Discover the meaning of the term Al-lʿan (لعان) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 3 min readThey are attestations reinforced by oath, joined with imprecation, standing in place of the penalty for slander as against him, and the penalty for adultery as against her.
In language: repelling and banishing; masdar of la'anu yula'anu mula'anatan. In religious law: four testimonies confirmed by oath, joined with imprecation in the fifth, standing in place of the penalty for slander against him and the penalty for adultery against her; the whole is called la'an because imprecation enters it, as prayer is called ruqu' and sujud for the swiftness with which they occur in it. Its description: the judge begins with the husband, who testifies four times, saying each time: 'I call God to witness that I am of the truthful' concerning what he accuses her of of adultery, and says at the fifth: 'God's curse be upon me if I am of the liars.' Then the woman testifies four times, saying each time: 'I call God to witness that he is of the liars' concerning what he accused me of of adultery, and says at the fifth: 'God's wrath be upon her if I am of the truthful.' A variant is related: she says 'You are of the liars concerning what you accused me of of adultery', which is more readily understood.
In language: masdar of la'ana, heard from usage alone and not by analogy; the analogy would be mula'anatan from la'n (imprecation), which is repelling and banishing; from it: al-ta'n: cursing oneself; and la'ana: cursing one another; when two people exchange abuse, each cursing the other, it is said they imprecated one another.
An oath reinforced by testimony and imprecation, or by anger: to deny paternity, or avert a disciplinary or corporal penalty.
Masdar of mula'anata; they are attestations confirmed by oath, joined with imprecation, standing in place of the penalty for slander as against him, and of the penalty for adultery as against her.