Transliteration:( Wallazaani ya'tiyaanihaa minkum fa aazoohumaa fa in taabaa wa aslahaa fa a'ridoo 'anhumaaa; innal laaha kaana Tawwaabar Raheema )
64. By "punish" it meant verbal annoyance like scolding, making them feel ashamed, as well as physical punishment, like beating up. This verse, too is abrogated from the limitations of adultery. It should be remembered that in the previous verse: "of your women", is mentioned from which we learn that there, married women are denoted, while here "and those male, female of you" is mentioned which refers to bachelor and a spinster.Â
Hence, there is no repetition in the verse. Some Ulama have said that in the previous verse, indecent women refer to acts of lesbianism while "those male and female of you" refers to sodomy. In this case, this verse is not abrogated, but firm. From this, we now learn there is no limitation between sodomy and lesbianism but there is punishment, i.e. whatever punishment the judge deems fit he can give.Â
The same is the saying of Hazrat Imam Abu Hanifa (Radiallahu Anhu) (KHAZAINUL IRFAAN). It is for this reason that the Noble Companions of the Holy Prophet have administered different forms of punishment for sodomy. If there was a restriction on this, only one type of punishment would have been given, there would have been no difference in it.
65. That is, they should express remorse for their previous evil deeds and show signs of piety for the future. From this we learn that the criminal who is to serve his punishment can repent sincerely before the punishment, then it is not really necessary to punish him.
66. By "Merciful" it meant that not even the biggest sinner should despair from the mercy of Allah Almighty, he should repent sincerely. It should be remembered that the true meaning of repentance is to detract from one's sins. If a man assumes this quality then the meaning would be to retract from the sin or intention of the sin, but if it is the quality of Allah Almighty then it would be to retract from administering punishment or accepting the repentance of the servant.
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The tafsir of Surah Nisa verse 16 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Nisa ayat 15 which provides the complete commentary from verse 15 through 16.
(4:16) Punish both of those among you who are guilty of this sin, then if they repent and mend their ways, leave them alone. For Allah is always ready to accept repentance. He is All-Compassionate.[26]
26. In these two (verses 15-16)the first, preliminary directives for the punishment for unlawful sexual intercourse are stated. The first verse deals with women. The punishment laid down was to confine them until further directives were revealed. The second verse (i.e. 16) relates to both sexes. The injunction lays down that they should be punished – that is, they should be beaten and publicly reproached. Later, another injunction was revealed see (Surah Nur, ayat 2) which laid down that both the male and female should be given a hundred lashes. These injunctions are necessarily of a preliminary nature since the people of Arabia were neither used to obeying the orders of any established government, the verdicts of any courts of law nor to following any legal code; it would therefore have been unwise to try to force acceptance of a penal code upon them so soon after the establishment of the Islamic state. In due course, the punishments for unlawful sexual intercourse, for slanderous accusations of unchastity against women, and for theft were laid down in their definitive form and served as the basis of that detailed penal code which was enforced by the Prophet (peace be on him) and the Rightly-Guided Caliphs.
The apparent difference between the contents of the two verses led al-Suddi to the misconceived belief that the first verse lays down the punishment for married women, and the second that for unmarried men and women. This is a tenuous explanation unsupported by any serious evidence and argument. Even less convincing is the opinion expressed by Abu Muslim al-Isfahani that the first verse relates to lesbian relations between females, and the second to homosexual relations between males. It is strange that al-Isfahani ignored the basic fact that the Qur’an seeks merely to chart a broad code of law and morality and hence deals only with fundamental questions. It is inconsistent with the majestic style of the Qur’an to discuss secondary details which have been left to people to decide through the exercise of their legal judgement. It is for this reason that when the problem of fixing a punishment for sodomy came up for consideration after the time of the Prophet (peace be on him), none of the Companions thought that the above-mentioned verse contained any relevant injunction.
[171]- Scholars differ over whether "the two" refers to two of the same sex (i.e., homosexuals) or those of opposite sexes. In either case, later rulings outlined in the sunnah have replaced this one.
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