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the theory of limits 207compassion shall ‘move you in their case’. The other instance inwhich it is not permitted to even come near the prescribed limit (‘donot come near’, 2:187) is Allah’s command to stop eating and drinkingduring Ramadan as soon as ‘the white thread of dawn becomesdistinct from the black’. This has been regarded as so important thata special call from the minaret warns people not to overstep this timelimit; if they do their fast will become invalid and this will incurGod’s punishment.Allah does not, however, impose such extreme penalties unconditionally.We hear in verses 4 to 10 of Sårat al-Når that no less thanfour witnesses are required to support the allegation of adultery. Wealso hear that ‘the curse of God’ will be evoked if these allegationsturn out to be unfounded:And those who launch a charge against chaste women, and producenot four witnesses (to support their allegations), flog them with eightystripes and reject their evidence ever after; for such men are wickedtransgressors. Unless they repent thereafter and mend (their conduct);for God is oft-forgiving, most merciful. And for those who launch acharge against their spouses, and have (in support) no evidence buttheir own, their solitary evidence (can be received) if they bear witnessfour times (with an oath) by God that they are solemnly telling thetruth. And the fifth (oath) (should be) that they solemnly invoke thecurse of God on themselves if they tell a lie. But it would avert thepunishment from the wife, if she bears witness four times (with an oath)by God that (her husband) is telling a lie. And the fifth (oath) shouldbe that she solemnly invokes the wrath of God on herself if (her accuser)is telling the truth. If it were not for God’s grace and mercy on you,and that God is oft-returning, full of wisdom—( you would be ruinedindeed). ( Al-Når 24:4–10)It is remarkable to read how strictly Allah regulates the witnessingof unchaste activities. In requiring four truthful witnesses or a sacredoath from either husband or wife, Allah’s sense of justice is supreme:If God had not made it very hard to accuse someone of adultery wewould see hundreds of baseless accusations on a daily basis, wildinsinuations made purely out of menace, jealousy, envy, or feelingsof frustration and disappointment by being rejected by the accused.Without Allah’s binding conditions for any accusation of adultery,men and women would simply be too frightened to be seen together,girls and boys would be too scared to talk and sit with the oppositesex, and the possibility of platonic friendship between men andwomen would be too risky to even contemplate. In His justice, Allah