By Imam Murtadha Gusau
Saturday, November 01, 2025
In the Name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful
Praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, may the blessings and peace be upon our beloved master Muhammad, the last of Prophets, on his family, and all his companions.
Dear brothers and sisters! Ochanya Ogbanje is a Junior Secondary School student at the Federal Government Girls College, Gboko in Benue State, Nigeria, who died on 17 October 2018, following complications linked to years of sexual abuse.
Ochanya Ogbanje was just 13 years old when she died in October 2018. A promising student from Benue state, she had dreams like any other child. She was enrolled at the Federal Government Girls College in Gboko and lived with her aunt’s husband, Andrew Ogbuja, and his family in Makurdi for support while schooling. But instead of protection, she was allegedly subjected to 60 months of sexual abuse by both Ogbuja and his son, Victor. The abuse led to severe medical complications, including vesicovaginal fistula (VVF), and ultimately, her death.
Ochanya Ogbanje’s story is not just a tragedy; it is a symbol of a national crisis.
In Nigeria today, one in every four girls experiences sexual violence before the age of 18. That statistic, drawn from UNICEF, is not just a number; it is a national indictment.
It means that in a family of ten girls, at least two will be sexually violated before they become adults.
Respected brothers and sisters! The religion of Islam is strictly against committing the act of rape. Allah Almighty says in the Qur’an:
“And come not near to unlawful sex. Verily, it is a shameful (deed) and an act of evil, opening the road (to many other evils).” [Qur’an, 17:32]
The vilest and the most violent of all the sexual crimes is rape as the mental agony of rape cannot be erased with the passage of time. The rate of rapes in Nigeria is alarming and the statistics bears testimony to that.
No doubt, rape is strictly prohibited in Islam and considered a severe crime under Islamic law, known as Shari’ah. It is classified as a form of zina (unlawful sexual intercourse), specifically coercive zina, and is viewed as a violation of both divine and interpersonal rights. Islamic law, often described using terms like ightisab or Zina al-Jibr, includes both a sexual offense and an attack on a person’s property and honour.
Fellow brothers and sisters! The Arabic word ightisab refers to taking something wrongfully by force. It is now used exclusively to refer to transgression against the honour of women by force (rape).
Rape is an abhorrent crime that is forbidden in all religions and in the minds of all wise people and those who are possessed of sound human nature. All earthly systems and laws regard this action as abhorrent and impose the strictest penalties on it, except a few nations which waive the punishment if the rapist marries his victim! This is indicative of a distorted mind let alone a lack of religious commitment on the part of those who challenge Allah in making laws. We do not know of any love or compassion that could exist between the aggressor and his victim, especially since the pain of rape cannot be erased with the passage of time – as it is said. Hence many victims of rape have attempted to commit suicide and many of them have succeeded. The failure of these marriages is proven and they are accompanied by nothing but humiliation and suffering for the woman.
Islam has a clear stance which states that rape is prohibited (haram) and imposes a deterrent punishment on the one who commits it.
Islam closes the door to the criminal who wants to commit this crime. Western studies have shown that most rapists are already criminals who commit their crimes under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and they take advantage of the fact that their victims are walking alone in isolated places, or staying in the house alone. These studies also show that what the criminals watch in the social media and the semi-naked styles of dress in which women go out, also lead to the commission of this reprehensible crime.
The laws of Islam came to protect women’s honour and modesty. Islam forbids women to wear clothes that are not modest and to travel without a mahram; it forbids a woman to shake hands with a non-mahram man.
Islam encourages young men and women to marry early, and many other rulings which close the door to rape. Hence it comes as no surprise when we hear or read that most of these crimes occur in permissive societies which are looked up to by some Muslims as examples of civilisation and refinement!
In America – for example – Amnesty International stated in a 2004 report entitled “Stop Violence Against Women” that every 90 seconds a woman was raped during that year. What kind of life are these people living? What refinement and civilisation do they want the Muslim women to take part in?
The punishment for rape in Islam is same as the punishment for fornication (zina), which is stoning if the perpetrator is married, and one hundred lashes and banishment for one year if he is not married.
Some Islamic scholars also say that he is required to pay a dowry (mahr) to the woman.
Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“In our view the man who rapes a woman, whether she is a virgin or not, if she is a free woman he must pay a “dowry” like that of her peers, and if she is a slave he must pay whatever has been detracted from her value. The punishment is to be carried out on the rapist and there is no punishment for the woman who has been raped, whatever the case.” [Al-Muwatta, volume 2, page 734]
Shaikh Salman al-Baji (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“In the case of a woman who is forced (raped): if she is a free woman, the one who forced her must pay her a “dowry” like that of her peers, and the hadd punishment is to be carried out on him. This is the view of Imam al-Shafi’i, and it is the view of Imam al-Laith, and it was also narrated from Ali Ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him).
Imams Abu Hanifah and al-Thawri said:
“The hadd punishment is to be carried out on him but he is not obliged to pay the “dowry.” The evidence for what we say is that the hadd punishment and the “dowry” are two rights, one of which is the right of Allah and the other is the right of the other person. So they may be combined, as in the case of a thief whose hand is cut off and he is required to return the stolen goods.” [Al-Muntaha, Sharh al-Muwatta, volume 5, page 268 and 269]
Ibn Abdul-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“The Islamic scholars are unanimously agreed that the rapist is to be subjected to the hadd punishment if there is clear evidence against him that he deserves the hadd punishment, or if he admits to that. Otherwise, he is to be punished (i.e., if there is no proof that the hadd punishment for fornication (zina) may be carried out against him because he does not confess, and there are not four witnesses, then the judge may punish him and stipulate a punishment that will deter him and others like him). There is no punishment for the woman if it is true that he forced her and overpowered her, which may be proven by her screaming and shouting for help.” [Al-Istizkar, volume 7, page 146]
● Rape at knife-point or gun-point
The rapist is subject to the hadd punishment for fornication (zina), even if the rape was not carried out at knife-point or gun-point. If the use of a weapon was threatened, then he is a muharib, and is to be subjected to the hadd punishment described in the verse in which Allah says:
“The recompense of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and do mischief in the land is only that they shall be killed or crucified or their hands and their feet be cut off from opposite sides, or be exiled from the land. That is their disgrace in this world, and a great torment is theirs in the Hereafter.” [Qur’an, 5:33]
So the judge has the choice of the four punishments mentioned in this Qur’anic verse, and may choose whichever he thinks is most suitable to attain the objective, which is to spread peace and security in society, and ward off evildoers and aggressors.
Salamah Ibn al-Muhabbiq reported that: A man had intercourse with the servant girl of his wife, so the matter was referred to the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him. The Prophet said:
“If she had done so willingly, then she belongs to him and he must pay the likes of her price. If he had forced her, then she is free and he must pay the likes of her price.” [Musnad of Imam Ahmad, and graded as Hasan (fair) according to Imam Ibn al-Qayyim]
Imam Ibn al-Qayyim said:
“If he had forced her, this is a type of abuse as compulsion into sexual intercourse is abuse. Indeed, such intercourse is carried out in the manner of a criminal offense, so for this reason, he is not absolved from a fine or legal punishment.” [See I’lam al-Muwaqqi’in, volume 2, page 21]
Dear brothers and sisters! In Islam, rape is an abhorrent crime, an abominable sin, and a severe form of violence and oppression that violates human dignity and security. It is strictly forbidden (haram), and victims are explicitly exonerated from any blame or punishment, while perpetrators face severe penalties in this world and the hereafter.
Rape culture is something that Islam firmly stands against. The Qu’ran itself attaches the edict of hijab to a protection from harm – the Arabic word having many possible semantic layers and one of them being protection from assault. This protection is connected to the idea that the one wearing hijab is ‘known’ – known to be a practicing Muslim, known to be faithful and religious etc…
Culture changes and grows often times because the tolerance of a people to certain things dissipates, or increases.
We must have zero tolerance for words and phrases that help to create a rape culture. It must not be ok, ever, to laugh about violence of any kind. And considering the Sunnah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), his final sermon (Khutbah), his treatment of women, his remonstrations to any man who demonstrated a tendency toward disrespect of women, and the Qur’an which includes thick layers of respect and dignity for and about women, it would seem that this is obvious and does not need to be said.
However, it does need to be said. We must not tolerate, promote or ignore words that oppress and hurt women. Period!
I am concerned about our tolerance level. What are we saying behind closed doors? What is ‘ok’ to say in front of our daughters? Are we fulfilling the mandate to raise our daughters with spiritual dignity and empowerment?
Men – speak to your daughters about their beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). Tell them of his empowering words.
Women – take your daughters by the hand tonight and walk through the history of Muslim women and the Muslim women heroes that have been so eloquently remembered at.
All of us – let us pray for this Ummah. That we may move beyond the misogyny of Jahiliyyah and toward the equity and mutual respect of Islam.
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. Prayers, peace and mercy are upon our beloved master, Muhammad, the son of Abdullah (Peace be upon him), his family and Companions.
Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene’s Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: gusauimam@gmail.com or +2348038289761 or +2348024192217.