سورة النِّسَاء
Surah Al-Nisâ’ 4:15
The Women · Verse 15 of 176
وَاللَّاتِي يَأْتِينَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مِنْ نِسَائِكُمْ فَاسْتَشْهِدُوا عَلَيْهِنَّ أَرْبَعَةً مِنْكُمْ ۖ فَإِنْ شَهِدُوا فَأَمْسِكُوهُنَّ فِي الْبُيُوتِ حَتَّىٰ يَتَوَفَّاهُنَّ الْمَوْتُ أَوْ يَجْعَلَ اللَّهُ لَهُنَّ سَبِيلًا
Abdul Mannan Omar
As to those of your women who commit sexual perversity, call in four of you to witness against them, and if they bear witness then confine them to their houses, until death overtakes them or Allâh makes for them a way out.
Abdullah Yusuf Ali
If any of your women are guilty of lewdness, Take the evidence of four (Reliable) witnesses from amongst you against them; and if they testify, confine them to houses until death do claim them, or Allah ordain for them some (other) way.
Ahmed Ali
If any of your women is guilty of unnatural offence, bring four of your witnesses to give evidence; if they testify against them, retain them in the houses until death overtakes them or God provides some other way for them.
12 more translations
Ali Unal
Such of your women as have committed indecency (unlawful sex), there must be four male witnesses of you who (having seen them in the act) will testify against them (within one succeeding month in towns and six months in the rural areas). If they do bear witness, then confine those women to their houses until death takes them away or God opens some way for them.
Daryabadi
As for those of your women who may commit whoredom, call against them four witnesses from among them if they testify, confine you them to their houses till death complete their turn of life, or Allah appoint for them some other way.
Faridul Haque
And take testimony from four chosen men amongst you, against the women among you who commit adultery; and if they testify, confine those women in the houses until death takes them away or Allah creates a solution for them.
Maulana Muhammad Ali
And as for those of your women who are guilty of an indecency, call to witness against them four (witnesses) from among you; so if they bear witness, confine them to the houses until death takes them away or Allah opens a way for them.
Maulvi Sher Ali
And such of your women who are guilty of any flagrant impropriety - call to witness four of you against them; and if they bear witness, then confine them to the houses until death overtakes them or ALLAH opens for them some other way.
Muhammad Asad
AND AS FOR those of your women who become guilty of immoral conduct, call upon four from among you who have witnessed their guilt; and if these bear witness thereto, confine the guilty women to their houses until death takes them away or God opens for them a way [through repentance].
Muhammad Musin Khan
And those of your women who commit illegal sexual intercourse, take the evidence of four witnesses from amongst you against them; and if they testify, confine them (i.e. women) to houses until death comes to them or Allah ordains for them some (other) way.
Muhammad Pickthall
As for those of your women who are guilty of lewdness, call to witness four of you against them. And if they testify (to the truth of the allegation) then confine them to the houses until death take them or (until) Allah appoint for them a way (through new legislation).
Muhammad Sarwar
Those of your women who commit fornication, let four (Muslim) witness testify to their act. If there is sufficient testimony, confine them to their homes until they die, or until God provides a way for their freedom.
Muhammed ali Shakir
And as for those who are guilty of an indecency from among your women, call to witnesses against them four (witnesses) from among you; then if they bear witness confine them to the houses until death takes them away or Allah opens some way for them.
Rashad Khalifa
Those who commit adultery among your women, you must have four witnesses against them, from among you. If they do bear witness, then you shall keep such women in their homes until they die, or until GOD creates an exit for them.
Shabbir Ahmed
(Protection of honor and chastity for men and women, both, is the cornerstone of a virtuous society. 17:32, 4:24.) If any woman or a group of women spread sexual immorality or lewdness in the society, it is required that the appropriate court take four reliable witnesses. If their testimony corroborates with other evidence (12:26), confine them to their houses (since immorality is as contagious as good conduct). This confinement would be for an indefinite period, unless such women seek the way of God (such as repentance and reform or that the singles among them get honorably married).
Commentary 4:15 This verse again aims at protecting women’s rights against harsh treatment by men. Women were sometimes subjected to ill-treatment for minor faults, or…
وَاللَّاتِي يَأْتِينَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مِن نِّسَائِكُمْ فَاسْتَشْهِدُوا عَلَيْهِنَّ أَرْبَعَةً مِّنكُمْ ۖ
4:15 This verse again aims at protecting women’s rights against harsh treatment by men. Women were sometimes subjected to ill-treatment for minor faults, or simply because they were not found pleasing by their husbands. In order to safeguard women from false charges, four eyewitnesses are required to pronounce them guilty of immoral conduct (see also 24:4). The use of the word minkum مِّنكُمْ signifies that the four witnesses are to be among those respected in society. The women referred to in this verse are those guilty of Fâhishahالْفَاحِشَةَ, which is anything that is grossly immodest, lewd, abominable in word or deed, manifests improper conduct, flagrantly indecent (including but not limited to adultery or fornication), or anything that exceeds the boundaries of decency (Tâj, Lisân, Lane). To maintain peace in society, women found guilty are to be confined to their houses. The purpose of confinement is to protect them from physical excesses by men and to prevent them from mixing with other women. The confinement is until they are married (in case they were unmarried), or until they amend themselves and seek forgiveness from Allâh, as the words “Allâh makes for them a way out” and the verses which follow (4:16-17) suggest.