Will God reward someone for keeping his wife after discovering she was not a virgin, or is this considered covering up a matter that warrants punishment?
The absence of bleeding or the loss of virginity is not considered proof of a woman's lack of chastity. Accusing a woman of such without conclusive evidence (four witnesses) is one of the major sins that necessitate a prescribed punishment (hadd) and an accusation (qadhf); based on the verse: "And those who accuse chaste women and then do not produce four witnesses - lash them with eighty lashes" and the noble Prophetic Hadeeth: "Avoid the seven destructive sins... and accusing chaste, believing, unsuspecting women." If it is proven that virginity was lost due to zina (unlawful sexual intercourse) and the woman repents with sincere repentance, her word is accepted, and this is considered a covering for her, based on the Hadeeth: "Whoever covers a Muslim, Allah will cover him on the Day of Resurrection." It is noted that virginity tests are impermissible due to the violation of privacy they entail, and their results cannot be used as a basis for legal rulings to prove zina, as virginity can be lost without intercourse.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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