The Qur’anic verse goes: “If any of your woman are guilty of lewdness, take the evidence of four (reliable) witnesses from amongst you against them, and if they testify, Confine them to houses until death do chain them or Allah ordains for them some (other) way. Allah then mentioned man after woman and combined them in another verse : “If two men among you are guilty of lewdness, punish them both. If they repent and amend, leave them alone. This command was abrogated by the verse relating to flogging : “The woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication – flog each of them with one hundred stripes.  

{ وَاللاَّتِي يَأْتِينَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مِنْ نِسَائِكُمْ فَاسْتَشْهِدُوا عَلَيْهِنَّ أَرْبَعَةً مِنْكُمْ فَإِنْ شَهِدُوا فَأَمْسِكُوهُنَّ فِي الْبُيُوتِ حَتَّى يَتَوَفَّاهُنَّ الْمَوْتُ أَوْ يَجْعَلَ اللَّهُ لَهُنَّ سَبِيلاً } وَذَكَرَ الرَّجُلَ بَعْدَ الْمَرْأَةِ ثُمَّ جَمَعَهُمَا فَقَالَ { وَاللَّذَانِ يَأْتِيَانِهَا مِنْكُمْ فَآذُوهُمَا فَإِنْ تَابَا وَأَصْلَحَا فَأَعْرِضُوا عَنْهُمَا } فَنَسَخَ ذَلِكَ بِآيَةِ الْجَلْدِ فَقَالَ { الزَّانِيَةُ وَالزَّانِي فَاجْلِدُوا كُلَّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا مِائَةَ جَلْدَةٍ }  

“Apponting a way in the verse (iv.15) means prescribed punishment. Sufiyan said: “Punish them “refers to unmarried, and “confine them to houses” refers to the women who are married.  

سُفْيَانُ { فَآذُوهُمَا } الْبِكْرَانِ { فَأَمْسِكُوهُنَّ فِي الْبُيُوتِ } الثَّيِّبَاتِ  

Receive my teachings, receive my teachings. Allah has appointed a way for those women. If the parties have been married, they shall receive a hundred lashes and stoned to death. If the parties are unmarried, they shall receive a hundred lashes and banished for a year.  

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ خُذُوا عَنِّي خُذُوا عَنِّي قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لَهُنَّ سَبِيلاً الثَّيِّبُ بِالثَّيِّبِ جَلْدُ مِائَةٍ وَرَمْىٌ بِالْحِجَارَةِ وَالْبِكْرُ بِالْبِكْرِ جَلْدُ مِائَةٍ وَنَفْىُ سَنَةٍ  

They shall receive a hundred lashes and toned to death.  

عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بِإِسْنَادِ يَحْيَى وَمَعْنَاهُ قَالاَ جَلْدُ مِائَةٍ وَالرَّجْمُ  

The tradition mentioned above (No. 4401) has also been transmitted by Ubadah ibn as-Samit through a different chain of narrators. This version has: The people said to Sa'd ibn Ubadah: AbuThabit, the prescribed punishments have been revealed: if you find a man with your wife, what will you do? He said: I shall strike them with a sword so much that they become silent (i.e. die). Should I go and gather four witnesses? Until that (time) the need would be fulfilled. So they went away and gathered with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: Messenger of Allah! did you not see AbuThabit. He said so-and-so. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: The sword is a sufficient witness. He then said: No, no, a furious and a jealous man may follow this course. Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been transmitted by Waki' from al-Fadl b. Dilham from al-Hasan, from Qabisah b. Huraith, from Salamah b. al-Muhabbaq, from the Prophet ﷺ. And this is the chain of the tradition narrated by Ibn al-Muhabbaq to the effect that a man had sexual intercourse with a slave girl of his wife. Abu Dawud said: Al-Fadl b. Dilham was not the memoriser of traditions. He was a butcher in Wasit.  

عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ بِهَذَا الْحَدِيثِ فَقَالَ نَاسٌ لِسَعْدِ بْنِ عُبَادَةَ يَا أَبَا ثَابِتٍ قَدْ نَزَلَتِ الْحُدُودُ لَوْ أَنَّكَ وَجَدْتَ مَعَ امْرَأَتِكَ رَجُلاً كَيْفَ كُنْتَ صَانِعًا قَالَ كُنْتُ ضَارِبَهُمَا بِالسَّيْفِ حَتَّى يَسْكُتَا أَفَأَنَا أَذْهَبُ فَأَجْمَعُ أَرْبَعَةَ شُهَدَاءَ فَإِلَى ذَلِكَ قَدْ قَضَى الْحَاجَةَ فَانْطَلَقُوا فَاجْتَمَعُوا عِنْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَقَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى أَبِي ثَابِتٍ قَالَ كَذَا وَكَذَا فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ كَفَى بِالسَّيْفِ شَاهِدًا ثُمَّ قَالَ لاَ لاَ أَخَافُ أَنْ يَتَتَايَعَ فِيهَا السَّكْرَانُ وَالْغَيْرَانُ  

‘Umar b. al-Khattab gave an address saying: Allah sent Muhammad ﷺ with truth and sent down the Books of him, and the verse of stoning was included in what He sent down to him. We read it and memorized it. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ had people stoned to death and we have done it also since his death. I am afraid the people might say with the passage of time: We do not find the verse of stoning in the Books of Allah, and thus they stray by abandoning a duty which Allah had received. Stoning is a duty laid down (by Allah) for married men and women who commit fornication when proof is established, or if there is pregnancy, or a confession. I swear by Allah, had it not been so that the people might say: ‘Umar made an addition to Allah’s Book, I would have written it (there).  

إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَعَثَ مُحَمَّدًا ﷺ بِالْحَقِّ وَأَنْزَلَ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابَ فَكَانَ فِيمَا أَنْزَلَ عَلَيْهِ آيَةُ الرَّجْمِ فَقَرَأْنَاهَا وَوَعَيْنَاهَا وَرَجَمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَرَجَمْنَا مِنْ بَعْدِهِ وَإِنِّي خَشِيتُ إِنْ طَالَ بِالنَّاسِ الزَّمَانُ أَنْ يَقُولَ قَائِلٌ مَا نَجِدُ آيَةَ الرَّجْمِ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ فَيَضِلُّوا بِتَرْكِ فَرِيضَةٍ أَنْزَلَهَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فَالرَّجْمُ حَقٌّ عَلَى مَنْ زَنَى مِنَ الرِّجَالِ وَالنِّسَاءِ إِذَا كَانَ مُحْصَنًا إِذَا قَامَتِ الْبَيِّنَةُ أَوْ كَانَ حَمْلٌ أَوِ اعْتِرَافٌ وَايْمُ اللَّهِ لَوْلاَ أَنْ يَقُولَ النَّاسُ زَادَ عُمَرُ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ ﷻ لَكَتَبْتُهَا