What is the legal ruling and the punishment for a wife who kills her husband when he is caught in the act of adultery in her bed, and what are the legal proofs for that?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
The crime of zina (unlawful sexual intercourse) is one of the gravest major sins. Its punishment becomes more severe if the fornicator is married, in which case the punishment is stoning to death.
It is not permissible for the wife to kill her fornicating husband. Rather, she must report him to the ruler (or authority) so that the prescribed punishment may be carried out against him.
If she kills him, she will be killed in retribution, unless he has a child with her, whether male or female, in which case the retribution is waived.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/99522
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 99522
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy