Judgment on a woman who was forced into sexual intercourse

Question:

Is a woman excused who was forced into sexual intercourse when she was in need?

Answer:

Muhammad Ibn Amr reported that a woman came to Umar: “She said: “O commander of the believers, I have committed fornication, so execute the penalty of God!” So he ordered her to be stoned while Ali (a.) was present, and he said: “Ask her how she committed fornication. Umar asked her after which she answered: I was in a desert place in the country, after which a strong thirst afflicted me. Then someone pitched a tent for me and i entered it and discovered a Bedouin man in it whom I asked for water, but he refused to give me anything to drink unless I would give him intercourse. Then I pulled away, fleeing from him, but the thirst took such a serious effect on me that my eyes began to retreat and my tongue dwindled away. So when thirst struck me, I came to him and he gave me something to drink and had sexual intercourse with me. Ali (a.) said: “This is the one about whom God said: “But he who is in need, without being rebellious or transgressing, bears no sin.” (2:173) This is neither rebelling nor transgressing, so let it go its way!” Umar said: “If it were not for Ali, then Umar would have thrown himself into ruin.” [Al-Faqih of As-Saduq, volume 4 page 30 – 31 Hadith 5025]

وفي رواية محمد بن عمرو بن سعيد رفعه أن امرأة أتت عمر فقالت: يا أمير المؤمنين إنى فجرت فأقم في حد الله عزوجل فأمر برجمها وكان على أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام حاضرا فقال: سلها كيف فجرت، فسألها فقالت: كنت في فلاة من الارض فأصابني عطش شديد فرفعت لى خيمة فأتيتها فأصبت فيها رجلا أعرابيا فسألته ماء فأبى علي أن يسقيني إلا أن امكنه من نفسي، فوليت منه هاربة فاشتد بى العطش حتى غارت عيناي وذهب لساني، فلما بلغ منى العطش أتيته فسقاني ووقع على فقال على عليه السلام: هذه التى قال الله عزوجل: فمن اضطر غير باغ ولا عاد فلا إثم عليه هذه غير باغية ولا عادية فخل سبيلها، فقال عمر: لو لا علي لهلك عمر

Abd-ur-Rahman Ibn Kathir reported that Imam As-Sadiq (a.) said: “A woman came to Umar and said: “I committed fornication, so purify me!” So he ordered her to be stoned and informed the Commander of the believers (a.), after which he asked: “How did you commit fornication?” She answered: I passed by a desert, and a strong thirst came upon me. So i asked a Bedouin to give me something to drink, but he refused to give me anything to drink unless I would make myself available to him for intercourse. When I was thirsty and afraid for my life, he gave me something to drink and I gave myself to him for intercourse. The commander of the faithful (a.) said: “It is a partnership, I swear by the Lord of the house of God.” [Al-Kafi of Al-Kulaini, Volume 5 Page 281 Hadith 8]

علي بن إبراهيم، عن أبيه، عن نوح بن شعيب، عن علي بن حسان، عن عبد الرحمن بن كثير، عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: جاءت امرأة إلى عمر فقالت إني زنيت فطهرني، فأمر بها أن ترجم فأخبر بذلك أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام فقال: كيف زنيت؟ فقالت: مررت بالبادية فأصابني عطش شديد فاستسقيت أعرابيا فأبى أن يسقيني إلا أن أمكنه من نفسي فلما أجهدني العطش وخفت على نفسي سقاني فأمكنته من نفسي، فقال أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام: تزويج ورب الكعبة

Ibn Amr’s companions reported that a woman came to Umar: “She said: “O commander of the believers, I have committed fornication, so execute the penalty of God! So he ordered her to be stoned while Ali (a.) was present, and he said: “Ask her how she committed fornication. Umar asked her after which she answered: I was in a desert place in the country, after which a strong thirst afflicted me.  Then someone pitched a tent for me and i entered it and discovered a Bedouin man in it whom i asked for water, but he refused to give me anything to drink unless i would give him intercourse. Then I left him, fleeing, but the thirst took such a serious form until my eyes pulled back and my tongue faded away. So when thirst struck me, I came to him and he gave me something to drink and had sexual intercourse with me. Ali (a.) said: “This is the one about whom God said: “But he who is in need, without being rebellious or transgressing, bears no sin.” (2:173) This is neither rebelling nor transgressing, so let it go its way! Umar said: “If it were not for Ali, then Umar would have thrown himself into ruin.”[At-Tahdhib of At-Tusi, vol. 10 page 49 – 50 Hadith 186]

عنه عن علي بن السندي عن محمد بن عمرو بن سعيد عن بعض أصحابنا قال: أتت امرأة إلى عمر فقالت يا أمير المؤمنين اني فجرت فأقم في حد الله فامر برجمها وكان علي عليه السلام حاضرا قال: فقال له: سلها كيف فجرت؟ قالت: كنت في فلاة من الأرض فأصابني عطش شديد فرفعت لي خيمة فاتيتها فأصبت فيها رجلا أعرابيا فسألته الماء فأبى علي ان يسقيني الا ان أمكنه من نفسي فوليت منه هاربة فاشتد بي العطش حتى غارت عيناي وذهب لساني فلما بلغ مني اتيته فسقاني ووقع علي فقال له عليه السلام: هذه التي قال الله تعالى فمن اضطر غير باغ ولا عاد هذه غير باغية ولا عادية إليه فخلى سبيلها فقال عمر: لولا علي لهلك عمر

Muhammad Baqir Al-Majlisi writes: “The tradition may mean that the situation of emergency linked this action to the judgment of the partnership (nikah) and excluded it from fornication, and apparently Al-Kulaini believed that she married to him for a sip of water in the form of a temporary marriage, so he mentioned the tradition in this chapter, but that is far-fetched, because then she would, under the observation of the allegation of the cursed (Umar), be married and if it were not so, she would not have deserved to be stoned unless one would say that this is also one of the mistakes that occurred to him, but the situation is of a simple nature because it is in the chapter about the unusual traditions.” [Mir’at-ul-Uqul, volume 20 page 257 – 258]

قال محمد باقر المجلسي: ولعل المراد والمعني بهذا الخبر أن الاضطرار يجعل هذا الفعل بحكم التزويج، ويخرجه عن الزنا. والظاهر أن الكليني حمله على أنها زوجه نفسها متعة بشربة من ماء، فذكره في هذا الباب وهو بعيد، لأنها كانت متزوجة وإلا لم تستحق الرجم بزعم الملعون (عمر) إلا أن يقال: إن هذا أيضا كان من خطائه، لكن الأمر سهل لأنه باب النوادر