Let me conclude this topic, but first let me quote The Noble Qur'an 22:54
And that those who have been given knowledge may know that it (this Qur'an) is the truth from your Lord, and that they may believe therein, and their hearts may SUBMIT TO IT WITH HUMILITY. And verily, Allah is the Guide of those who believe, to the Straight Path. So submit to Allah......not humanity
The Quran does not prescribe stoning for adultery. These are Allah SWT's Words:
The Noble Qur'an An-Nur 24:2-9
2. The woman and the man guilty of illegal sexual intercourse, flog each of them with a hundred stripes. Let not pity withhold you in their case, in a punishment prescribed by Allâh, if you believe in Allâh and the Last Day. And let a party of the believers witness their punishment. (This punishment is for unmarried persons guilty of the above crime but if married persons commit it, the punishment is to stone them to death, according to Allâh's Law).
3. The adulterer marries not but an adulteress or a Mushrikah and the adulteress none marries her except an adulterer or a Muskrik [and that means that the man who agrees to marry (have a sexual relation with) a Mushrikah (female polytheist, pagan or idolatress) or a prostitute, then surely he is either an adulterer, or a Mushrik (polytheist, pagan or idolater, etc.) And the woman who agrees to marry (have a sexual relation with) a Mushrik (polytheist, pagan or idolater) or an adulterer, then she is either a prostitute or a Mushrikah (female polytheist, pagan, or idolatress, etc.)]. Such a thing is forbidden to the believers (of Islâmic Monotheism).
4. And those who accuse chaste women, and produce not four witnesses, flog them with eighty stripes, and reject their testimony forever, they indeed are the Fâsiqûn (liars, rebellious, disobedient to Allâh).
5. Except those who repent thereafter and do righteous deeds, (for such) verily, Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
6. And for those who accuse their wives, but have no witnesses except themselves, let the testimony of one of them be four testimonies (i.e. testifies four times) by Allâh that he is one of those who speak the truth.
7. And the fifth (testimony) (should be) the invoking of the Curse of Allâh on him if he be of those who tell a lie (against her).
8. But it shall avert the punishment (of stoning to death) from her, if she bears witness four times by Allâh, that he (her husband) is telling a lie.
9. And the fifth (testimony) should be that the Wrath of Allâh be upon her if he (her husband) speaks the truth.
Before the above ayats were revealed, the Torah punishment for adultery stoning to death was the norm, as you can see from the hadith below;
Hadith - Sahih Bukhari 6.79, Narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar
The Jews brought to the Prophet a man and a woman from among them who had committed illegal sexual intercourse. The Prophet said to them, "How do you usually punish the one amongst you who has committed illegal sexual intercourse?" They replied, "We blacken their faces with coal and beat them." He said, "Don't you find the order of Ar-Rajm (i.e. stoning to death) in the Torah?" They replied, "We do not find anything in it." 'Abdullah bin Salam (after hearing this conversation) said to them, "You have told a lie! Bring here the Torah and recite it if you are truthful." (So the Jews brought the Torah). And the religious teacher who was teaching it to them, put his hand over the Verse of Ar-Rajm and started reading what was written above and below the place hidden with his hand, but he did not read the Verse of Ar-Rajm. 'Abdullah bin Salam removed his (i.e. the teacher's) hand from the Verse of Ar-Rajm and said, "What is this?" So when the Jews saw that Verse, they said, "This is the Verse of Ar-Rajm." So the Prophet ordered the two adulterers to be stoned to death, and they were stoned to death near the place where biers used to be placed near the Mosque. I saw her companion (i.e. the adulterer) bowing over her so as to protect her from the stones.
The fact is, Stoning is not the prescribed punishment for adultery in the Holy Book; flogging is. Thus, it is not in the sharia. This is another example of man acting as Allah SWT. Those who prefer their law to Allah SWT's will answer, they will answer to Him, no matter how smug or smart they believe themselves to be.
Should the Islamic punishment for adultery be reconsidered?
By Syed Shahabuddin.
It is well known that the Quran was revealed in stages over 23 years. Until revelation on a specific point was received by the Prophet, he followed the law of Moses or the Traditions of Abraham but once a revelation was received, there was no question of his substituting it by his own will or by the law of Moses. In any case, there is no record in Sahih al Bukhari or any other accepted compendium of the Traditions of the Holy Prophet of another Rajm (death by stoning) carried out under the command of the Prophet.
Some scholars support 'Rajm' by attributing a statement to the second Caliph Omar that a revelation on the subject had been received but had been lost. It is generally accepted that the Quran was compiled in its present form during the period of the third Caliph Othman. Some scholars maintain that the compilation was already available during the life-time of the Prophet or during the Caliphate of the first Caliph Abu Bakr.
The real challenge to Islam in the 21st Century is to rewrite the fiqh but for this it has to throw up a genius who can combine the knowledge and wisdom of the five acknowledged Imams (Abu Hanifa, Shafii, Malik, Hanbal and Jafar Sadiq), to consider the new questions that have arisen, since the gates of Ijtihad were closed in the 10th Century, and formulate answers in the light of the Quran and the authoritative Traditions of the Prophet which are the only two pillars on which the Shariah rests.
The entire article may be found at:
http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/01 ... 200256.htmFor those who elevate hadith to equal or above the Quran, here is the hadith that claims to allow for the abrogation of the punishment for adultery by flogging as presented in the Quran:
'Abdullah bin 'Abbas reported that 'Umar bin Khattab sat on the pulpit of Allah's messenger (may peace be upon him) and said: Verily Allah sent Muhammad (may peace be upon him) with truth and he sent down the book upon him, and the verse of stoning was included in what was sent down to him. We recited it, retained it in our memory and understood it. Allah's messenger (may peace be upon him) awarded the punishment of stoning to death (to the married adulterer and adulteress) and after him, we also awarded the punishment of stoning. I am afraid that with the lapse of time, the people (may forget it) and may say: We do not find the punishment of stoning in the book of Allah, and thus go astray by abandoning this duty prescribed by Allah. Stoning is a duty laid down in Allah's book for married men and women who commit adultery when proof is established, or if there is pregnancy or a confession. [Muslim, III, No. 4194; Bukhari, VIII, No. 816.]
If you believe this hadith could abrogate the Word of Allah SWT, then we must invent a new Quraan and believe that Allah SWT did not protect His Book and its compilation, that all words in it are not true and that, contrary to what Allah SWT tells us, this Book is NOT complete and true.
