---

Adultery and Islamic Hadith Literature: A Critical Theological Analysis

By Dr. Maxwell Shimba

Shimba Theological Institute

1. Introduction

Within Islamic theology, the Hadith literature occupies a central position as a secondary but authoritative source for shaping doctrine, ethics, law (Sharia), and Muslim conduct. Among the most cited compilers are Sahih Muslim and Sahih al-Bukhari, considered by Sunni Islam as the most authentic collections after the Qur’an. Because of this elevated status, the ethical and doctrinal content found in these books can have profound implications for Islamic moral instruction.

One of the most contentious ethical themes present in these texts concerns the Islamic conceptualization of adultery (zina) and its theological inevitability. The following analysis examines two canonical hadiths that assert that every human being has a fixed and unavoidable portion of adultery, allegedly decreed by Allah. These texts raise serious questions regarding moral responsibility, divine justice, and the concept of sin, especially when contrasted with the biblical view of holiness, human agency, and divine righteousness.

This chapter critically examines these hadiths from an academic, theological, and comparative-religion perspective.

---

2. Primary Hadith Texts Describing "Inevitable" Adultery

2.1 Sahih Muslim, Book 33 (Destiny), Hadith 6421

In the chapter entitled “The measure of the son of Adam in regard to adultery,” Abu Huraira narrates:

“Verily Allah has fixed the very portion of adultery which a man will indulge in, and which he of necessity must commit. The adultery of the eye is the lustful look, and the adultery of the tongue is the licentious speech; the heart desires and yearns, which the parts may or may not put into effect.”

This passage presents three theological claims:

1. Allah has predetermined a fixed portion of adultery for every person.

2. This adultery is described as something one “of necessity must commit.”

3. Adultery is broadly defined to include:

   • Lustful looking (zina of the eyes),

   • Lustful speech (zina of the tongue),

   • Internal desire,

   • Actual physical adultery.

2.2 Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 77 (Divine Will), Hadith 609

A similar narration is attributed to Ibn ʿAbbas through Abu Huraira:

“Allah has written for the son of Adam his inevitable share of adultery whether he is aware of it or not… The adultery of the eye is looking (at what is unlawful), the adultery of the tongue is uttering (what is unlawful), the inner self wishes and longs for adultery, and the private parts either fulfill that act or refrain from it.”

This second reference reinforces the first and emphasizes the inevitability and pre-written nature of each individual’s involvement in adultery.

---

3. Doctrinal Implications of the Hadith Claims

3.1 The Concept of Divine Decree (Al-Qadar)

These hadiths locate adultery within the larger Islamic doctrine of al-qadar—the belief that all events are pre-written by Allah. The explicit statement that adultery is “written,” “fixed,” and “inevitable” suggests that human moral agency is overshadowed by divine determinism.

In classical Islamic theology, the tension between divine decree and human freedom is well-known. However, these particular hadiths push the argument further by assigning a mandatory divine portion of a moral sin to every human being.

3.2 Ethical Consequences

If Allah decrees adultery as:

• inevitable,

• fixed, and

• something a man must commit,

then several ethical problems arise:

1. Human responsibility is undermined.
   If sin is divinely mandated, accountability becomes philosophically incoherent.

2. Moral agency collapses.
   A predetermined moral failure cannot be genuinely considered a sin in any meaningful sense.

3. Divine justice becomes contradictory.
   Punishing individuals for actions they were divinely compelled to perform contradicts universal principles of justice.

3.3 Redefinition of Adultery

The hadiths also expand the definition of adultery to include internal temptation, desire, and involuntary reactions such as looking. This redefinition results in:

• A blurring of categories between temptation and sin,

• Assigning guilt to normal human cognition,

• Presenting desire as something divinely decreed rather than morally chosen.

This sweeping definition stands in sharp contrast to biblical teaching, which distinguishes:

• Temptation (which is not sin),

• Consent to sin,

• The act of sin itself.

---

4. Comparative Theological Reflection (Islam vs. Bible)

4.1 Human Responsibility in Scripture

The Bible consistently affirms that:

• Sin is a human choice (Genesis 4:7),

• God does not tempt or compel anyone to sin (James 1:13–15),

• Moral responsibility is inseparable from free will (Joshua 24:15).

In Christian theology, God is holy (Leviticus 11:44; 1 Peter 1:16) and cannot “fix a portion of sin” for anyone. Sin arises not from divine decree but from human desire misaligned with God’s will.

4.2 Jesus’ Teaching

Jesus’ teaching on adultery (Matthew 5:27–28) acknowledges that lustful intent is sinful, but He never teaches that such sin is:

• Inevitable,

• Divinely assigned, or

• Necessitated by God.

Instead, Christ calls believers to holiness empowered by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16–17).

4.3 Divine Justice and Holiness

The biblical view of divine holiness is incompatible with a deity who ordains moral transgression. Holiness in Scripture means:

• God is morally perfect,

• His commands are righteous,

• Human beings are responsible moral agents.

These fundamental biblical doctrines clash directly with the theological implications of the hadiths cited.

---

5. Academic Assessment

From an academic, historical, and theological standpoint, these hadiths reflect:

• An internal Islamic struggle to reconcile deterministic theology with moral ethics,

• A worldview where divine decree overrides human moral agency,

• A significant departure from Judeo-Christian views of holiness, free will, and sin.

Furthermore, the presence of such teachings in Sahih Muslim and Sahih al-Bukhari—sources held by Sunni Islam to be second only to the Qur’an—raises critical questions about the moral framework guiding Islamic anthropology and ethics.

These hadiths have been used throughout Islamic history to defend deterministic understandings of human behavior, often leading to theological interpretations that minimize personal accountability.