Back to search

Does the adultery of the eyes and ears necessitate the same punishment as direct adultery, such as lashing for the unmarried and stoning for the married?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The meaning of the Hadith is that complete adultery (zina) which necessitates the prescribed punishment (hadd) is sexual intercourse involving the private parts. Anything other than that carries a share of sin but does not necessitate the hadd punishment. However, it does necessitate discretionary punishment (ta'zir) and discipline. So, the adultery of the eyes is looking (at what is forbidden), the adultery of the ears is listening (to what is forbidden), the adultery of the tongue is speaking (forbidden words), the adultery of the hand is striking (or touching unlawfully), the adultery of the foot is stepping (towards sin), and the heart desires and wishes, and the private parts either confirm that or deny it.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy