Evaluation of Lawat and Tafkhiz : Analysis of Articles 234 and 236 of the Islamic Penal Code

Lawat[1] is a term used to describe a man's wicked sexual intercourse with another man and the making love of the two with each other. It is one of the cardinal sins in Islam that has been cited in Islamic narration and hadith references as a corrupting element of the generation and the society. Due to the high immoral nature of the mentioned act, Islamic law has considered a severe punishment for it; however, there is a difference of opinion among the Islamic foqaha in punishing the doer {the person who screws} and the other doer {the person who is screwed, i.e., the one on whom the action is done} in lawat. While one view considers the punishment of both to be the same, the other view considers the punishment of the first to be different from that of the latter. The Article 234 of the Islamic Penal Code of Iran follows the second view. There is also a difference of opinion in punishing tafkhiz[2]; yet, finally the Article 236 of the Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran considers the punishment of tafkhiz for the two mentioned doers the same and that is receiving one hundred lashes. The present study evaluates different views and arguments in the punishment of lawat and tafkhiz, and based on Islamic narrations (examining the narrations and hadiths from the viewpoint of their documentation and authenticity ), and the Islamic principles accepts the difference between the punishment of the two doers in lawat and accepts the same punishment of one hundred lashes in the punishment of tafkhiz for the two doers.