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Fatwa CenterThe Ruling on Being Coerced or Blackmailed into Fornication
Question
Greetings brother, I hope Allah SWT gives you many blessings, I have a question from my friend who saw one of your other posts about “female harassment” specifically the one regarding a woman blackmailing the man into Zina, my friend wishes to ask “what if it’s a man blackmailing a woman into Zina, will she be held accountable if she accepts the man threats and does Zina with him?” Thank you and may you have a good day brother
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
There is no doubt that fornication is among the most heinous and gravest sins. Therefore, it is not permissible for a man or woman to fall into it due to blackmail, pressure, or emotional coercion.
Hence, if a man threatens a woman in order to commit fornication with her, she is not allowed to comply. Rather, she must report him to the police or any other authority that can restrain him and protect her from his threats.
However, if a woman is forced into fornication by physical coercion such that she is unable to resist, or resisting would result in her death, then she is excused in this case. Nevertheless, scholars have stated that it is better for her to remain patient and not surrender herself to fornication, even if she were to perish.
Ibn al-Qayyim 
said in al-Turuq al-Hukmiyyah:
If someone asks whether a woman in such circumstances may allow the aggressor access to her body, or whether she must remain steadfast even if it leads to her death.
The response is that her ruling is the ruling of a woman coerced into fornication—the woman who is told: “If you allow me access to your body [then I will spare you], otherwise I will kill you.” Such a woman does not incur any ḥadd punishment, and she is allowed to give in as a means of saving herself from being killed.
However, if she chooses to endure patiently, that is more virtuous for her. Furthermore, she is not required to submit, just as a person forced to utter words of disbelief is not required to do so; and if he refuses and is killed, he is not sinful. Similarly, a woman who is coerced into an act of immorality is even more deserving of this ruling [not being sinful]. End quote.
Allah knows best.
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