penetration, so it resembles intimate contact without vaginal intercourse. They are subject to discretionary punishment (ta'zir) because it is adultery (zina) for which there is no fixed legal punishment (hadd), thus it resembles a man's intimate contact with a woman without intercourse. If a man engages in intimate contact with a woman and enjoys her in ways other than vaginal intercourse, there is no legal punishment (hadd) upon him; because it is narrated that a man came to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and said: O Messenger of Allah, I met a woman and I obtained from her everything except intercourse. Then Allah the Almighty revealed: "And establish the prayer..." to the end of the verse (14). The man said: Is this verse for me? He replied: "For whoever among my nation acts upon it." Narrated by al-Nasa'i (15). If a man is found with a woman, each of them kissing the other, and it is not known whether he had intercourse with her or not, there is no legal punishment upon them. If they both say: "We are married," and they agree upon that, then their word is accepted. This is the opinion of al-Hakam, Hammad, al-Shafi'i, and the jurists (Ashab al-Ra'y). If testimony is given against them for adultery, and they say: "We are married," the legal punishment must be carried out upon them if there is no proof of the marriage. This is the opinion of Abu Thawr and Ibn al-Mundhir; because testimony of adultery negates the fact that they are spouses, and it cannot be invalidated by their mere statement. It is possible that the legal punishment might be dropped if it is not known that she is a non-relative (ajnabiyya) to him, because what they claimed is possible, and thus it becomes a doubt (shubha), just as if someone is testified against for theft, and he claims that the stolen item was his own property.
1557 - Issue: He said: (And whoever has intercourse with an animal shall be disciplined, and his discipline shall be carried out well, and the animal shall be killed.)
The narration from Ahmad differs regarding one who has intercourse with an animal. It is narrated from him that he is to be given discretionary punishment (ta'zir) and there is no legal punishment (hadd) upon him. This is narrated from Ibn Abbas, 'Ata', al-Sha'bi, al-Nakha'i, al-Hakam, and Malik,
(14) Surah Hud, 114. As for the verse in Surah al-Isra', 78, it is not the one intended here. See the following verification for the Hadith. (15) Not in al-Mujtaba, and it is likely in the Sunan. It was transmitted by al-Bukhari, in: The chapter on His saying the Almighty: "And establish the prayer at the two ends of the day...", from the Book of Commentary (Tafsir) - Surah Hud. Sahih al-Bukhari, 6/94. And Muslim, in: The chapter on His saying the Almighty: "Indeed, good deeds do away with evil deeds", from the Book of Repentance (Tawba). Sahih Muslim, 4/2115, 2116. And Abu Dawud, in: The chapter on the man who obtains from a woman what is less than intercourse..., from the Book of Legal Punishments, 2/469. And al-Tirmidhi, in: The chapter on And from Surah Hud, from the chapters of Commentary (Tafsir). 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi, 11/276-280. And Ibn Majah, in: The chapter on mentioning repentance, from the Book of Asceticism (Zuhd). Sunan Ibn Majah, 2/1421.
