Such of your women as commit indecency, call four of you to witness against them; and if they witness, then detain them in their houses until death takes them or God appoints for them a way. 15 And punish [thus] both of the guilty parties; but if they both repent and mend their ways, leave them alone: for, behold, God is an acceptor of repentance, a dispenser of grace. 16 God does accept repentance, but only of those who are guilty of an evil out of ignorance yet quickly repent, and God turns to them again, for God is all-knowing and all-wise. 17 (Allah will accept) no repentance from those who do evil deeds until death comes to one of them, he says: 'Now I repent' Nor those who die unbelieving. For those We have prepared a painful punishment. 18 O you who believe! You are forbidden to inherit women against their will, and you should not treat them with harshness, that you may take away part of the Mahr you have given them, unless they commit open illegal sexual intercourse. And live with them honourably. If you dislike them, it may be that you dislike a thing and Allah brings through it a great deal of good. 19 If you want to divorce a woman so that you can marry another, do not take back the dowry which you had paid even if what you paid was a large amount of gold. To do this is a slanderous act and a manifest sin. 20 How can ye take it (back) after one of you hath gone in unto the other, and they have taken a strong pledge from you? 21 Do not marry women whom your fathers married, except for what has already taken place in the past. This is indeed a shameful deed, a loathsome thing and an evil practice. 22