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What is the ruling on rape and adultery in Islamic law, and also in civil law?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Committing adultery is a major sin and a grave offense forbidden by Allah, Who commanded lowering the gaze as a preventative measure. The matter becomes even worse if it involves rape. As for the woman who is forced into adultery, there is no sin upon her nor any prescribed punishment (hadd); this is based on the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: "Indeed, Allah has overlooked for my nation mistakes, forgetfulness, and what they are forced to do." Man-made law has no value when compared to the ruling of Sharia.

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

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