159.
[9] Of this report too, there are many different versions. For some of these see Thalabi, 7/66; Bukhari, 1/455; Abu Dawud, 1/455, h. 2051; Tirmidhi, 5/10, h. 3227; Nasai.K, 6/66-67; Bayhaqi, 7/153.
[10] Tabrisi, 7/197-198; Mizan, 15/79-80. Something similar is attributed to Hasan al-Baṣrī (Thalabi, 7/67).
[11] Mizan, 15/80.
[12] Tibyan, 7/407; Thalabi, 7/65; Mizan, 15/79; Nemuneh, 14/362. Ṭabrisī argues that it cannot be informative as we know that sometimes a fornicator may marry a chaste person (Tabrisi, 7/198; Razi, 23/318).
[13] See Zamakhshari, 3/212-213; Razi, 23/320.
[14] Sharawi, pp. 10202-10203.
[15] See Tabrisi, 7/198.
[16] Sharawi, p. 10203.
[17] Tabrisi, 7/198.
[18] See Zamakhshari, 3/211.
[19] Kafi, 5/354; Faqih, 3/405-406, h. 4417; Wasail, 20/439, h. 26035. A similar report is also reported via Abū Hurayrah from the Prophet that he said: ‘The fornicator who has been punished with lashing shall not marry except another like himself.’ See Bukhari, 1/455, h. 2052; Abu Dawud, 1/455, h. 2052. As can be seen there is no mention of repentance in this report.
[20] Kafi, 2/32. The hadith is very long and has only been quoted partially.
[21] See Nemuneh, 14/363.
[22] Tibyan, 7/407; Tabari, 18/59. This opinion has been attributed to Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib (Baghawi, 3/380).
[23] Mizan, 15/80.
[24] See the Introduction where we estimated that this surah was revealed perhaps some time after the fourth year AH.
[25] Mizan, 15/80-81. See also Alusi, 9/285-286.
[26] Zamakhshari, 3/211; Razi, 23/318.
[27] Razi, 23/318; Alusi, 9/282-283.
[28] Although some have argued the word that is here referring to zināʾ, not ‘marrying a fornicator’. See for example Muhit, 8/11; Alusi, 9/283. However, that referent does not exist in the verse and is only implied, and we should prefer the far more obvious referent, namely marriage with a fornicator.
[29] Zamakhshari, 3/211-212. See also Tabrisi, 7/198. Zamakhsharī also mentions that Ibn Abbas allowed it, saying it is like a man who steals fruit from a tree and then offers to buy it. He also says that it has been reported that the Prophet was asked about this and he said: ‘The ḥarām does not forbid the ḥalāl.’ Meaning the prohibited act of fornication does not make the permissible marriage impermissible.’ Yes, as we noted before, Shia jurists consider zināʾ with a married woman to make her permanently forbidden to the one who was guilty of the act.
[30] Shulchan Arukh, Even HaEzer 21:2. Accessed at: https://www.sefaria.org/Shulchan_Arukh%2C_Even_HaEzer.21.1?lang=bi&with=Talmud&lang2=en.