Tafsir of Surah Al-Isra - Verse 32

The Command to avoid Zina (Unlawful Sex) and Everything that leads to it

Allah says, forbidding His servants to commit Zina or to approach it or to do anything that may lead to it:

وَلاَ تَقْرَبُواْ الزِّنَى إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَاحِشَةً

(And come not near to unlawful sex. Verily, it is a Fahishah (immoral sin)) meaning a major sin,

وَسَآءَ سَبِيلاً

(and an evil way.) meaning, a terrible way to behave. Imam Ahmad recorded Abu Umamah saying that a young man came to the Prophet and said, "O Messenger of Allah! Give me permission to commit Zina (unlawful sex)." The people surrounded him and rebuked him, saying, "Stop! Stop!" But the Prophet said,

«ادْنُه»

(Come close) The young man came to him, and he said,

«اجْلِس»

(Sit down) so he sat down. The Prophet said,

«أَتُحِبُّهُ لِأُمِّك»

(Would you like it (unlawful sex) for your mother) He said, "No, by Allah, may I be ransomed for you." The Prophet said,

«وَلَا النَّاسُ يُحِبُّونَهُ لِأُمَّهَاتِهِم»

(Neither do the people like it for their mothers.) The Prophet said,

«أَفَتُحِبُّهُ لِابْنَتِكَ؟»

(Would you like it for your daughter) He said, "No, by Allah, may I be ransomed for you." The Prophet said,

«وَلَا النَّاسُ يُحِبُّونَهُ لِبَنَاتِهِم»

(Neither do the people like it for their daughters. ) The Prophet said,

«أَفَتُحِبُّهُ لِأُخْتِكَ؟»

(Would you like it for your sister) He said, "No, by Allah, may I be ransomed for you." The Prophet said,

«وَلَا النَّاسُ يُحِبُّونَهُ لِأَخَوَاتِهِم»

(Neither do the people like it for their sisters.) The Prophet said,

«أَفَتُحِبُّهُ لِعَمَّتِكَ؟»

(Would you like it for your paternal aunt) He said, "No, by Allah, O Allah's Messenger! may I be ransomed for you." The Prophet said,

«وَلَا النَّاسُ يُحِبُّونَهُ لِعَمَّاتِهِم»

(Neither do the people like it for their paternal aunts.) The Prophet said,

«أَفَتُحِبُّهُ لِخَالَتِكَ؟»

(Would you like it for your maternal aunt) He said, "No, by Allah, O Allah's Messenger! may I be ransomed for you." The Prophet said,

«وَلَا النَّاسُ يُحِبُّونَهُ لِخَالَاتِهِم»

(Neither do the people like it for their maternal aunts.) Then the Prophet put his hand on him and said,

«اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ ذَنْبَهُ، وَطَهِّرْ قَلْبَهُ، وَأَحْصِنْ فَرْجَه»

(O Allah, forgive his sin, purify his heart and guard his chastity.) After that the young man never paid attention to anything of that nature.

Commentary

The seventh injunction given here relates to the forbiddance of zina (fornication, adultery). Given here are two reasons as to why it has been forbidden: (1) This is a shame, gross and immodest. Whoever is denuded of modesty is denuded of human nobility itself and is rendered incapable of distinguishing the good from the bad. This is more succinctly said in a Hadith:

اِذَا فَاتَک الحیاء فافعل ماشٔت

When goes your sense of shame (that could become a barrier against evil), so then, you will do what you will.

Therefore, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has declared sense of shame (haya' ) as a division of faith ('Iman): وَالحیاء شعبۃ من الایمان (al-Bukhari) (2) It generates limitless social disorder the consequences of which sometimes destroy whole groups of people. In our day all sorts of crimes have in-creased. If investigated, the reason behind a lot of them would turn out to be some man or woman who did it. Though, this crime is not directly related to the rights of the servants of Allah but it may have been mentioned here as part of other rights taken up at this place for the reason that this crime is contagious. It brings other crimes along which disturb the rights of the servants of Allah through loss of lives and properties. Therefore, Islam has declared this crime to be more serious than any other crime. Then, it has also fixed its punishment as the harshest of all crimes because this one is a carrier of hundreds of these.

It appears in Hadith that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, "The heavens and the earth, the seven of them each, curse the married person who commits adultery. And the strong stench which spreads out from the private parts of such people will embarrass even the people condemned to Hell and thus there in Hell they will be suffering from the punishment of fire and disgrace both." (Reported by al-Bazzar on the authority of Sayyidna Buraidah - Mazhari) In another Hadith from Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ it has been reported that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, "A fornicator when fornicating is not a believer. A thief when stealing is not a believer. And a drunkard while drinking is not a believer." This Hadith is there in al-Bukhari and Muslim. Its explanation, as it appears in the report of Abu Dawud, says: At the time those committing such crimes are practically involved in it, 'Iman (faith) leaves their heart and comes out, and when they turn away from it, 'Iman returns back in. (Mazhari)

Literally ‘do not go near adultery.’ One of the evils, which God wants to root out completely, is adultery, or zina. That is what God says: ‘Do not go near adultery.’ That is, adultery is such a great evil and is proof of such shamelessness, that man should abstain even from its initial stages. Here, only a basic command has been given on this subject. Detailed orders have been given in chapter 24.