or adulteryThe Arabic word "
ziná", here translated as
“adultery”, signifies both fornication and adultery. It applies not only to sexual relations between a married person and someone who is not his or her spouse, but also to extramarital sexual intercourse in general. One form of "
ziná" is rape. The only penalty prescribed by Bahá’u’lláh is for those who commit fornication (see note
77); penalties for other kinds of sexual offence are left to the Universal House of Justice to determine.