Dear respected Shaykh, assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. This is a question which someone discussed with me and I became confused. What is the criteria for the punishment of adultery. Is it penetration without a condom or penetration with a condom, meaning if someone commits adultery using a condom does this warrant punishment because his private part did not really have contact with the woman, or does this necessitate punishment because he penetrated the woman? Suppose that I was debating with a jurist who is well-versed in usool al-Fiqh matters, how do I convince him with an answer that is supported by authentic textual evidence? I have come across a fatwa by Shaikh ibn ‘Uthaimin in the book Liqaat al-Bab al-Maftuh where he was asked about the compulsoriness of bathing for a person who had sexual intercourse whilst wearing a condom, and he did not ejaculate, and he answered, “The safest thing is that he should bath. However, some scholars are of the opinion that bathing is not compulsory on him because the two circumcised parts (the penis and the vagina) did not touch each other.” I do not know if this answers my question. ضابط الحد في الزنا

Praise be to Allah, and may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family and his companions. Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. As to what follows: In response to your question, we say: The scholars agreed that the adultery which necessitates punishment is established by the insertion of the glans of the penis into the vagina. Anything enjoyment besides that is prohibited adultery because of the statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that “the adultery of the eyes is to look, the adultery of the ears is to hear, the adultery of the tongue is licentious speech, the adultery of the hand is touching and the adultery of the leg is walking (towards places where adultery may be committed).” This hadith was transmitted by al-Bukhari and Muslim from the hadith of Abu Hurairah. The hadith indicates that every part commits adultery, thus it is imperative to fear it and beware of it. In order to close the means to adultery Allah said, “And do not approach unlawful sexual intercourse. Indeed, it is ever an immorality and is evil as a way” [al-Isra 17: 32]. However, this type of adultery does not make the guilty person deserve to be punished with the set punishment for adultery. As for the punishment, which is worldly punishment, that is an additional matter above what I have mentioned, and it is not established except by conditions, including insertion of the glans, which is the head of the penis. As to what you asked about which is the fact that some people penetrate women using condoms; the scholars agreed that if the condom is thin and does not bar the heat of the vagina or excitement, then the punishment is applicable. However, the scholars differed on the ruling of a thick condom and some of them said that it makes the punishment fall away.   What you read or heard about Shaikh ‘Uthaimin (may Allah have mercy on him) concerns the compulsoriness of bathing, because bathing is compulsory due to ejaculation, or contact between the penis and vagina, and in this case, ejaculation did not take place,  and the  two private parts did not get into contact because of the presence of a barrier. However, the punishment of adultery is not linked to contact between the penis and the vagina, rather, it is linked to penetration, thus there is no correlation between the two.