Li'an is mandatory, not the hadd; if he refuses, he is imprisoned until he performs li'an, because Allah, the Almighty, said: "And those who accuse their wives and have no witnesses except themselves, let the testimony of one of them be four testimonies..." (to the end of the verses). Thus, He did not mandate anything for the accusation of wives other than li'an. Our argument is the saying of Allah, the Almighty: "And those who accuse chaste women and then do not bring four witnesses, lash them with eighty lashes and do not accept their testimony ever, and those are the defiantly disobedient." This is general for both a husband and others; however, the husband was specified [in its application] by making his li'an take the place of testimony in refuting the hadd, the state of fisq (moral depravity), and the rejection of his testimony. Also, the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Evidence, otherwise a hadd upon your back" (64), and his saying to him (65) when he performed li'an: "The punishment of this world is lighter than the punishment of the Hereafter" (64). Furthermore, he is an accuser upon whom the hadd would be incumbent if he were to belie himself, so it is incumbent upon him if he does not (66) bring the prescribed evidence, just like any other person. As for if he accuses [someone who is not chaste] (67)—such as a woman of the People of the Book, a slave woman, a mentally incapacitated woman, or a young girl—then ta'zir (discretionary punishment) is mandatory upon him for that, because he has brought shame upon them by the accusation. However, the full hadd is not applied for them due to their deficiency in this regard, nor does it involve fisq or the rejection of testimony, because it does not necessitate the hadd. The Qadi said: He does not have the right to nullify this ta'zir through li'an, because li'an is either for the negation of lineage or for averting the hadd, and neither of these is present here. Al-Shafi'i said: He has the right to nullify it through li'an, because if he possesses the right to nullify the full hadd through li'an, then nullifying what is less than it is more appropriate. The Qadi may respond: It does not follow from its legitimacy for averting the hadd, which carries great harm, that it is legitimate for averting what carries less harm, just as if he were to accuse a young girl with whom intercourse is not possible; he would be punished with ta'zir for the insult and harm, and he has no right to nullify it through li'an. It is the same here. As for if he has a child from one of these women and does not intend to negate it, the Qadi said: He has the right to perform li'an to negate it. This is the statement of al-Shafi'i, and it is the apparent view of Ahmad regarding the slave woman and the woman of the People of the Book, regardless of whether he has a child from them or not. We have already mentioned this in what has passed.