Explanation of the words of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he quoted: "

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said, regarding what he quoted from 'Imran ibn al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him): meaning: I have committed something that warrants a fixed punishment, : meaning her clothes were wrapped and tied so that she would not be exposed, : stoned: meaning with stones, with stones that were neither large nor small until she died, meaning: and unlawful sexual intercourse is among the major sins, so he said: meaning: a vast repentance, all of them are sinners and it would have benefited them, meaning: have I found anything better than this state?! A woman came and offered herself, meaning she surrendered herself in order to draw near to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and to be rid of the sin of unlawful sexual intercourse. What is better than this?!
So in this hadith there is evidence for many benefits: among them:
That if a man commits unlawful sexual intercourse while he is married, meaning he has already married, then he must be stoned, and this is obligatory. And this was in the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), a verse from the Book of Allah that the Muslims recited, memorized, taught, and implemented. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stoned, and the Caliphs after him stoned. But Allah, by His wisdom, abrogated it from the Qur'an in terms of its wording, while He kept its ruling in this Ummah. So if a married man, who is one who has already married, commits unlawful sexual intercourse, he is stoned until he dies. He is stood in a spacious place, and the people gather, and they take pebbles and throw them at him until he dies. And this is from the wisdom of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), meaning the Shari'ah did not order that he be beheaded with a sword and his matter be ended. Rather, he is stoned with these stones until he suffers and tastes the pain of the punishment in exchange for the pleasure he found in the forbidden. Because this man who commits unlawful sexual intercourse took pleasure in his entire body with the forbidden, so it was from the wisdom that this body should receive punishment to the extent that it received pleasure. For this reason, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) said: it is not permissible to stone him with large stones, because large stones would kill him quickly and he would be relieved. Nor with very small stones, because these would hurt him and prolong his death. But with medium-sized pebbles, so that he tastes the pain and then dies. If someone were to say: Did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) not say: , and killing with the sword is more merciful for the one being stoned than stoning with stones? We say: Yes, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said it. But the mercy in killing is that it conforms to the Shari'ah. So stoning is mercy because it conforms to the Shari'ah. And for this reason, if a criminal commits a crime against a person and kills him intentionally, and we punish him before we kill him, then we punish this criminal if we want to kill him before we kill him. For example, if a criminal kills a person and cuts off, for example, his hands, then his legs, then his tongue, then his head, then we do not kill the criminal by beheading him with a sword. Rather, we cut off his hands, then his legs, then his tongue, then we cut off his head, just as he did. And this is considered mercy in the killing, because mercy in the killing is that it conforms to the Shari'ah in whatever form it takes. And in this hadith there is evidence for the permissibility of a person confessing to unlawful sexual intercourse against himself in order to be purified by the fixed punishment, not in order to expose himself. The person who talks about himself that he committed unlawful sexual intercourse, yes, he talks about himself that he committed unlawful sexual intercourse before the Imam or his deputy in order to establish the fixed punishment against him; this person is not blamed and not criticized. But the person who informs the general public that he committed unlawful sexual intercourse, he is exposing himself, and he is not among those who are protected. Because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
There is a third category: a defiant, licentious open sinner who talks about unlawful sexual intercourse in boastfulness, and I seek refuge in Allah. He says: I traveled to such-and-such a country and committed fornication and did so, and committed unlawful sexual intercourse with several women, and the like of that, and he boasts with this. This person must be asked to repent. If he repents, well and good; otherwise, he is killed. Because the one who boasts about unlawful sexual intercourse, the implication of his state is that he has deemed unlawful sexual intercourse permissible, and I seek refuge in Allah. And whoever deems unlawful sexual intercourse permissible is a disbeliever, a disbeliever. And there are some people who do this, and I seek refuge in Allah. Some of these deviant, sinful people, because of whom the Muslims were afflicted with calamities, and because of their actions, there are some who...