To Stone or not to Stone, That is the Question...

One of the most serious verses in the Quran is about the act of adultery (zina).  Zina is one of the worst sins two people can commit besides shirk (believing in more than one God).  The Quran is very clear about its ruling on those who are caught in the act of adultery but there are conditions as we shall explore.

First lets look at the verses themselves:

QURAN:

The first verse is in Surah 4:15 and is the specific punishment for a woman.  It states:

[1] [Surah 4:15] "Those who commit immorality [i.e. unlawful sexual intercourse] of your women - bring against them four [witnesses] from among you.  And if they testify(a) confine them [i.e. the guilty women] to houses until death takes them or Allah ordains for them [another] way.(b)

• (a) The witnesses must swear to actually having seen the act taking place.
• (b) The "other way" (i.e. penalty) was later revealed in Surah 24:2, canceling the ruling in this verse.

[2] [Surah 4:16] "And the two who commit it [i.e. ulawful sexual intercourse] among you - punish [i.e. dishonor] them both.  But if they repent and correct themselves, leave them alone.  Indeed Allah is ever Accepting of repentance and Merciful."  

[3] [Surah 4:17] "The repentance accepted by Allah is only for those who do wrong in ignorance [or carelessness] and then repent soon after..."

[4] [Surah 24:2] "The [unmarried] women or [unmarried] man found guilty of sexual intercourse(c) - lash each one of them with a hundred lashes(d), and do not be taken by pity for them in the religion [i.e. the law] of Allah(e), if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day.  And let a group of the believers witness their punishment.

• (c) Either by voluntary confession of the offender or the testimony of four male witnesses to having actually seen the act take place.  Otherwise, there can be no conviction.
• (d) The ruling in this verse is applicable to unmarried fornicators.  Execution by stoning is confirmed in the Sunnah for convicted adulterers.
• (e) Do not let sympathy for a guilty person move you to alter anything ordained by Allah, for in His law is protection of society as a whole. 

Lets stop here for now, although there is more if you continue reading, and sum up the verses.

1. The original ruling [Surah 4:15] by God is for a "woman" who commits adultery.
2. If a woman is found guilty (by four witnesses confessing to the act) then she shall spend the rest of her life at home until she dies.
3. This verse was later abrogated by [Surah 24:2] .
4. In the new ruling, both the man and the woman found guilty of adultery (or confessing the act) are to be administered 100-lashes and humiliated in front of others in the community.
5. Its interesting to note the commentary of Surah 24:2 where it states that execution by stoning is confirmed in the Sunnah for convicted adulterers.  

HADITH:

In order to grasp the integrity of the Surah's above we need to understand what was done in practice by Prophet Muhammad.  We can turn to the Hadith for such examples as they relate to God's ruling on adulterers.  Here are some of the stories (I list only three because they are quite long):

[5] [Muslim, Book 17, No. 4201] Ibn Abbas reported that Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said to Ma'iz b. Malik: Is it true what has reached me about you? He said: What has reached you about me? He said: It has reached me that you have committed (adultery) with the slave-girl of so and so? He said: Yes. He (the narrator) said: He testified four times. He (the Holy Prophet) then made pronouncement about him and he was stoned (to death).

Here, Mai'z b. Malik testifies to Prophet Muhammad four times that he was the one who committed adultery and thus he was stoned to death.  I'm sure Mai'z was trying to be righteous in confessing his sin but regardless, why was he stoned when Allah prescribes 100-lashes?  Read more on the story in the next narration, it gets worse.  

[6] [Muslim Book 17, No. 4206] 'Abdullah b. Buraida reported on the authority of his father that Ma'iz b. Malik al-Aslami came to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and said: Allah's Messenger, I have wronged myself; I have committed adultery and I earnestly desire that you should purify me. He turned him away. On the following day, he (Ma'iz) again came to him and said: Allah's Messenger, I have committed adultery. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) turned him away for the second time, and sent him to his people saying: Do you know if there is anything wrong with his mind. They denied of any such thing in him and said: We do not know him but as a wise good man among us, so far as we can judge. He (Ma'iz) came for the third time, and he (the Holy Prophet) sent him as he had done before. He asked about him and they informed him that there was nothing wrong with him or with his mind. When it was the fourth time, a ditch was dug for him and he (the Holy Prophet) pronounced judgment about him and he was stoned. He (the narrator) said: There came to him (the Holy Prophet) a woman from Ghamid and said: Allah's Messenger, I have committed adultery, so purify me. He (the Holy Prophet) turned her away. On the following day she said: Allah's Messenger, Why do you turn me away? Perhaps, you turn me away as you turned away Ma'iz. By Allah, I have become pregnant. He said: Well, if you insist upon it, then go away until you give birth to (the child). When she was delivered she came with the child (wrapped) in a rag and said: Here is the child whom I have given birth to. He said: Go away and suckle him until you wean him. When she had weaned him, she came to him (the Holy Prophet) with the child who was holding a piece of bread in his hand. She said: Allah's Apostle, here is he as I have weaned him and he eats food. He (the Holy Prophet) entrusted the child to one of the Muslims and then pronounced punishment. And she was put in a ditch up to her chest and he commanded people and they stoned her. Khalid b Walid came forward with a stone which he flung at her head and there spurted blood on the face of Khalid and so he abused her. Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) heard his (Khalid's) curse that he had hurried upon her. Thereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said: Khalid, be gentle. By Him in Whose Hand is my life, she has made such a repentance that even if a wrongful tax-collector were to repent, he would have been forgiven. Then giving command regarding her, he prayed over her and she was buried.

So again its the same story of Mai'z who testifies to Prophet Muhammad four times that he committed adultery but not only was he stoned to death, a ditch was dug for him to stand in and then he was stoned.  Where in the name of Allah does such specific punishment come from?

It continues on to a heart breaking story about a woman from Ghamid who also confessed to adultery and has heard the story about Mai'z.  The problem here is that she is already pregnant.  However, Prophet Muhammad told her to return after she had given birth, and when he was of age to eat with his own two hands.  When she returned, the Prophet pronounced her judgement (after at least a year has passed), had her placed in a ditch up to her chest and stoned to death.  Again, where does it say that adulterers were to be stoned to death int he Qur'an?   

What is absolutely vile is that Prophet Muhammad commanded others to stone her, in particular one by the name of Khalid b Walid who got angry when her blood splattered on his face from the stoning.  Because of that, Khalid "abused" her (whatever that means) and Prophet Muhammad said "be gentle."  Be gentle how?  Disgusting... 

[7] [Bukhari Vol 8, Book 82, No. 815] Narrated Abu Huraira and Zaid bin Khalid:

While we were with the Prophet , a man stood up and said (to the Prophet ), "I beseech you by Allah, that you should judge us according to Allah's Laws." Then the man's opponent who was wiser than him, got up saying (to Allah's Apostle) "Judge us according to Allah's Law and kindly allow me (to speak)." The Prophet said, "'Speak." He said, "My son was a laborer working for this man and he committed an illegal sexual intercourse with his wife, and I gave one-hundred sheep and a slave as a ransom for my son's sin. Then I asked a learned man about this case and he informed me that my son should receive one hundred lashes and be exiled for one year, and the man's wife should be stoned to death." The Prophet said, "By Him in Whose Hand my soul is, I will judge you according to the Laws of Allah. Your one-hundred sheep and the slave are to be returned to you, and your son has to receive one-hundred lashes and be exiled for one year. O Unais! Go to the wife of this man, and if she confesses, then stone her to death." Unais went to her and she confessed. He then stoned her to death.

Now we see a change of punishment where Prophet Muhammad administers Allah's penalty of 100-lashes and tacks on one year of exile to the man who had adultery (I haven't found exile yet in the Qur'an but I'm still searching).  Yet as for the woman, her punishment was stoning by the order of Prophet Muhammad, carried out by Unais!  Why are there two different judgements?

TORAH:

You might be surprised to know that that the Torah prescribes stoning for a man and woman as punishment for adultery too.  Its hard to reconcile the verses in Deuteronomy 22:13 and that is for another discussion.  But open the chapter and read for yourself and you'll notice a parallel between the Law of Moses and the punishment by Prophet Muhammad.

GOSPEL:

The famous passage in John 7:53 regarding the adulteress woman is a direct interruption to the known prescribed punishment of the law of Jesus's time.  Here we see that Jesus is upholding the law's teaching that adultery is sin while setting aside the specific regulations concerning the community's enforcement of the law.

SUMMARY:

I think the verses speak for themselves.  The most shocking to me is this sequence:

- Torah (Stoning)
          - Gospel (No Stoning)
               - Qur'an (Confinement... No Confinement... Lashing... *Stoning... *Exile...) 
                 *Stoning and exile are not found in the Qur'an but administered by Prophet Muhammad

QUESTIONS:

1. Does the Qur'an confirm the Torah in the Law of Moses?
2. Does the Qur'an confirm the Gospel in the teachings of Jesus?

• Either Jesus is wrong by violating the Law of Moses
• Or as many Muslims claim, the Gospels are corrupted and Jesus never said this.
• Or Prophet Muhammad violated the Law of Moses, Jesus and Allah in the Quran

1. Why does Allah prescribe two different punishments for adultery?
   
   • Confined to one's home until death
   • 100-lashes
2. Why does Prophet Muhammad prescribe the death penalty of stoning if its not a commandment of Allah?  
3. Why does Prophet Muhammad prescribe the death penalty of stoning for a woman and only 100-lashes for a man?
4. Why does Prophet Muhammad send the adulterer into exile if its not a commandment of Allah?
5. Why would Allah change his mind and change the law (abrogate) within a short period of time?