[Pooya/Ali Commentary 24:2] Refer to the commentary of Nisa: 15 and 16 to 18; and particularly Bani-lsrail: 32 for the correct meaning of zina (adultery). The punishment of flogging both the adulterer and the adulteress with a hundred stripes is restricted to unmarried offenders. The punishment should be open, in order to be deterrent. There can be no leniency in enforcing this law because as said in verse 1 it is Allah who has ordained this punishment. As the punishment is severe the proof of the offence has to be beyond all possibilities of concoction. Let not even the slightest shade of falsehood play a part in such cases (see commentary of Nisa: 15 and 16). To give an example of how meticulous one should be in judging such cases an event that took place in the reign of Umar bin Khattab is narrated below: Six persons, accused of adultery, were produced before the then caliph, Umar bin Khattab. At once he sentenced them to flogging, each of them with a hundred stripes. When Ali pointed out to him that his judgement was in contravention of the divine law, Umar requested him to give his own judgement. Ali said: Execute the first. Stone to death the second. Punish the third with a hundred stripes. Punish the fourth with fifty stripes. Warn the fifth and set him free. Set the sixth free without any penalty. All wondered as to why Ali gave a different verdict for each of the 6 persons tried for the same crime. Ali explained: The first is a dhimmi, a disbeliever under the protection of the Muslim state, who committed the crime of adultery with a believing woman, and having violated the law of Islam has ceased to be a dhimmi, therefore he must be executed. The second is a married man whose punishment is stoning to death. The third is to be flogged with a hundred stripes because he is a bachelor. The fourth is a slave, so fifty stripes is his punishment . The fifth has only been warned because he was caught in the crime inadvertently. The sixth is insane, so the law cannot be applied on him. Then Umar said: "Had there not been Ali, Umar would have perished." In almost all modern societies adultery is regarded as a social misconduct, but Islam categorises it among the most heinous crimes, because it destroys the very social fabric of the society and makes the lives of the affected individuals so miserable that they feel as if they are neither living nor dead. The essential harmony of the Society is ruined beyond recovery . Refer to Deuteronomy 17: 5. Aqa Mahdi Puya says: "A party of the believers" are those who have not committed any crime, and who know the divine laws and their true application. Refer to fiqh for the minimum number of the witnesses.