Note 36

36. or adultery # 19

The Arabic word "&zina", 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 "&zina" is rape. The only penalty prescribed by &Baha'u'llah 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.