Definition

Basically, Lian and mulaana are synonymous; they are derived from the root la'n and they
are nouns. They mean being driven away from the mercy of Allah. It is an Islamic legal term
meaning the mutual act of swearing is carried out before a judge when a husband accuses his
wife of adultery and cannot prove it with four witnesses. According to the common definition of
Hanafis and Hanbalis, if the husband lies, the curse of Allah is attracted on him with the
strengthened witnessing. If the wife lies, she attracts the wrath of Allah on her. That mutual
swearing replaces qazaf for the husband and the punishment of adultery for the wife. Lian is a
divorce method of ending the marriage. There are two reasons for lian. The first one is when a
man accuses his wife of adultery which necessitates the application of the punishment of adultery
when the accusation is made for a woman who is not a relative of his. The second one is when
the father rejects (does not accept) that he is the father of the child that has not been born yet or
that was born.

Shariah Evidence for Lian

As stated in the Qur’an (24:6-9) says that when a man accuses his wife of adultery but
has no witnesses, he is to swear four times that what he says is true and then a fifth time by
invoking the curse of Allah (God) upon himself if he is lying. But the accused wife can then
avert punishment by similarly swearing four times that her husband is lying and then a fifth time
by invoking the curse of Allah upon herself if he is telling the truth.

Hadiths reported that when a man came to Muhammad and accused his wife of having
unlawful sexual intercourse with another man, Muhammad told him to bring forward four
witnesses or else be punished with lashes for making a false accusation against his wife. Then
the verses of the Qur’an (24:6-9) were revealed concerning lian – the swearing of the husband
and wife that they were telling the truth. When both a man and his wife had given the five oaths

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required by the process of lian in front of Muhammad, the man divorced his wife. Divorce
following lian became a tradition after that.

Hadiths say that Muhammad continued to require the process of lian even when a woman
gave birth to a child that resembled the man she was accused of being with rather than
resembling her husband. Muhammad said that he would have punished the woman severely in
such cases if the law did not require the process of lian rather than punishment. After a case
of lian and divorce, a child born to the woman belongs to the woman and inherits only from her,
not from her former husband.

When a case of lian results in divorce, the divorced woman retains the bridal payment
(mahr). Muhammad said that this is because, even if the unproved accusation against the wife
was correct, the mahr was payment to the wife for the sexual relations that consummated the
marriage. Hadiths report that Muhammad said that a husband who finds his wife with another
man is not to kill that man. Those who brought such cases to Muhammad were put through the
process of lian.

Furthermore, if a man accuses his wife of adultery or says that the baby she carries in her
womb is not his, he has to swear it five times in a specified way according to Imam Malik. Both
al-Shafiʽi and Abu Hanifa say that this swearing is required only if his wife denies the
accusation. The procedure, li’an, is to swear four times that the accusation is true and then one
time that Allah should curse him if the accusation is false. Reliance of the Traveller explains that
the multiple required swearings are to be performed before an Islamic judge and the person
accused is to be specifically identified each time. If there is a child involved, the husband must
identify the child and swear that the child is not his.

A man who makes such an accusation but refuses to swear in this specified way after
making the accusation is to be punished as one who accuses another of adultery without
proof. Most scholars agree that he is to receive the specified punishment, which is 80 lashes plus
never having his testimony accepted again. Abu Hanifa says, however, that he should be
imprisoned rather than flogged.

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 The wife may then deny the accusation by swearing four times that the accusation is
false and then one time calling on Allah to inflict his wrath on her if she is lying. Reliance of the
Traveller explains that this swearing is to be done publicly under the direction of an Islamic
judge.

If she refuses to swear in the prescribed manner, Abu Hanifa says she is to be imprisoned
until she does so. Al-Shafiʽi, the Shafiʽi school and Malik say she is to be punished for adultery
by being stoned to death if her marriage had been previously consummated or, if it has not, then
she is to be flogged.

If husband and wife both swear the proper oaths, their marriage ends. Al-Shafiʽi, the
Shafiʽi school and Malik say that the two may never remarry. Abu Hanifa says that if husband
recants his accusation, he is punished for making the false accusation and then the couple may
remarry.

A nineteenth century Shafiʽi scholar quoted in Reliance of the Traveller says that these
rules apply to accusations not only of adultery during the marriage but also of the wife’s not
having been a virgin when the marriage occurred. Reliance of the Traveller says that a husband
who accuses his wife of adultery after such adultery has already been legally established is to be
punished by a court. This also applies if he has accused a person of adultery who is an infant.

According to Imam Dhahabi, an important 13th-14th century Shafi‛i scholar quoted in

the English translation of Reliance of the Traveller, a man who suspects his wife of having
sexual intercourse with someone else but takes no action against her also commits an enormity.

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Pre-requisite of Lian

(a) Oath of Husband

After accusation of zina and non-acceptance of such accusation, husband should swear
through oath for truthfulness of his accusation of zina against his wife and for Allah’s curse upon
him in case of lying.

Oath: I swear by Allah the Almighty and say I am surely truthful in my accusation of Zina
against my wife (name of wife) and, after he has said so four times shall say; Allah’s curse be
upon me if I am liar in my accusation of Zina against my wife (name of wife).

(b) Oath of Wife

After oath of husband, wife should swear through oath for untruthfulness of her
husband’s accusation of zina against her and for Allah’s wrath upon her in case of lying.

Oath: I swear by Allah the Almighty that my husband is surely a liar in his accusation of
Zina against me; and after she has said so four times, she shall say; “Allah’s wrath be upon me
if he is truthful in his accusation of Zina against me.

Dissolution of Marriage

After oaths of husband and wife, court should pass order for dissolution of marriage
between them.

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