Punishment for adultery?

The punishment of whipping is exclusive to unmarried men and women. For married persons the punishment is stoning to death.

The injunctions on adultery were revealed gradually and moved on from a lighter punishment to a more severe one, like the gradual prohibition of alcohol which is mentioned in the Qur'an itself. The very first injunction on adultery is the one given in verses 15 and 16 of Surah An-Nisa', which is:

"And those of your women who commit the shameful act, then have four witnesses against them from among you. So, if they do testify, then confine those women to their homes until death overcomes them or Allah prescribes a way for them. And those two of you who commit it, torture them both. But if they repent and amend, turn away from them. Surely, Allah is Most-Relenting, Very-Merciful." (4:15-16)

In these verses the proof for establishing adultery is described with a specific condition of having four male witnesses. Secondly, punishment for the woman is prescribed as to confine her within the home and for both of them inflicting of harm. At the same time it is also hinted that this was not the final injunction on adultery and that some more directives will follow. This is the meaning of (or Allah prescribes a way for them - 4:15).

In the above referred punishment confinement of the women within the homes was regarded sufficient at that time, and causing harm to both as enough punishment. But the limit, the magnitude and the form of harm to be inflicted was not defined. Rather the wordings of the Qur'an suggest that the initial punishment of adultery was only punitive, of which the quantum was not fixed by the Shari'ah a ta'zir (a punishment left to the discretion of a judge), but was left at the discretion of the ruler or the judge. That is why the ambiguous phrase of inflicting harm or torture was adopted. But at the same time it was hinted that probably some other form of punishment for the culprits of the crime will be introduced later by saying (4:15). When the present verse of Surah an-Nur was revealed, Sayyidna 'Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him said that what was promised in Surah An-Nisa' through "or Allah prescribes a way for them", so now this verse of Surah an-Nur has prescribed the way, that is flogging both man and woman with a hundred stripes.

And then Sayyidna 'Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him made the punishment of hundred stripes exclusive to fornication, that is when the crime is committed by unmarried man and woman, and said:

It is prescribed that if the married man and woman commit this crime then they be stoned to death, and the punishment for unmarried culprit is a hundred stripes. (Sahih Bukhari, Kitab ut-Tafsir p. 657)

In the verse of Surah an-Nur under reference punishment for adultery is given as a hundred stripes without qualification. So, it is obvious that he must have found from some other authentic Hadith that the punishment for adultery is stoning to death and for fornication a hundred stripes, and that Hadith has been related by Sahih Muslim, Musnad Ahmad, Sunnan Nasa'i, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah on the authority of Sayyidna 'Ubadah Ibn Samit Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him that the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him said:

Have knowledge from me, have knowledge from me that Allah Ta'ala has prescribed now the 'way for women' (that He had promised before), which is that for unmarried men and women is a hundred stripes and exile for one year, and for married men and women it is a hundred stripes and stoning.

Alongwith the punishment of a hundred stripes for the unmarried man and woman prescribed in the verse there is an additional punishment mentioned in the Hadith to send the adulterer man in exile for one year. On this there is a difference of opinion among jurists, that is whether the punishment of exile to male adulterer is compulsory or it is at the discretion of the judge - that is if he deems it necessary only then send the criminal in exile also for one year. In the opinion of Imam A'zam Abu Hanifah Rahmatullahi 'Alayh: Allah have mercy upon him this last referred position is correct, that is, it remains at the discretion of the ruler or judge. Secondly, according to this Hadith there is the punishment of a hundred stripes also for the married man and woman before the stoning. But in accordance with other ahadith and the actions of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him and the first four Caliphs, it is established that these two punishments are not to be combined.

Married persons are to be awarded the punishment of stoning only. The main point to be noted in this Hadith is that the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him has explained here the verse of Surah An-Nisa' (or Allah prescribes a way for them) and while explaining he had added some more points beside flogging a hundred stripes as stated in Surah an-Nur. These points are:

1. - Punishment of hundred stripes is exclusive to unmarried men and women.
2. - An addition of one year's exile.
3. - Rajm or stoning to death of married men and women.

It is but obvious that the additions made by the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him in the verse of Surah an-Nur was also on the command of Allah Ta'ala (This is naught but a revelation revealed - 53:4). For the Messenger, and for those who hear from him directly, both the revelations which are recited in the form of Qur'an and those which are not recited have equal sanctity. The Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him himself had acted upon this rule (punishment of stoning to married adulterer) in the presence of many of his companions. He awarded the punishment of rajm or stoning to Ma'iz and Ghamidiyyah which is recorded in all the books of traditions with authentic authorities.

Additionally, an incident is reported in the authentic traditions books on the authority of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah and Zaid Ibn Khalid Juhani (R.A) that an unmarried man committed adultery with a married woman whose servant he was. The father of the adulterer boy brought him before the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him. The incident was proved by his admission. Then the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him said: that is I will adjudge your case according to the Book of Allah. He then adjudicated that the unmarried adulterer boy be flogged with a hundred stripes and the married woman is stoned, and directed Sayyidna Unais Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him to execute the punishment, who took the confessional statement of the woman, and then the punishment was carried out on the orders of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him. (Ibn Kathir)

According to the above tradition, the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him awarded the punishment of hundred stripes to one criminal and of stoning to the other' and described them both as the judgment by the Book of Allah; although in Surah An-Nur only the punishment of hundred stripes is indicated and there is no mention of stoning. The reason is the same that Allah Ta'ala had revealed to the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him the complete explanation and details of the injunction which all fall within the purview of the Book of Allah, although some of it is not included and mentioned in the Surah an-Nur expressly. Bukhari and Muslim have recorded an address of Sayyidna 'Umar Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him, the wordings of which are:

Sayyidna 'Umar Ibn Khattab Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him said while he was sitting on the pulpit of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him that Allah sent Muhammad Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him with truth and revealed to him the Book.

So, whatever is revealed to him includes the verse of stoning (rajm) as well, which we have read, memorized and understood. Now I fear that with the passage of time one might say that we do not find the injunction of rajm (stoning) in the Book of Allah, and hence go astray by not following a religious obligation, which is revealed by Allah. And be clear in your mind that the injunction of stoning (rajm) is ordained upon the one, whether man or woman, who is married (muhsan) and when the evidence of adultery is established or there is a confession or pregnancy.

The same version is narrated in Sahih of al-Bukhari also with greater detail (Bukhari 1009 vol.2) and in Nasai' it is narrated in the following words:

We have no choice to avoid the punishment of stoning (rajm), because it is one of the punishment (hadd) from the punishments prescribed by Allah. Be very clear in your mind that the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him himself had awarded stoning and we too have awarded stoning after him. If there was no risk of people saying that 'Umar has added something on his own in the Book of Allah, I would have written this in a corner of the Qur'an. And 'Umar Ibn Khattab Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him is witness, 'Abdurrahman Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him is witness and so and so companions are witnesses that the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him had awarded stoning. (Ibn Kathir)

This is apparently proved by the address of Sayyidna 'Umar Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him that there is a specific verse on injunction of stoning which is in addition to the verse under reference of Surah an-Nur. But Sayyidna 'Umar Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him did not tell the wordings of that verse, nor did he tell that if there is a separate verse beside the verse of Surah an-Nur why it is not included in the Qur'an, and why it is not recited. He only said that if there was no risk involved that people would put blame on him of making addition in the Book of Allah, he would have written this verse on a corner of the Qur'an. (al-Nasai')

What needs careful consideration in this narration is that, if it is a verse of the Qur'an and its recitation is mandatory like other verses, then why Sayyidna 'Umar Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him left it out just because of the fear of people's calumny; when he is well known for his vehemence about Allah's injunctions. The other point to be noted is that he did not say that he would have included this verse in the Qur'an, but all he said was he would have written it on the margin of the Qur'an.

All these things support the inference that the explanation of this verse that Sayyidna 'Umar Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him heard from the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him in which he specified the punishment of hundred stripes for unmarried man and woman and stoning for the married persons. He treated it as a verse of the Book of Allah because of the words of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him and his consistent practice. Sayyidna 'Umar Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him understood fully well that the Holy Prophet's Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him explanation was in line with the command of Allah's Book and not actually the verse of the Book, otherwise no power on earth would have stopped him to write down the verse in its place if it was missed out. His comment about writing it on the margin of Qur'an is further proof that the verse was not a part of Qur'an but only the explanation of the verse of Surah an-Nur. Some narrations have carried the actual wordings of the injunction on the subject, but they fall short of proof and authenticity to merit inclusion in the Qur'an.

The jurists (fuqaha') who have related this verse as abrogated for recitation but not abrogated as a command have done so by way of an example, and as such it does not in fact prove that it is a part of the Qur'an.

The gist of the matter is that the punishment of hundred stripes described in Surah an-Nur for adulterer man and woman is exclusive to unmarried man and woman as per detailed explanation and elucidation of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, and punishment for the married persons is rajm (stoning). Although this elucidation is not given in the wordings of the verse but the exalted person to whom this verse was revealed has himself elaborated the subject without the slightest doubt of any confusion. It is not that the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him explained this only through his words, but he also executed this punishment several times in the presence of many companions, and the proof of this has reached us with unbroken authentic chain of narrators. Therefore, the punishment of stoning for married man and woman is in fact an injunction of the Book of Allah itself, in the sense that it is as certain as any other injunction of the Qur'an. This fact may be mentioned either by saying that rajm is a provision of the Qur'an itself, or by saying that it is established by the unbroken chain of traditions.

Sayyidna 'Ali Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him has also said the same thing that the verdict of stoning is established by the tradition of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him. (Ma'ariful Qur'an)

See also: Rajm - By Mujlisul Ulama of South Africa - http://www.themajlis.net/books-index-req-view_book_details-bkid-16-highlight-rajm.html

Punishment for adultery?

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