Are sexual offences ever established with less than four witnesses? I mean, in other than actua

Yes, sexual offences other than actual intercourse—such as undue physical contact, kissing, and the like—are established by two upright witnesses. Four witnesses are only required for actual intercourse, as the scholars have explicitly mentioned in the ‘Book of Witnessing’ of the major works. See, for example: Imam Nawawi’s Majmu`, or the commentaries on his Minhaj.

And Allah alone gives success.

– Amjad Rasheed.

[Translated by Faraz Rabbani]

Shaykh Amjad Rasheed is a Jordanian Shafi`i faqih and PhD in Islamic Law. He has studied under top scholars in Jordan, Syria, and Tarim, and obtained ijazas from his teachers. He is a student of Shaykh Nuh Keller, and is currently teaching the Shariah sciences, including high-level texts in fiqh and usul, at the Faculty of Shariah in Tarim (Hardamawt, Yemen) under the guidance of his teacher the noble faqih and mufti Shaykh Muhammad al-Khatib.

السؤال : هل يثبت التعدي ( فيما دون الجماع ، أو فيما حصل فيه جماع لكن لإثبات التعدي لا الزنا ) ضدّ المرأة بغير 4 شهود ؟ الجواب : نعم يثبت التعدي فيما دون الجماع كالملامسة والتقبيل بشاهدين عدلين فقط ولا يحتاج لأربعة شهود كالزنا فذلك خاصٌّ بالزنا كما صرحوا به في كتاب الشهادات . – ر: المجموع للنووي وشروح المنهاج.