If people deny the hadiths of stoning, how should one respond to them?
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The questioner : He says: They deny the hadith of stoning?
The Shaykh : He means by stoning, the stoning of the married adulterer, meaning if a man or a woman commits adultery and they are muhsan, i.e., they have married with a valid contract and have had intercourse, and they are adults, sane, and free, then in that case it is obligatory to stone them; stoning is obligatory.
Stoning is that the adulterer is stoned with stones that are neither large nor small until he dies; he is stoned with stones until he dies.
And stoning is established by the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and it is among the legislations of Islam and also among the legislations of the Jews, for even the Jews have stoning legislated in the Torah.
Where is it in the Book of Allah?
It is established in the two Sahihs from the hadith of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that he delivered a sermon on the pulpit of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), within the hearing of the Companions, and among what he said in his sermon was:
وإني أخشى إن طال بالناس زمان أن يقولوا: إنا لانجد الرجم في كتاب الله And this is what 'Umar anticipated, and it happened from someone like this who denies stoning; they denied stoning and said: We do not find stoning in the Book of Allah.
He said:Bulugh al-Maram 10:5.
Who delivered the sermon? 'Umar, the second caliph of this Ummah.
And in what place?
On the pulpit of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
And in which mosque?
In the mosque of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
And who was around him?
The students: The Companions.
The Shaykh : The Companions, the most just of the Ummah.
Do you think after that that the words of the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar, are invalid?
No, by Allah, never.
If we were to think that the sun in the fourth hour of the day is not the sun, then we would think that the words of 'Umar are not the truth.
So stoning is established in the Book of Allah, but where is it in the Qur'an?
It is abrogated in wording but not in ruling, because abrogation in the Book of Allah is either in wording and ruling, or in wording but not ruling, or in ruling but not wording; there are three categories.
But if someone says: Why is it abrogated in wording? What is the wisdom of its abrogation in wording given its importance?
The wisdom—in my opinion, and Allah knows best—is to manifest the virtue of this Ummah and its compliance with the command of its Lord, so they stone even though stoning is not apparent in the Qur'an, whereas the Jews have stoning written in the Torah and they try to hide it.
The Jews had stoning revealed in the Torah, but when adultery became prevalent among their nobles, may Allah protect us, they said: How do we stone the nobles? How do we stone so-and-so, the son of so-and-so, from our masters and nobles?
They said: Set a limit, set another punishment, so they established a punishment where they would brand the adulterer and ride him on a donkey, he and the adulteress, one with his face toward the rear of the donkey and the other with his face toward the head of the donkey, and they would walk them through the markets, saying: This disgrace is sufficient instead of stoning.
So Allah (Mighty and Majestic) willed that a man from among them commit adultery with a woman during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and they said: Go to this man, perhaps you will find.
The Shaykh : He means by stoning, the stoning of the married adulterer, meaning if a man or a woman commits adultery and they are muhsan, i.e., they have married with a valid contract and have had intercourse, and they are adults, sane, and free, then in that case it is obligatory to stone them; stoning is obligatory.
Stoning is that the adulterer is stoned with stones that are neither large nor small until he dies; he is stoned with stones until he dies.
And stoning is established by the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and it is among the legislations of Islam and also among the legislations of the Jews, for even the Jews have stoning legislated in the Torah.
Where is it in the Book of Allah?
It is established in the two Sahihs from the hadith of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that he delivered a sermon on the pulpit of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), within the hearing of the Companions, and among what he said in his sermon was:
That Allah the Exalted revealed the verse of stoning. He said: We read it, memorized it, and understood it, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stoned, and we stoned after him. And I fear that if time passes for people, they will say: We do not find stoning in the Book of Allah.
أن الله تعالى أنزل آية الرجم قال : فقرأناها وحفظناها ووعيناها، ورجم النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، ورجمنا بعده.وإني أخشى إن طال بالناس زمان أن يقولوا: إنا لانجد الرجم في كتاب الله
He said:
Verily, stoning is an obligation in the Book of Allah to be inflicted on married men and women who commit adultery, when their crime is proven, evident by pregnancy, or through the confession (of the adulterer).
وإن الرجم حق ثابت في كتاب الله على من زنى إذا أحصن إذا قامت البينة أو كان الحبل أو الاعترافWho delivered the sermon? 'Umar, the second caliph of this Ummah.
And in what place?
On the pulpit of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
And in which mosque?
In the mosque of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
And who was around him?
The students: The Companions.
The Shaykh : The Companions, the most just of the Ummah.
Do you think after that that the words of the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar, are invalid?
No, by Allah, never.
If we were to think that the sun in the fourth hour of the day is not the sun, then we would think that the words of 'Umar are not the truth.
So stoning is established in the Book of Allah, but where is it in the Qur'an?
It is abrogated in wording but not in ruling, because abrogation in the Book of Allah is either in wording and ruling, or in wording but not ruling, or in ruling but not wording; there are three categories.
But if someone says: Why is it abrogated in wording? What is the wisdom of its abrogation in wording given its importance?
The wisdom—in my opinion, and Allah knows best—is to manifest the virtue of this Ummah and its compliance with the command of its Lord, so they stone even though stoning is not apparent in the Qur'an, whereas the Jews have stoning written in the Torah and they try to hide it.
The Jews had stoning revealed in the Torah, but when adultery became prevalent among their nobles, may Allah protect us, they said: How do we stone the nobles? How do we stone so-and-so, the son of so-and-so, from our masters and nobles?
They said: Set a limit, set another punishment, so they established a punishment where they would brand the adulterer and ride him on a donkey, he and the adulteress, one with his face toward the rear of the donkey and the other with his face toward the head of the donkey, and they would walk them through the markets, saying: This disgrace is sufficient instead of stoning.
So Allah (Mighty and Majestic) willed that a man from among them commit adultery with a woman during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and they said: Go to this man, perhaps you will find.