> Punishment of Stoning

[Qatada]

Asalamu alaikum wr wb.

Punishment of Stoning

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The punishment of stoning is the hadd punishment for the married adulterer, which essentially entails that it functions exclusively as a deterrent. Here's why. To apply this punishment you need four witnesses to the actual act of penetration who observed it from four different angles and if there is even the slightest contradiction in the most minute details of their testimony, they are punished with eighty lashes for false accusation of adultery. Thus, the implementation of the hadd punishment for zina is a practical impossibility. As the fatwâ committee under the supervision of Shaykh 'Abdul-Wahâb At-Turaryrî notes:

It is not enough for four people to show up at court and give testimony. The witnesses and their backgrounds have to be carefully scrutinized by the courts to determine their trustworthiness and honesty. They have to be able to demonstrate that they saw the crime. It is not easy to explain how one was able to witness such an act without being guilty of any wrongdoing oneself. The witnesses have to see actual sexual penetration. This is not an easy thing to explain.

If the condition of four witnesses of determined trustworthiness is not fulfilled, each of those who accused the person of adultery is given 80 lashes with a whip as the punishment for bearing false witness.

Allah says: “And those who launch a charge against chaste women, and produce not four witnesses (to support their allegations), flog them with eighty stripes; and reject their evidence ever after: for such men are wicked transgressors.” [Sûrah al-Nûr: 4]

The punishments for fornication and adultery are designed more to protect society from the open practice of licentious sexual behavior than they are designed to punish people.
It is nearly impossible to get a conviction for adultery except in a case where it is carried out in public for all eyes to see. With this threat of severe punishment, people will keep their evil deeds concealed and society as a whole will be protected.

It is worth noting that in the 1400 years of Islamic history, these stringent conditions have never been met even once. And due to the deterrent effect, sexual immorality is suffocated and eradicated in an Islamic society.

In spite of all this, if the impossibility became reality and the punishment were to be carried out, then how would it be done? For the person who is convicted of such a heinous licentious act they would be placed in a pit and pelted to death while covered by a cloth so that their 'awrah is not exposed. If it is by confession and not conviction, they would have the opportunity to retract their confession at any point in time and so they would not be placed in a pit. No one is allowed to curse the person who undergoes this or express pleasure.

For the reasons outlined above, it is evident that whatever movie you have seen could by no stretch of the imagination be construed as Islamic, as this punishment is a practical impossibility and even then would never occur in the manner described.

[Qatada]

Someone asked:

I was wondering, what if the person is put in the pit and they run away can they escape and be left? Beause I heard this along time ago, if they manage t o free themselves they can go free

And the brother who's a student of knowledge replied:

No because that would be discrimination against obese adulterers.

Honestly bro, I've never heard of that but I highly doubt it. I know that for the person who confesses they are not put in a pit and are allowed to retract their confession at any time and escape the punishment. But not someone who is actually convicted by four witnesses in public, and we have never had such a case in all of islamic history.

And Allah knows best.

[Qatada]

The 4 witnesses have to actually see the act of intercourse take place:

The fuqaha? (may Allah have mercy on them) stated that the basic act of zina which carries the punishment is illegal sexual intercourse, whereby the two ?circumcised parts? [i.e. genitals] come together and there is penetration of the tip of the penis, because this is actual penetration (which carries the prescribed hadd or punishment).

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Again, the way a person can be stoned is;


1) If there are 4 trustworthy witnesses who testify to the fact that they saw the actual penetration occur.

2) The person him/herself testifies to their ownself. However, if there aren't 4 witnesses, and the person repents while keeping it between him/herself and Allah, then Allah is still willing to forgive them. That's why, if you read the hadith which you quoted - it was the same man which Allah's Messenger turned away from 3 or 4 times. Then when he persisted and made his claim public, then he was stoned for that, and Allah forgave him insha Allah.

If someone repents or recieves the hadd prescribed punishment - they are forgiven for that crime in the hereafter. And Allah knows best.

[Qatada]

Some people misinterpret this verse, so here's some tafsir of it;

[وَلاَ تَأْخُذْكُمْ بِهِمَا رَأْفَةٌ فِى دِينِ اللَّهِ]

(Let not pity withhold you in their case, in a punishment prescribed by Allah,) Meaning, with a ruling prescribed by Allah. So the meaning of the Ayah is: "Do not feel too sorry for them where the laws of Allah are established.'' This does not mean that we should not naturally feel pity when carrying out the punishment. What is prohibited here is the kind of pity that may make the judge ignore the punishment altogether.


Tafsir Ibn Kathir Surah Nur [24]

[Qatada]

Fornication and Adultery

This is defined as any case where a man has coitus with a woman who is unlawful to him. Any relationship between a man and a woman that does not contain coitus does not fall under this category and does not mandate the prescribed, fixed punishment.

The prescribed punishment is different depending on the marital status of the perpetrator. A single person who has never been previously married receives one hundred lashes as stated by Allah:

The fornicatress and the fornicator, give each of them one hundred lashes.


If the person is married or has previously been married, then the punishment is stoning until death. This punishment has been established by a number of had?th of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

The following conditions must be met before either of these two punishments can be carried out:



1. Four trustworthy witnesses must give testimony that they have witnessed the act take place with absolute certainty. They must be in complete agreement about all the details of the act, and about its place, time, and circumstances. If their stories do not coincide, their testimony will be considered false. In this case, instead of the punishment for fornication being carried out on the accused, the prescribed punishment for bearing false witness will be carried out against the witnesses.

Allah says:

Why did they not produce four witnesses? Since they did not produce witnesses, then with Allah they are the liars.

[Surah Nur 24: 13]


Those who accuse chaste women then do not come with four witnesses, flog them eighty lashes and never accept their testimony. They are the sinful ones.

[Qur'an 24:4]

It is obvious that the one who commits fornication in the plain sight of four witnesses whereby they can see every detail of his crime is a person who is flagrant in his behavior, who has little regard for religion or for social values, and if he is married, has little regard for his relationship with his wife.

This person fully deserves a severe punishment. At the same time, it must be known that there is no documented case in Muslim history to the extent of our knowledge where the prescribed punishment for fornication was carried out on the testimony of witnesses. In most cases, this punishment was carried out at the wish of the perpetrator in order that he may purify himself of the sin and as a means of repentance.


2. There must be no cause for doubt that can make the punishment fall away. If any doubt is present, or any way out is found for the accused, the punishment is not to be carried out, because Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: Do not carry out the prescribed punishments when there is doubt.

Some things should be made clear at this point. The first is that if a person becomes weak and falls into this sin, it is preferable for him to conceal it from others and not speak about it or admit to it. Instead, he should repent, seek Allah's forgiveness, and try to make up for it by doing righteous deeds. He should not despair of Allah's mercy.

This is because Allah's Messenger has said: Whoever comes with one of these filthy acts should conceal it as Allah has concealed it.

Allah says:

Those who, if they commit an indecency or wrong themselves, remember Allah and seek His forgiveness ? and whoever forgives save Allah? ? and do not persist in committing it, their reward is forgiveness from their Lord and gardens beneath which rivers flow.

O my servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of Allah?s mercy. Verily, Allah forgives all sins.

It should also be observed that, likewise, if someone is to see another Muslim commit this act, then he should conceal it from the public. Allah's Messenger has said: Whoever conceals the fault of a Muslim, Allah will conceal his fault.

It must also be noted that Islam has made the home completely inviolable. It is not permissible to enter someone else?s home except with the permission of its occupants. Spying is likewise prohibited. Allah says:

O you who believe, do not enter homes other than your own until you have asked permission and greeted their inhabitants. This is better for you, in order that you may remember.

Also, if a person confesses to this sin of his own accord, it is necessary to determine if he is of sound mind and in possession of all of his faculties. It must also be certain that he is under no compulsion or coercion.

Beyond that, he is afforded the opportunity to retract his confession and he is encouraged to do so. If he retracts his statement, the prescribed punishment will not be carried out. This is what Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) did with M`iz when he confessed to committing adultery. Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) turned away from him many times while he repeatedly said: I have committed adultery, so purify me. Allah?s Messenger (peace be upon him) only turned his face away.

Then he said: Maybe you only kissed? and: Maybe you were drinking? In spite of this the man was insistent. Then, when the people were going to administer the punishment, he denied everything and fled. They informed Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) of this and he said: Why not leave him to repent so Allah can forgive him.



The wisdom behind the prescribed punishment for fornication and adultery:

If we look at all the punishments prescribed by Islamic Law, we see that they all have two inseparable qualities:

A. Excessive recourse to caution for the benefit of the accused and the large number of provisions that must be met before a punishment can be carried out.

B. The harshness and severity of the punishments.


This guarantees two things. First of all, it preserves the general security of society and reduces crime, due to the harshness of the punishments. The potential murderer who knows he will be killed, the potential thief who knows he will have his hand cut off, and the potential sexual offender who knows that he will be stoned or given a hundred lashes will think twice before going out and committing the crime. If, on the other hand, he knows that he will only be imprisoned for a few months or a few years, then he might not pay heed to the punishment and might not be discouraged from committing the crime.


Secondly, it safeguards the life of the accused and guarantees him that no punishment will be carried out until every excuse is exhausted and every reason for discarding the punishment is looked into.

If we look at fornication and adultery, we see that it is dealt with in this manner. The condition for establishing it four reliable witnesses is a very strict one, and the punishment is decisive.


If we look at the application of this punishment, we find many aspects of the wisdom behind it:

1. It preserves general peace and security, because one of the most important motives for murder is the violation of someone?s honor. Applying the punishment against fornication causes a decrease in one of the major causes of violating people?s honor, which in turn, reduces the frequency of murder. This has a direct, positive effect on public safety.

2. It protects the family. The family enjoys a special esteem in Islam. The widespread practice of extramarital sex is destructive to the family, undermines its integrity, and destabilizes the relationships between its members. The severe punishment for fornication and adultery has the effect of reducing its occurrence, which has a direct, positive effect on the family in two ways. Firstly, the family of the one who commits adultery share in the experience of his punishment, so they are discouraged from committing the act themselves, which brings stability to the family. Likewise, the family who had been harmed by the act of adultery benefits by the reduced opportunity for this crime afforded by this punishment, so its stability is increased.


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