The Positive Role of Pregnancy in the Crime of Adultery from the Perspectives of Jurisprudence and Law of Islamic Countries Abstract

Proof of sexual crimes discussed under the prescribed punishment, including adultery in Islamic jurisprudence, is subject to certain restrictive rules. One of the important issues in this regard is the ability to prove this crime based on the pregnancy of a woman who cannot be attributed to a legal marriage. According to Imamia jurisprudence and the majority of Sunni jurisprudential Schools, pregnancy does not suffice to prove a crime. However, Maliki and a minority of Hanbali jurists have considered pregnancy as one of the other shreds of evidence for adultery punishable by prescribed punishment. The differences in these jurisprudential approaches have affected the criminal justice systems of Islamic countries. Some countries, influenced by Maliki's jurisprudence, have considered pregnancy as one of the shreds of evidence for adultery. Although some did not consider it to be proof of prescribed punishment, they ruled that the accused could be punished through Ta'zir. Another group considers pregnancy to be out of pieces of evidence that can lead to punishment. In the present paper, with a descriptive-analytical method, while explaining the jurisprudential theories in this field and evaluating their reasons, we have examined the position of the legal and judicial system of several Islamic countries in this field.