Rape is a grievous offence under Islamic criminal law and some scholars treat it as a form of the hadd offence of zina(i.e. illicit sexual intercourse). This characterisation of rape as zinā is problematic and has been attacked by critics as being unfairly loaded against the victim. Moreover the standard of proof of zinā is extremely high as it does not permit women to testify, even if they are the victims. Further four male eye witnesses to the act are required and a failure to prove rape against the offender will render the accuser (i.e. both victim and witnesses) punishable for the hadd offence of qadhf (i.e. slander). Some modern and classic Muslim scholars therefore do not regard rape as zinā but treat it as a separate offence, such as hirabah or ightisab (i.e. as a form of violence), where the stan- dard of proof is lower. Yet when Shari'ah law was adopted in Pakistan in 1979, laws were enacted to treat rape as the hadd crime of zinā. Subsequently, because of widespread criticism, the Islamic law related to rape has been repealed and it is now treated as a common law offence. This areicle evaluates whether the purposes of Shari'ah are served by treating rape as zină, or as a separate offence.