المعنى الاصطلاحي :

Testimonies given by the spouses against one another, supported by oaths that involve an invocation of Allah's curse on the part of the husband and an invocation of Allah's wrath on the part of the wife.

الشرح المختصر :

"Li‘ān" (oath of condemnation) is a Shariah-based method to establish the veracity of a claim and acquit oneself of the crime of adultery. "Li‘ān" can be done in two cases: 1. If the husband accuses his wife of adultery without giving any proof of his claim and the wife denies it. 2. If the husband denies the attribution of his son to himself and the wife denounces that claim. "Li‘ān" is done as follows: the husband gives five testimonies, swearing by Allah that his wife is an adulteress. He says four times: "I bear witness by Allah that I am truthful in what I accuse her of adultery, or denial of the child being mine." Then he says in the fifth time: "May the curse of Allah be upon me if I am of the liars." Then the wife gives five testimonies, swearing by Allah that he is a liar, by saying four times: "I bear witness by Allah that he is a liar," and then she says in the fifth time: "May the anger of Allah be upon me if he is of the truthful.

التعريف اللغوي المختصر :

"Li‘ān": is an invocation of curse, meaning punishment and destruction, to fall on someone. It takes place between the spouses. It is derived from "la‘an", which means to expel and banish.