The Concept of the Crime of Adultery in Islamic Law and the Criminal Law of the State of Kelantan Year 2015

Abstract

Adultery is a social crime prohibited by divine revelations, positive law, and established social norms, as it contravenes even the most basic moral principles. It entails the violation of personal honour and leads to confusion in lineage. Contrary to the claims of those driven by desire and misguidance, adultery is not merely a private act conducted by mutual consent between a man and a woman. Islam has elucidated the gravity of this crime with utmost clarity, and Islamic legislation has stipulated its ruling and the punishment prescribed for its perpetrator details that jurists have extensively expounded in their works so that people may have no argument against God regarding their transgression of His sacred limits in this world or the next. This study examines the definition of adultery and its essential elements as explained by classical jurists, and compares these with the provisions of the Kelantan Shariah Criminal Code Enactment 2015. The issue is approached through a library-based study grounded in the authoritative writings of jurists and scholars across the ages preserved in Islamic collections, and juxtaposed with the aforementioned Kelantan enactment. The study focuses on the concept of the crime of adultery and its constituent elements. Its findings indicate that Islamic law guided by its supreme objectives seeks to safeguard honour and lineage, and that it outlines the offence of adultery with exceptional precision. Both Islamic jurisprudence and the shariah criminal provisions of the Kelantan enactment derive their authority from divine sources and share the aim of realising justice and deterring crime in accordance with these principles. The study further concludes that the enactment conforms to Islamic law and ultimately serves the welfare of society.