The four witnesses for adultery
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Peace Huruf
I do not mean to say that what is prescribed is not sufficient. It is indeed sufficient given that one or more witnesses do not provide a plausible testimony. As I've said before, I think that the four witness requirement allows for the courts to very quickly determine whether or not they actually need to proceed further. The four witness requirement cuts down on waiting time, court fees and allows for bogus cases to be quickly thrown out. It is my opinion, we must always assume the worst possible scenario when dealing with legal matters, especially, when the punishment is so severe both physically and mentally.
Corruption plagues the earth and this has always been the case. Even in most Western democracies, we see corruption in almost every sector. Life just doesn't come with many guarantees, unfortunately. This is why we have to build legal systems that will protect our citizens in the long run (especially the most vulnerable). We would not be negating God's law or even neglecting it. We would simply be considering the "What ifs" and the gray areas of each situation.
The testimony of an individual can never be infallible. Even when supported with the testimony of others to make the case stronger, still we cannot determine that what we're hearing is indeed accurate. However, we can use the testimonies to determine whether or not a lie is being told. Usually, those who lie without having planned prior, will easily contradict themselves. However, those who plan meticulously, it is very difficult to catch them. This is why some type of proof is needed. Otherwise, we risk condemning an innocent person. I think this would be a greater sin. Also, we ourselves could easily become victims to such a system.
In addition to God's laws, we need to create bylaws that will help lawyers navigate the system and provide a defense that is strong. I do not agree when you say that we cannot do anything if a court is rotten. The court cannot be rotten if checks and balances are put into place. The court cannot be rotten if we the public, uphold our expectations of the court and monitor the judiciary system. The court cannot be rotten if we have laws that insist that a human being cannot be proven guilty until proven. The proof does not lie in the words of humans. Their words are pure hearsay. The proof must be brought into the court. The party that has been accused is innocent until they are proven guilty by actual proof. The words of humans, who are infallible and capable of the most heinous sin, are not acceptable. Their eyewitness testimony only allows us to catch their lies. It does not contain their proof. We must take it a step further and demand this proof/evidence of the crime. This is to ensure reasonable doubt.
These requirements do not equate to defying God or undermining His laws, rather it means that we have used our intellect and reasoning to create a fair and just system to the best of our human abilities. Still, we will fall short because we were created weak and do not possess the wisdom of the Almighty. However, we must try and never back down. This is about attempting to achieve justice for all. As cheesy as that sounds, I do mean it.
Proof is also needed in the case of robbery, homicide, rape, and etc. Tomorrow, four people cannot go to the courts and accuse me of robbing a bank. If their testimonies sound ludicrous and unbelievable, the police officers who took their testimony will either book them and/or send them on their way. We'll then hear about it on the six o'clock news. However, if the testimonies sound credible, then further steps will be taken. Perhaps, an interrogation. Seemingly credible testimonies will not result in me being dragged off to prison for 20 years. There is a lengthy process to all of this, and rightly so. Either they'll find the money with me or they find some other kind of proof to place me at the crime scene and then proceed from there. These days, rape and homicide can both be proven with DNA evidence (strongest determining factor). Of course, DNA evidence is only one type of proof. Other types of proof can be found as well. Testimonies are merely supplementary information that would need to coincide with the beyond, reasonable doubt proof.
Yes, the Quran gives a punishment for giving a false testimony. Imagine that you and I are interrogating four witnesses. I take two, and you take the other two into separate enclosed rooms. We ask the same questions to all four witnesses. Everything is of course recorded and video taped. You and I proceed to come out and discuss the answers we received. There are too many discrepancies in the testimonies. Their stories really aren't matching up. We confront them on these matters, and now we have four witnesses who are stuttering and then trying to change their stories around, while fumbling for new ideas or possibilities. Or, they just give up and admit their guilt. We then have to get them tried in court, as we have proof (tape recordings and video tape) that they attempted to accuse an innocent party of adultery/fornication. If the court finds them guilty, then what is their punishment? 80 lashes. That's God's law in action.
Nobody needs to be an imbecile. We just need to be human and that's usually enough.
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Peace Amina, ) I agree with you in this matter.
Peace 357 ) I may not agree with you either, but I also find what you are saying to make sense. However, I still understand the numerical value to be correct in reference to other verses. I see great wisdom in God having required a specific number.
Peace Bender ). Just wanted to say that.
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A dictionery - lanes.
Salaam,
I thought you said you don't use "grammar or anything" hmm
Anyway, whatever dictionary you are using it's not compatible with how The Quran uses it.
this was your translation for 587
Seest thou not that Allah doth know (all) that is in the heavens and on earth? There is not a an evil inclination projected between them, but He makes his weight among them, - Nor in their agreeing but He makes it dark/ashy, and not but a burden from that and not can they be more but he with them wherever they are In the end will He tell them the truth of their conduct, on the Day of Judgment. For Allah has full knowledge of all things.I guess you know for yourself that this translation is playing with the verses of Allah &
Salaam,
Bender -
Peace Amina, ) I agree with you in this matter.
Peace 357 ) I may not agree with you either, but I also find what you are saying to make sense. However, I still understand the numerical value to be correct in reference to other verses. I see great wisdom in God having required a specific number.
Peace Bender ). Just wanted to say that.
Salaam Released )
I don't understand.
You agree with Amina but you don't agree with 357 I thought that they agreed with eachother hmmSalaam,
Benderps did you see my rank, I am now a "Truth Seeker" )
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Salaam,
I thought you said you don't use "grammar or anything" hmm
Anyway, whatever dictionary you are using it's not compatible with how The Quran uses it.
this was your translation for 587
Seest thou not that Allah doth know (all) that is in the heavens and on earth? There is not a an evil inclination projected between them, but He makes his weight among them, - Nor in their agreeing but He makes it dark/ashy, and not but a burden from that and not can they be more but he with them wherever they are In the end will He tell them the truth of their conduct, on the Day of Judgment. For Allah has full knowledge of all things.I guess you know for yourself that this translation is playing with the verses of Allah &
Salaam,
BenderWhere on the face of the earth, is there a law saying that a woman needs four people to have seen her being done before she can make a formal complaint ? No where but in a book by God Allmighty!!!!!!!!!!
brickwall
When we corrupt Gods holy words there needs to be people who would stand up for what is right , don't you think? and not for what is wrong.
with respects ;
The four witness theory fabricated to bring about the four holy months - which are in Hinduism
like many other things- like the kaaba itself.Ashadh Chaturdashi, The sacred commencement of Chaturmas takes place on the 14th day of the fortnight of the waxing moon of Ashad. The Jain monks and nuns remain where they happen to be for four months until the 14th day of Kartik Shukla. During these four months the monks give daily discourses, undertake religious ceremonies,
The four-month period of Chaturmas -- beginning from the fourth month (Ashadh) to the seventh month (Ashwin) -- is regarded sacred by devotees who believe that Lord Vishnu went into deep slumber during the time.There is no magic in any number , but in righeousness.
But once the word is used in one place for four they need to keep on using it to mean four everywhere else and so the flaw/ the crack appears in the act of righteousness.
But it is sad people don't/ can't see the injustice in the concuction, its a shame.
yes
peace
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Where on the face of the earth, is there a law saying that a woman needs four people to have seen her being done before she can make a formal complaint ? No where but in a book by God Allmighty!!!!!!!!!!
brickwall
Salaam,
What you claim here is not what the verse says.
btw I didn't even noticed that you also changed the second half of the verse.
When we corrupt Gods holy words there needs to be people who would stand up for what is right , don't you think? and not for what is wrong.
I agree, but you came up with a translation without backing it up with other verses were the same words are used.
In this way everyone can make up what he/she desires.
if you can proof your understanding with verses from The Quran then I am with you. But if it's just a thought based on nothing else besides what you wish it to be, then we will agree to disagree.with respects ;
The four witness theory fabricated to bring about the four holy months - which are in Hinduism
like many other things- like the kaaba itself.I have very limited knowledge on the so called 4 holy months and zero knowledge on Hinduism so I can't discuss this.
There is no magic in any number , but in righeousness.
handshake
But once the word is used in one place for four they need to keep on using it to mean four everywhere else and so the flaw/ the crack appears in the act of righteousness.
I strongly disagree here.
But it is sad people don't/ can't see the injustice in the concuction, its a shame.
yes
peace
I don't see any injustice in how I understand the verse.
Salaam,
Bender -
Peace Bender )
I agree with her in that although we do find 357's methodology to be incorrect, we find that there is wisdom in the actual interpretation that he has derived. In that, there should be weighty or reasonable evidence presented if in fact all four witnesses who present testimonies appear to provide information that is consistent and without contradiction. However, we understand that human testimony (no matter how many people gang up to make identical claims) is pure hearsay unless the the eyewitness(es) bring forth their proof. If what they say is absolutely true without a doubt, let them bring forth their proof before we condemn a soul to a punishment of any sort. I believe that this is in the spirit of God's words a fair, thorough, and just legal system.
Congratulations on your change of rank, TruthSeeker. bravo I imagine that you will live up to your name, God willing.
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Salaam,
I have very limited knowledge on the so called 4 holy months and zero knowledge on Hinduism so I can't discuss this.
Salaam,
Bender92
Go ye, then, for four months, backwards and forwards, (as ye will), throughout the land, but know ye that ye cannot frustrate Allah (by your falsehood) but that Allah will cover with shame those who reject Him.936
The number of months in the sight of Allah is twelve (in a year)- so ordained by Him the day He created the heavens and the earth; of them four are sacred that is the straight usage. So wrong not yourselves therein, and fight the Pagans all together as they fight you all together. But know that Allah is with those who restrain themselves.four holy (or forbidden) months?
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Peace )
I'm just so happy to be having this discussion. Imagine if I brought this up in a sectarian forum..I can just imagine how many of them would have condemned me to hell by now. Though we may never agree with one another...I'm just loving this freedom to share my viewpoint. I'm sure many of you feel the same sun
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Peace )
I apologize if this topic has already been discussed. You can close this thread and redirect to a thread with a similar topic in this case.
Okay, so you know how it is required to have four witnesses in order to prove adultery?
I was just wondering something about that in that, do the four witnesses need to bring forth any concrete proof? Or, can adultery be proven merely through eyewitness testimony? I would think that an eyewitness testimony void of any proof (video, pictures, etc) could easily be a lie orchestrated by a group of people against two individuals they collectively strongly dislike?
In my head I'm thinking, "who's going to commit adultery in front of four other people?" So, it has to be some weird situation on which a case could be built upon. ???
Please share your thoughts.
Salam
In any way you interpret zina does not matter in this case, the allegation is a big one and the punishment should not be administred without clear evidence. What many people seem to overlook is that what is described in the Quran is LAW. You need to have met certain criteria to qualify as a case ruled by the Quran and Allah. It is very serious business.......If a man finds his wife in bed with another man but cannot produce any witnesses or the wife swears by Allah it is a false acqusation doesnt mean the adultery never happened, it still happened.....The husband can take whatever action he wants (forgive/forget/divorce etc).........It is up to him how he deals with a cheating wife.......However when the husband brands his wife as an adultress to the rest of society he must produce evidence.
Simple retorics, if I steal a candybar and caught by the shopowner he can ban me for life from his shop. If he decides to call the police and have me arrested he must produce evidence for me to be convicted.
Jealousy, greed, hate etc can blind a person to the point where you risk all. You can stand in front of a court and lie without a problem, as long as it serves your purpose. You are willing to take the punishment if caught, both here on earth and on judgement day.
For two people to have the same jealousy, greed, hate etc towards another person is feasible, maybe even three, but it is highly unlikely that four independent people are all blind from jealousy or hate to the point they are willing to "risk" being punished by Allah on judgement day.
In other words, what is and what is not witnessed is of course important but not the main focus. What is important is that four people are so sure about the zina that they have no fear of punishment because they know they are not false witnesses. Because as we all know, Allah will punish liars severely.
Would anyone here be willing to swear by Allah you are a witness to zina because you watched a video or looked at a photo? Because if a person produces that kind of evidence to you and you accept it, then by default you become a witness yourself.......I know I would not risk my own salvation (in lack of a better term) based on evidence that I have not witnessed in person.
As the accuser you need to trust your witnesses, because if they lie you are the one that will receive the punishment of eighty lashes, not them......If I wanted to accuse someone I would be very careful as to the witness I choose to back me up. I would make sure they do not have any reason to see the adulterer/adultress punished, for example an ex-boyfriend/girlfriend. Because like I said, if they lie and are caught I am the one being whipped.
So zina does not become zina when one accuser and four witnesses step forward, it is still zina, it still happened. But you as a victim of the crime do not have the right to publicly speak about it. You are not allowed to tell people he or she has cheated on their spouse.........If you do this you must produce witnesses, and these witnesses must be utterly rock solid that they are willing to stand up and swear by Allah they are telling the truth, only then does the zina become punishable by the Quran. Then it is up to the court to believe or not believe the witnesses.
Of course this only works in an objective court, sadly this is not the case in today's world.....
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Peace Emil,
For two people to have the same jealousy, greed, hate etc towards another person is feasible, maybe even three, but it is highly unlikely that four independent people are all blind from jealousy or hate to the point they are willing to "risk" being punished by Allah on judgement day.
I think that is also part of her question....what if the witnesses do not truly fear Allah, but fear that person (making the allegation) instead?
In that case there is really nothing that can be done. Ultimately, we truly reap what we sow on the day of Judgement.
I think your post clarified things very well, though.
-Amina
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I think that is also part of her question....what if the witnesses do not truly fear Allah, but fear that person (making the allegation) instead?
Salam Amina
What you say is sadly true.........I wish it wasnt so though......I dont know how to stop people from abusing the Quran. One might argue that they should fear Allah more, but that is easy to say when we ourselves do not live under constant threat from being beat or killed.....
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Peace Emil )
Thank you for your response. sun
Yes, as Amina pointed out, I see an issue in where the "eye witnesses" may feel compelled by the prime accuser to provide an inaccurate testimony. They may have their own motives as well. Unfortunately, we cannot accurately measure sincerity and honesty in people, only God is equipped with this power.
Here is something important that you said
Jealousy, greed, hate etc can blind a person to the point where you risk all. You can stand in front of a court and lie without a problem, as long as it serves your purpose. You are willing to take the punishment if caught, both here on earth and on judgement day.
These things can most definitely blind a person to the point of where they will even risk their souls. This is what is scary, that as human beings, we are capable of this. I'd like to think that once people are introduced to the Truth and make claims to have embraced it, they would become more God fearing, cautious, and aware of themselves. However, this just isn't the case. Humans are more complex than what can be perceived.
The courts are another issue. They are also comprised of human beings like us.
In actuality, we are dealing with two entities that are equally fallible and susceptible to corruption the party of accusers as well the courts. In reality, we'll never have a perfect system nor a perfect group of believers who are incapable of lying for their own interests.
This is why it is important to create extensions based off of any laws. We need to have a system that is more full-proof (though it will never be perfect by default). Though, I think God will reward us for the effort made.
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The dunya is the dunya, is a place of trial and growth and trasformation. If everythign is perfect, no need to transform anything. We are commanded jihad. Why, because things are nto perfect, but it is not required of us tht we achieve anything, the result of our endeavours and our jihad, everyday jihad, rests with our Malik. We will see the results of our efforts, but where and when, that is in God's hands.
In the matter of zina and slander, as in any other matter it is for us to struggle in this life, and trust God, we will see the results, but not necessarily, not even most likely in this life. We shoudl accept that and trust God on HIS words. We will see them, but not at our convenience, but at God's Wisdom decree.
We know already and we may have suffered injusticies more or less severe, in this world. Some things are so cruel and painful and horrible that we wonder how, if there is a God He can allow such things... We know that through all that, as human beings our duty is show patience and persevere. God will not get angry with people who suffer. Look at the words spoken by Maryam asking to be dead and forgotten, sound like the words of somebody desperate, beyond tiredness and hope, and however, God is not only not angry at her, but makes her feel his closeness and tenderness.
Injustice and oppression are of the things that are more difficult to bear and accept. Of course we do not acept them, but must accept that they exist and that they may befall us and that that will not make God less tender and loving nor he has forgotten us. But this world, although many times we love it, and iss full of good things, is not the end, it is like a river bed where the stones but against each other at the current pushes them and shapes them and rubs them smooth, it is something transient where we get transformed, or we should. We all know that, but somehow forget because our wish is that everything should be perfect, and that is also right, we should strive for that, because we will get it in sha Allah, but not at our command, but a His.
As for those who use God's own words in vain and to do harm, they will have to answer for that, and it is not a light matter. They may get their way in this world, but it will only make it worse for the next. They wrong themselves.
Salaam
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Peace Huruf )
I agree that this dunya (world) is full of trials and tribulations. It is indeed far from perfect. By default, it will never be a perfect place because we ourselves are not perfect. We are tested with poor health, unemployment, hunger, homelessness, loneliness, oppression, and etc. You are right. We use a type of jihad to combat all of these things, and of course it is our intentions that mean more than our end results. It's all about the effort. I just think that we should strive for perfection even though we'll never reach it.
I like your example of Maryam. As a wife and mother, I can relate to this. However, I considered this to be more of an inevitable trial. It wasn't injustice or oppression. It was life taking its course. I trusted God would bring me and my baby through, and whatever happened in the end, it would have been His will for a reason beyond my understanding. However, this did not stop me from making sure I took all precautions and medical advice very seriously.
I think the accusation of zina is a different matter. It is not a normal part of life as childbirth. It is a very serious accusation with dire circumstances. I believe that God allows for injustice and oppression because He wishes for us to learn lessons from these things. He wants us to better ourselves and better the quality of our lives. He wants us to help others and fight against all types of oppression. I believe that He wants us to strive toward perfection, and once we make the effort, He will make it so we reach our goals. However, I think that He wants us to get the ball rolling. Otherwise, He will not change our condition and we will continue to repeat these injustices unknowingly.
I am content with God's laws and there is great wisdom in them. However, I think He also wants us to use the intellect and wisdom that He has given us, in administering these laws. The giving of a verdict and administering of a punishment is a very delicate matter. Physical punishments given to a person who is innocent can impose mental trauma that extends beyond the physical trauma. It will also tarnish the reputation of the individual. I was watching a show yesterday, where they showing how so many men convicted of homicide are now being removed from death row due to new revealing DNA evidence. Imagine how many have been killed in the past when DNA evidence was not available. As we make efforts to learn and broaden our horizons, God also assists us and broadens our capabilities.
Yes, and ultimately, the reward and/or punishment is with God.
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Well no, in the case of Maryam it was not merely delivery pains. She was an outcast, supposedly having a child when she shouldn't. Of course she was a victim and precisely of slander. Good thing her family seemed to stand behind her, but it was no simple happily married wife childbirth. And that is where the Qur'an version and the Gospels versions differ widely. Maryam was a shame, and in sipte of it, she accepted the trial and the shame and everything that went with it. Or why do you think the Qur'an bothers with the birth of her son and her anguishes at being rejected and her pains alone? In fact people sometimes have killed women for that. Today some idiots would have had her stoned. She underwent one of the most shameful aand publicly dishonouring situations that can befall a person and that all of her life, because those things last the whole life.
On the other hand, getting to the bottomline of it all what does it matter whether we suffer because somebody is a sonofabitch or if we suffer because a cancer eats us away with horrible pains? Socially, we must act against antisocial, inhuman behaviour, but at a personal level, our contention is with God, because He has made this world the way it is, because He wanted so, and He is our lover and master, so we accept it all or we don't. Maryam accepted it all, we all should do like her and know that our suffering is never wasted and that we are always delivered of blessings. Blessings for us and for everythig that surrounds us.
Why should we suffer to do what God wants, or why would God want us to suffer in order to fulfill His will, couldn't He have willed it otherwise? To that we must simply trust God and His ayas. Maryam is an aya and may be we need to savour shame and dejection and being despised by people in order to get to what is beyond. As Camaxtli, the chichimecan prophet (I think) promised his people Oncan tonaz, oncan tlahuiz (beyond will be de dawn, beyond the sun will rise).
Or as the title of some book these days "beyond the veil". We have too many veils. The insistence on the veils these days too, seems allegorically to portray the struggle between essence and purpose on the one hand and trappings on the other. We think that people matter, what they think and do. They bury us in statistics and polls and public opinion, but the fact is that reality, ourselves, the deep ourselves are somewhere else and unconerned by statistics or people. Like an orange, on the skin we are full of ripples and one could think that there are tempests and storms on us, but that is just the surface. Deep down there is something else, something mysterious which will uncover only if we dare go beyond.
Salaam
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Peace Huruf
I understand your example of Maryam better now. Thank you for clarifying this for me.
You said this, "On the other hand, getting to the bottomline of it all what does it matter whether we suffer because somebody is a sonofabitch or if we suffer because a cancer eats us away with horrible pains?"
I guess what I mean is, one type of suffering is inevitable where it is difficult to place blame or punish anyone in particular. Even in the case of Maryam, she would have had change the overall mentality of her society in order to escape from slander and judgement. The odds were against her. Also, I believe the punishment for zina in the Old Testament is a capital punishment? I don't think she could have done much but suffer, as she would have not had the support of anyone in her community. Sometimes we have to suffer because there is nothing that can be done. The society is not ready for change or reflection.
Still, I believe that some types of suffering can be avoided. If the suffering was to fulfill His will, then even if the four witnesses are dismissed, still God will find a way to fulfill His will. We cannot know what is His will for certainty. Perhaps, He wishes for us to try and change our own condition so that may we avoid this suffering.
I don't think His prescribed law is meant to punish the righteous or innocent, I believe the law is meant to punish the unrighteous because they have chosen to lie, slander, and can easily be charged with conspiracy to murder. However, if an innocent is punished, then I believe this knowledge is meant as a lesson to the people. In that, we as a people must be more careful and cautious as to how and for what reasons we inflict punishment and suffering upon another life. The only way to be more cautious of this is to have more checks and balances in our judiciary system. It may never be a perfect system, but it would be a system that strives to better itself.
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Peace
I apologize if this topic has already been discussed. You can close this thread and redirect to a thread with a similar topic in this case.
Okay, so you know how it is required to have four witnesses in order to prove adultery?
I was just wondering something about that in that, do the four witnesses need to bring forth any concrete proof? Or, can adultery be proven merely through eyewitness testimony? I would think that an eyewitness testimony void of any proof (video, pictures, etc) could easily be a lie orchestrated by a group of people against two individuals they collectively strongly dislike?
In my head I'm thinking, "who's going to commit adultery in front of four other people?" So, it has to be some weird situation on which a case could be built upon. ???
Please share your thoughts.
The goal here is to act as a deterence. generally the Quran prescribed proportional justice and not deterence but it did invoke deterence when it came to slander because as the case with all tribal societies accusing a wommen of sexual misconduct can carry great harm. The Quran is not interested about punishing adulterers as much as its interested on preventing slandering since the slanderer needs four witnesses or else he can be be held accountable for what he alleged. Whether the slanderer is saying the truth or not is not relevant.
The Quran meawhile dealt with adultery as both a grave sin and a crime but made the punishment for it symbolic more than anything. Lashing is not a joke and is considered a form of torture. The Quran allowed people to declare their disbelief if they are being tortured since the person is only doing so because he is being tortured and a person being tortured can not be held repsonsible for his actions. So whats stopping the same individual to lie even if under oath if he fears the punishment. He may want to admit and repent but is not sure he or she can handle 100 lashes. Most women, even if faithful, would rather lie.
So the Quran knows that most people will lie even under oath when facing the lash. It takes a special kind of person to admit something that can make him or her receive 100 lashes. Most people will simply lie as we know. So proving adultery is going to be very difficult even if one of the spouses caught the other in the act since their is still the need to swear by oath four times and other can do the same and most will lie to escape the punishment of lashing.
16.106. Whoever disbelieves in God after having believed ? not him who is under duress, while his heart is firm in and content with faith, but the one who willingly opens up his heart to unbelief ? upon them falls God's anger (His condemnation of them), and for them is a mighty punishment.
Well a hundred lashes is duress.
What the verses about adultery does do is prevent people from opening their mouth about someone else even if they actually saw something. Its a preventive measure.
As we know this is the only time the Quran used deterence and prevention as a form of justice. The Quran as we know uses proportional justice (eye for an eye) where the punishment should fit the crime and not an eye for an eye lash where the punishment is harsher than the crime.
Similar laws exist in the US usually for Blacks since historically many Blacks would be wrongfully persecuted and sometimes even lynched because of someone accusing them of something. Many Blacks found themselves in trouble because of slandering and false accusation. The US legal system introduced many civil rights laws to prevent this often stipulating mandatory sentences so Blacks do not get disproportionate justice when accused of a crime against a White person.
Men as we know can get away with sexual acts but women in Arab societies do not have that leisure and sometimes they have been killed by their own families because of rumors and gossips. Hence the need for deterence against slandering of married women.
So to summarize while the four witnesses made punishing anyone for adultery difficult it made punishing anyone for slander four times easier. Just like people will be tempted to lie about their adultery to escape the punishment, a person who saw something will do the same and remain silent to escape the punishment. We can take this deterence example as something specific to adultery or we can take that to apply to any situation where slandering and accusations alone can create harm for a third party.
"An honor killing, or honour killing is the homicide of a member of a family or social group by other members, due to the belief of the perpetrators that the victim has brought dishonor upon the family or community.
The perceived dishonor is normally the result of one of the following behaviors, or the suspicion of such behaviors dressing in a manner unacceptable to the family or community, wanting to terminate or prevent an arranged marriage or desiring to marry by own choice, especially if to a member of a social group deemed inappropriate, engaging in heterosexual acts outside marriage and engaging in homosexual acts.
Many women's groups in the Middle East and Southwest Asia suspect that more than 20,000 women are honor killed each year. "
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor_killing
So we can see the harm this brings to many women when they find themselves being accused of sexual misconduct. Reading that article can be very disturbing.