The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) Said: The
blood of a Muslim man who testifies that there is no god
but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Apostle should not
lawfully be shed except only for one of three reasons: a
man who committed fornication after marriage, in which
case he should be stoned; one who goes forth to fight with
Allah and His Apostle, in which case he should be killed
or crucified or exiled from the land; or one who commits
murder for which he is killed.
AbuMusa said: Mu'adh came to me when I was in the
Yemen. A man who was Jew embraced Islam and then retreated
from Islam. When Mu'adh came, he said: I will not come
down from my mount until he is killed. He was then killed.
One of them said: He was asked to repent before that.
Abdullah ibn AbuSarh used to write (the revelation) for
the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him). Satan made him
slip, and he joined the infidels. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
commanded to kill him on the day of Conquest (of Mecca).
Uthman ibn Affan sought protection for him. The Apostle of
Allah (peace_be_upon_him) gave him protection.
On the day of the conquest of Mecca, Abdullah ibn Sa'd
ibn AbuSarh hid himself with Uthman ibn Affan.
He brought him and made him stand before the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him),
and said: Accept the allegiance of Abdullah, Apostle of
Allah! He raised his head and looked at him three times,
refusing him each time, but accepted his allegiance after
the third time.
Then turning to his companions, he said: Was not there
a wise man among you who would stand up to him when he saw
that I had withheld my hand from accepting his allegiance,
and kill him?
They said: We did not know what you had in your heart,
Apostle of Allah! Why did you not give us a signal with
your eye?
He said: It is not advisable for a Prophet to play
deceptive tricks with the eyes.
A blind man had a slave-mother who used to abuse the
Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and disparage him. He forbade
her but she did not stop. He rebuked her but she did not
give up her habit. One night she began to slander the
Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and abuse him. So he took a
dagger, placed it on her belly, pressed it, and killed
her. A child who came between her legs was smeared with
the blood that was there. When the morning came, the
Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) was informed about it.
He assembled the people and said: I adjure by Allah the
man who has done this action and I adjure him by my right
to him that he should stand up. Jumping over the necks of
the people and trembling the man stood up.
He sat before the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and said:
Apostle of Allah! I am her master; she used to abuse you
and disparage you. I forbade her, but she did not stop,
and I rebuked her, but she did not abandon her habit. I
have two sons like pearls from her, and she was my
companion. Last night she began to abuse and disparage
you. So I took a dagger, put it on her belly and pressed
it till I killed her.
Thereupon the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Oh be
witness, no retaliation is payable for her blood.
A Jewess used to abuse the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him)
and disparage him. A man strangled her till she died. The
Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) declared that no
recompense was payable for her blood.
AbuBarzah said: I was with AbuBakr. He became angry at
a man and uttered hot words. I said: Do you permit me,
Caliph of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him), that I
cut off his neck? These words of mine removed his anger;
he stood and went in. He then sent for me and said: What
did you say just now? I said: (I had said:) Permit me that
I cut off his neck. He said: Would you do it if I ordered
you? I said: Yes. He said: No, I swear by Allah, this is
not allowed for any man after Muhammad (peace_be_upon_him).
Some people raided the camels of the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him),
drove them off, and apostatised. They killed the herdsman
of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) who was a
believer. He (the Prophet) sent (people) in pursuit of
them and they were caught. He had their hands and feet cut
off, and their eyes put out. The verse regarding fighting
against Allah and His Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) was then
revealed. These were the people about whom Anas ibn Malik
informed al-Hajjaj when he asked him.
When the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) cut off
(the hands and feet of) those who had stolen his camels
and he had their eyes put out by fire (heated nails),
Allah reprimanded him on that (action), and Allah, the
Exalted, revealed: "The punishment of those who wage war
against Allah and His Apostle and strive with might and
main for mischief through the land is execution or
crucifixion."
The verse "The punishment of those who wage war against
Allah and His Apostle, and strive with might and main for
mischief through the land is execution, or crucifixion, or
the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite side or
exile from the land...most merciful" was revealed about
polytheists. If any of them repents before they are
arrested, it does not prevent from inflicting on him the
prescribed punishment which he deserves.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Forgive the
infliction of prescribed penalties among yourselves, for
any prescribed penalty of which I hear must be carried
out.
Ma'iz came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and
admitted (having committed adultery) four times in his
presence so he ordered him to be stoned to death, but said
to Huzzal: If you had covered him with your garment, it
would have been better for you.
When a woman went out in the time of the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him)
for prayer, a man attacked her and overpowered (raped)
her.
She shouted and he went off, and when a man came by,
she said: That (man) did such and such to me. And when a
company of the Emigrants came by, she said: That man did
such and such to me. They went and seized the man whom
they thought had had intercourse with her and brought him
to her.
She said: Yes, this is he. Then they brought him to the
Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him).
When he (the Prophet) was about to pass sentence, the
man who (actually) had assaulted her stood up and said:
Apostle of Allah, I am the man who did it to her.
He (the Prophet) said to her: Go away, for Allah has
forgiven you. But he told the man some good words (AbuDawud
said: meaning the man who was seized), and of the man who
had had intercourse with her, he said: Stone him to death.
He also said: He has repented to such an extent that if
the people of Medina had repented similarly, it would have
been accepted from them.
A thief who had accepted (having committed theft) was
brought to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him), but no good
were found with him. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him),
said to him: I do not think you have stolen. He said: Yes,
I have. He repeated it twice or thrice. So he gave orders.
His hand was cut off and he was then brought to him. He
said: Ask Allah's pardon and turn to Him in repentance. He
said: I ask Allah's pardon and turn to Him in repentance.
He (the Prophet) then said: O Allah, accept his
repentance.
Azhar ibn Abdullah al-Harari said: Some goods of the
people of Kila' were stolen. They accused some men of the
weavers (of theft). They came to an-Nu'man ibn Bashir, the
companion of the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him). He confined
them for some days and then set them free.
They came to an-Nu'man and said: You have set them free
without beating and investigation. An-Nu'man said: What do
you want? You want me to beat them. If your goods are
found with them, then it is all right; otherwise, I shall
take (retaliation) from your back as I have taken from
their backs. They asked: Is this your decision? He said:
This is the decision of Allah and His Apostle (peace_be_upon_him).
Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Hibban said: A slave stole a
plant of a palm-tree from the orchard of a man and planted
it in the orchard of his master. The owner of the plant
went out in search of the plant and he found it. He
solicited help against the slave from Marwan ibn al-Hakam
who was the Governor of Medina at that time. Marwan
confined the slave and intended to cut off his hand. The
slave's master went to Rafi' ibn Khadij and asked him
about it.
He told him that he had heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
say: The hand is not to be cut off for taking fruit or the
pith of the palm-tree.
The man then said: Marwan has seized my slave and wants
to cut off his hand. I wish you to go with me to him and
tell him that which you have heard from the Apostle of
Allah (peace_be_upon_him). So Rafi' ibn Khadij went with
him and came to Marwan ibn al-Hakam.
Rafi' said to him: I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
say: The hand is not to be cut off for taking fruit or the
pith of the palm-tree. So Marwan gave orders to release
the slave and then he was released.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) was asked
about fruit which was bung up and said: If a needy person
takes some with his mouth and does not take a supply away
in his garment, there is nothing on him, but he who
carries any of it is to be fined twice the value and
punished, and he who steals any of it after it has been
put in the place where dates are dried to have his hand
cut off if their value reaches the value of a shield. If
he steals a thing less in value than it, he is to be find
twice the value and punished.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Cutting of hand
is not to be inflicted on one who plunders, but he who
plunders conspicuously does not belong to us.
AbuDawud said: Za'idah has also transmitted it from
Simak from Ju'ayd ibn Hujayr. He said: Safwan slept.
Mujahid and Tawus said: While he was sleeping a thief came
and stole the cloak from beneath his head. The version of
AbuSalamah ibn AbdurRahman has: He snatched it away from
beneath his head and he awoke. He cried and he (the thief)
was seized. Az-Zuhri narrated from Safwan ibn Abdullah.
His version has: He slept in the mosque and used his cloak
as pillow. A thief came and took his cloak. The thief was
seized and brought to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him).
A woman borrowed jewellery through some known persons
and she herself was unknown. She then sold them. She was
seized and brought to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him). He
gave orders that her hand should be cut off. It is this
woman about whom Usamah interceded and of her the Apostle
of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said whatever he said.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: There
are three (persons) whose actions are not recorded: a
sleeper till he awakes, an idiot till he is restored to
reason, and a boy till he reaches puberty.
Ibn Abbas said: A lunatic woman who had committed
adultery was brought to Umar. He consulted the people and
ordered that she should be stoned.
Ali ibn AbuTalib passed by and said: What is the matter
with this (woman)? They said: This is a lunatic woman
belonging to a certain family. She has committed adultery.
Umar has given orders that she should be stoned.
He said: Take her back. He then came to him and said:
Commander of the Faithful, do you not know that there are
three people whose actions are not recorded: a lunatic
till he is restored to reason, a sleeper till he awakes,
and a boy till he reaches puberty?
He said: Yes. He then asked: Why is it that this woman
is being stoned?
He said: There is nothing. He then said: Let her go. He
(Umar) let her go and began to utter: Allah is most great.
Ibn Abbas said: A lunatic woman passed by Ali ibn
AbuTalib. He then mentioned the rest of the tradition to
the same effect as Uthman mentioned. This version has: Do
you not remember that the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
has said: There are three whose actions are not recorded:
a lunatic whose mind is deranged till he is restored to
consciousness, a sleeper till he awakes, and a boy till he
reaches puberty?
AbuZubyan said: A woman who had committed adultery was
brought to Umar. He gave orders that she should be stoned.
Ali passed by just then. He seized her and let her go.
Umar was informed of it. He said: Ask Ali to come to me.
Ali came to him and said: Commander of the Faithful, you
know that the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said:
There are three (people) whose actions are not recorded: A
boy till he reaches puberty, a sleeper till he awakes, a
lunatic till he is restored to reason. This is an idiot
(mad) woman belonging to the family of so and so. Someone
might have done this action with her when she suffered the
fit of lunacy.
Umar said: I do not know. Ali said: I do not know.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: There are three
(persons) whose actions are not recorded: a sleeper till
he awakes, a boy till he reaches puberty, and a lunatic
till he comes to reason.
I was among the captives of Banu Qurayzah. They (the
Companions) examined us, and those who had begun to grow
hair (pubes) were killed, and those who had not were not
killed. I was among those who had not grown hair.
Junadah ibn AbuUmayyah said: We were with Busr ibn
Artat on the sea (on an expedition). A thief called Misdar
who had stolen a bukhti she-camel was brought. He said: I
heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say: Hands
are not to be cut off during a warlike expedition. Had it
not been so, I would have cut it off.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said to me: O
AbuDharr: I replied: At your service and at your pleasure,
Apostle of Allah! He said: how will you do when death
smites people, and a house, meaning a grave, will cost as
much as a slave. I said: Allah and His Apostle know best,
or he said: What Allah and His Apostle choose for me. He
said: Show endurance, or he said: You may show endurance.
A thief was brought to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him).
He said: Kill him. The people said: He has committed
theft, Apostle of Allah! Then he said: Cut off his hand.
So his (right) hand was cut off. He was brought a second
time and he said: Kill him. The people said: He has
committed theft, Apostle of Allah! Then he said: Cut off
his foot.
So his (left) foot was cut off.
He was brought a third time and he said: Kill him.
The people said: He has committed theft, Apostle of
Allah!
So he said: Cut off his hand. (So his (left) hand was
cut off.)
He was brought a fourth time and he said: Kill him.
The people said: He has committed theft, Apostle of
Allah!
So he said: Cut off his foot. So his (right) foot was
cut off.
He was brought a fifth time and he said: Kill him.
So we took him away and killed him. We then dragged him
and cast him into a well and threw stones over him.
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 Apostle of
Allah (peace_be_upon_him) and said: Apostle of Allah! did
you not see AbuThabit. He said so-and-so.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: The
sword is a sufficient witness. He then said: No, no, a
furious and a jealous man may follow this course.
Yazid ibn Nu'aym ibn Huzzal, on his father's authority
said: Ma'iz ibn Malik was an orphan under the protection
of my father. He had illegal sexual intercourse with a
slave-girl belonging to a clan. My father said to him: Go
to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) and inform him
of what you have done, for he may perhaps ask Allah for
your forgiveness. His purpose in that was simply a hope
that it might be a way of escape for him.
So he went to him and said: Apostle of Allah! I have
committed fornication, so inflict on me the punishment
ordained by Allah. He (the Prophet) turned away from him,
so he came back and said: Apostle of Allah! I have
committed fornication, so inflict on me the punishment
ordained by Allah. He (again) turned away from him, so he
came back and said: Apostle of Allah! I have committed
fornication, so inflict on me the punishment ordained by
Allah.
When he uttered it four times, the Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) said: You have said it four times.
With whom did you commit it?
He replied: With so and so. He asked: Did you lie down
with her? He replied: Yes. He asked: Had your skin been in
contact with hers? He replied. Yes. He asked: Did you have
intercourse with her? He said: Yes. So he (the Prophet)
gave orders that he should be stoned to death. He was then
taken out to the Harrah, and while he was being stoned he
felt the effect of the stones and could not bear it and
fled. But Abdullah ibn Unays encountered him when those
who had been stoning him could not catch up with him. He
threw the bone of a camel's foreleg at him, which hit him
and killed him. They then went to the Prophet
(peace_be_upon_him) and reported it to him.
He said: Why did you not leave him alone. Perhaps he
might have repented and been forgiven by Allah.
Muhammad ibn Ishaq said: I mentioned the story of Ma'iz
ibn Malik to Asim ibn Umar ibn Qatadah. He said to me:
Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn AbuTalib said to me: Some
men of the tribe of Aslam whom I do not blame and whom you
like have transmitted to me the saying of the Apostle of
Allah (peace_be_upon_him): Why did you not leave him
alone?
He said: But I did not understand this tradition. So I
went to Jabir ibn Abdullah and said (to him): Some men of
the tribe of Aslam narrate that the Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) said when they mentioned to him the
anxiety of Ma'iz when the stones hurt him: "Why did you
not leave him alone?' But I do not know this tradition.
He said: My cousin, I know this tradition more than the
people. I was one of those who had stoned the man. When we
came out with him, stoned him and he felt the effect of
the stones, he cried: O people! return me to the Apostle
of Allah (peace_be_upon_him). My people killed me and
deceived me; they told me that the Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) would not kill me. We did not keep
away from him till we killed him. When we returned to the
Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) we informed him of
it.
He said: Why did you not leave him alone and bring him
to me? and he said this so that the Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) might ascertain it from him. But he
did not say this to abandon the prescribed punishment. He
said: I then understood the intent of the tradition.
Ma'iz ibn Malik came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him)
and said that he had committed fornication and he (the
Prophet) turned away from him. He repeated it many times,
but he (the Prophet) turned away from him. He asked his
people: Is he mad? They replied: There is no defect in
him. He asked: Have you done it with her? He replied: Yes.
so he ordered that he should be stoned to death. He was
taken out and stoned to death, and he (the Prophet) did
not pray over him.
Ma'iz ibn Malik came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him)
and admitted fornication twice. But he drove him away. He
then came and admitted fornication twice. But he drove him
away. He then came and admitted fornication twice. He (the
Prophet) said: You have testified to yourself four times.
Take him away and stone him to death.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said to Ma'iz ibn
Malik: Perhaps you kissed, or squeezed, or looked. He
said: No. He then said: Did you have intercourse with her?
He said: Yes. On the (reply) he (the Prophet) gave order
that he should be stoned to death.
A man of the tribe of Aslam came to the Prophet
(peace_be_upon_him) and testified four times against
himself that he had had illicit intercourse with a woman,
while all the time the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) was
turning away from him.
Then when he confessed a fifth time, he turned round
and asked: Did you have intercourse with her? He replied:
Yes. He asked: Have you done it so that your sexual organ
penetrated hers? He replied: Yes. He asked: Have you done
it like a collyrium stick when enclosed in its case and a
rope in a well? He replied: Yes. He asked: Do you know
what fornication is? He replied: Yes. I have done with her
unlawfully what a man may lawfully do with his wife.
He then asked: What do you want from what you have
said? He said: I want you to purify me. So he gave orders
regarding him and he was stoned to death. Then the Prophet
(peace_be_upon_him) heard one of his companions saying to
another: Look at this man whose fault was concealed by
Allah but who would not leave the matter alone, so that he
was stoned like a dog. He said nothing to them but walked
on for a time till he came to the corpse of an ass with
its legs in the air.
He asked: Where are so and so? They said: Here we are,
Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)! He said: Go down and
eat some of this ass's corpse. They replied: Apostle of
Allah! Who can eat any of this? He said: The dishonour you
have just shown to your brother is more serious than
eating some of it. By Him in Whose hand my soul is, he is
now among the rivers of Paradise and plunging into them.
We, the Companions of the Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him), used to talk mutually: Would that
al-Ghamidiyyah and Ma'iz ibn Malik had withdrawn after
their confession; or he said: Had they not withdrawn after
their confession, he would not have pursued them (for
punishment). He had them stoned after the fourth
(confession).
I was working in the market. A woman passed carrying a
child. The people rushed towards her, and I also rushed
along with them.
I then went to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) while he
was asking: Who is the father of this (child) who is with
you? She remained silent.
A young man by her side said: I am his father, Apostle
of Allah!
He then turned towards her and asked: Who is the father
of this child with you?
The young man said: I am his father, Apostle of Allah!
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) then looked at
some of those who were around him and asked them about
him. They said: We only know good (about him).
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said to him: Are you
married? He said: Yes. So he gave orders regarding him and
he was stoned to death.
He (the narrator) said: We took him out, dug a pit for
him and put him in it. We then threw stones at him until
he died. A man then came asking about the man who was
stoned.
We brought him to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and
said: This man has come asking about the wicked man.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: He is
more agreeable than the fragrance of musk in the eyes of
Allah. The man was his father. We then helped him in
washing, shrouding and burying him. (The narrator said:) I
do not know whether he said or did not say "in praying
over him." This is the tradition of Abdah, and it is more
accurate.
A man came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and
confessed before him that he had committed fornication
with a woman whom he named. The Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) sent for the woman and asked her about
it. But she denied that she had committed fornication. So
he inflicted the prescribed punishment of flogging on him,
and let her go.
A man committed fornication with a woman. So the
Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) ordered regarding him
and the prescribed punishment of flogging was inflicted on
him. He was then informed that he was married. So he
commanded regarding him and he was stoned to death.
A woman belonging to the tribe of Juhaynah (according
to the version of Aban) came to the Prophet
(peace_be_upon_him) and said that she had committed
fornication and that she was pregnant. The Apostle of
Allah (peace_be_upon_him) called her guardian.
Then the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said to
him: Be good to her, and when she bears a child, bring her
(to me). When she gave birth to the child, he brought her
(to him). The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) gave orders
regarding her, and her clothes were tied to her. He then
commanded regarding her and she was stoned to death. He
commanded the people (to pray) and they prayed over her.
Thereupon Umar said: Are you praying over her, Apostle
of Allah, when she has committed fornication?
He said: By Him in Whose hand my soul is, she has
repented to such an extent that if it were divided among
the seventy people of Medina, it would have been enough
for them all. And what do you find better than the fact
that she gave her life.
Aban did not say in his version: Then her clothes were
tied to her.
The people passed by the Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) with a Jew who was blackened with
charcoal and who was being flogged.
He called them and said: Is this the prescribed
punishment for a fornicator?
They said: Yes. He then called on a learned man among
them and asked him: I adjure you by Allah Who revealed the
Torah to Moses, do you find this prescribed punishment for
a fornicator in your divine Book?
He said: By Allah, no. If you had not adjured me about
this, I should not have informed you. We find stoning to
be prescribed punishment for a fornicator in our Divine
Book. But it (fornication) became frequent in our people
of rank; so when we seized a person of rank, we left him
alone, and when we seized a weak person, we inflicted the
prescribed punishment on him. So we said: Come, let us
agree on something which may be enforced equally on people
of higher and lower rank. So we agreed to blacken the face
of a criminal with charcoal, and flog him, and we
abandoned stoning.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) then said: O
Allah, I am the first to give life to Thy command which
they have killed. So he commanded regarding him (the Jew)
and he was stoned to death.
Allah Most High then sent down: "O Apostle, let not
those who race one another into unbelief, make thee
grieve..." up to "They say: If you are given this, take
it, but if not, beware!...." up to "And if any do fail to
judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are
(no better than) unbelievers," about Jews, up to "And if
any do fail to judge by (the right of) what Allah hath
revealed, they are no better than) wrong-doers" about
Jews: and revealed the verses up to "And if any do fail to
judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are
(no better than) those who rebel." About this he said:
This whole verse was revealed about the infidels.
A group of Jews came and invited the Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) to Quff. So he visited them in their
school.
They said: AbulQasim, one of our men has committed
fornication with a woman; so pronounce judgment upon them.
They placed a cushion for the Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) who sat on it and said: Bring the
Torah. It was then brought. He then withdrew the cushion
from beneath him and placed the Torah on it saying: I
believed in thee and in Him Who revealed thee.
He then said: Bring me one who is learned among you.
Then a young man was brought. The transmitter then
mentioned the rest of the tradition of stoning similar to
the one transmitted by Malik from Nafi'(No. 4431).
(This is Ma'mar's version which is more accurate.) A
man and a woman of the Jews committed fornication.
Some of them said to the others: Let us go to this
Prophet, for he has been sent with an easy law. If he
gives a judgment lighter than stoning, we shall accept it,
and argue about it with Allah, saying: It is a judgment of
one of your prophets. So they came to the Prophet
(peace_be_upon_him) who was sitting in the mosque among
his companions.
They said: AbulQasim, what do you think about a man and
a woman who committed fornication? He did not speak to
them a word till he went to their school.
He stood at the gate and said: I adjure you by Allah
Who revealed the Torah to Moses, what (punishment) do you
find in the Torah for a person who commits fornication, if
he is married?
They said: He shall be blackened with charcoal, taken
round a donkey among the people, and flogged. A young man
among them kept silent.
When the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) emphatically
adjured him, he said: By Allah, since you have adjured us
(we inform you that) we find stoning in the Torah (is the
punishment for fornication).
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: So when did you
lessen the severity of Allah's command? He said:
A relative of one of our kings had committed
fornication, but his stoning was suspended. Then a man of
a family of common people committed fornication. He was to
have been stoned, but his people intervened and said: Our
man shall not be stoned until you bring your man and stone
him. So they made a compromise on this punishment between
them.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: So I decide in
accordance with what the Torah says. He then commanded
regarding them and they were stoned to death.
Az-Zuhri said: We have been informed that this verse
was revealed about them: "It was We Who revealed the Law
(to Moses): therein was guidance and light. By its
standard have been judged the Jews, by the Prophet who
bowed (as in Islam) to Allah's will.
while I was wandering in search of my camels which had
strayed, a caravan or some horsemen carrying a standard
came forward. The bedouin began to go round me for my
position with the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him). They came
to a domed structure, took out a man from it, and struck
his neck. I asked about him. They told me that he had
married his father's wife.
I met my uncle who was carrying a standard. I asked
him: Where are you going? He said: The Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) has sent me to a man who has married
his father's wife. He has ordered me to cut off his head
and take his property.
Habib ibn Salim said: A man called AbdurRahman ibn
Hunayn had intercourse with his wife's slave-girl. The
matter was brought to an-Nu'man ibn Bashir who was the
Governor of Kufah. He said: I shall decide between you in
accordance with the decision of the Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him). If she made her lawful for you, I
shall flog you one hundred lashes. If she did not make her
lawful for you, I shall stone you to death. So they found
that she had made her lawful for him. He, therefore,
flogged him one hundred lashes.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: about a man who
had (unlawful) intercourse with his wife's slave girl: If
she made her lawful for him, he will be flogged one
hundred lashes; if she did not make her lawful for him, I
shall stone him.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) made a
decision about a man who had intercourse with his wife's
slave-girl as follows. If he forced her, she is free, and
he shall give her mistress a slave-girl similar to her; if
she asked him to have intercourse voluntarily, she will
belong to him, and he shall give her mistress a slave-girl
similar to her.
A similar tradition (to the No. 4445) has also been
transmitted by Salamah ibn al-Muhabbaq from the Prophet
(peace_be_upon_him).
This version has: If she asked her to have intercourse
with her voluntarily, then she and a similar slave-girl
would be given to her mistress from his property.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If anyone has
sexual intercourse with an animal, kill him and kill it
along with him. I (Ikrimah) said: I asked him (Ibn Abbas):
What offence can be attributed to the animal/ He replied:
I think he (the Prophet) disapproved of its flesh being
eaten when such a thing had been done to it.
A man came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and made
acknowledgment before him that he had committed
fornication with a woman whom he named. The Apostle of
Allah (peace_be_upon_him) sent someone to the woman and he
asked her about it. She denied that she had committed
fornication. So he gave him the prescribed punishment of
Lashes and left her.
A man of Bakr ibn Layth came to the Prophet
(peace_be_upon_him) and made confession four times that he
had committed fornication with a woman, so he had a
hundred lashes administered to him. The man had not been
married. He then asked him to produce proof against the
woman, and she said: I swear by Allah, Apostle of Allah,
that he has lied. Then he was given the punishment of
eighty lashes of falsehood.
AbuUmamah ibn Sahl ibn Hunayf said that some companions
of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) told that one
of their men suffered so much from some illness that he
pined away until he was skin and bone (i.e. only a
skeleton). A slave-girl of someone visited him, and he was
cheered by her and had unlawful intercourse with her. When
his people came to visit the patient, he told them about
it.
He said: Ask the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
about the legal verdict for me, for I have had unlawful
intercourse with a slave-girl who visited me.
So they mentioned it to the Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) saying: We have never seen anyone (so
weak) from illness as he is. If we bring him to you, his
bones will disintegrate. He is only skin and bone. So the
Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) commanded them to
take one hundred twigs and strike him once.
A slave-girl belonging to the house of the Apostle of
Allah (peace_be_upon_him) committed fornication. He (the
Prophet) said: Rush up, Ali, and inflict the prescribed
punishment on her. I then hurried up, and saw that blood
was flowing from her, and did not stop. So I came to him
and he said: Have you finished inflicting (punishment on
her)? I said: I went to her while her blood was flowing.
He said: Leave her alone till her bleeding stops; then
inflict the prescribed punishment on her. And inflict the
prescribed punishment on those whom your right hands
possess (i.e. slaves).
When my vindication came down, the Prophet
(peace_be_upon_him) mounted the pulpit and mentioned that,
and recited the Qur'an. Then when he came down from the
pulpit he ordered regarding the two men and the woman, and
they were given the prescribed punishment.
The tradition mentioned above (No. 4459) has also been
transmitted by Muhammad ibn Ishaq through a different
chain of narrators. But he did not mention Aisha.
This version has: He (the Prophet) commanded regarding
the two men and the woman who spoke obscenity were Hassan
ibn Thabit and Mistah ibn Uthathah. An-Nufayl said: It is
said that the woman was Hammah daughter of Jahsh.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) did not prescribe any
punishment for drinking wine. Ibn Abbas said: A man who
had drunk wine and become intoxicated was found staggering
on the road, so he was taken to the Prophet
(peace_be_upon_him). When he was opposite al-Abbas's
house, he escaped, and going in to al-Abbas, he grasped
hold of him. When that was mentioned to the Prophet
(peace_be_upon_him), he laughed and said: Did he do that?
and he gave no command regarding him.
Hudayn ibn al-Mundhir ar-Ruqashi, who was AbuSasan,
said: I was present with Uthman ibn Affan when al-Walid
ibn Uqbah was brought to him. Humran and another man bore
witness against him (for drinking wine). One of them
testified that he had seen him drinking wine, and the
other testified that he had seen him vomiting it.
Uthman said: He could not vomit it, unless he did not
drink it. He said to Ali: Inflict the prescribed
punishment on him. Ali said to al-Hasan: Inflict the
prescribed punishment on him.
Al-Hasan said: He who has enjoyed its pleasure should
also bear its burden. So Ali said to Abdullah ibn Ja'far:
Inflict the prescribed punishment on him. He took a whip
and struck him with it while Ali was counting.
When he reached (struck) forty (lashes), he said: It is
sufficient. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) gave forty
lashes. I think he also said: "And AbuBakr gave forty
lashes, and Uthman eighty. This is all sunnah (standard
practice). And this is dearer to me."
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) and AbuBakr
gave forty lashes for drinking wine and Umar made it
eighty. And all this is sunnah, the model and standard
practice.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If they (the
people) drink wine, flog them, again if they drink it,
flog them. Again if they drink it, kill them.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If he is
intoxicated, flog him; again if he is intoxicated, flog
him; again if he is intoxicated, flog him if he does it
again a fourth time, kill him.
AbuDawud said: And there is a similar tradition of Umar
ibn AbuSalamah, from his father, on the authority of
AbuHurayrah, from the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him): If he
drinks wine, flog him if he does it so again, a fourth
time, kill him.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If anyone drinks
wine, flog him; if he repeats it, flog him, and if he
repeats it, flog him. If he does it again a third or a
fourth time, kill him. A man who had drunk wine was
brought (to him) and he gave him lashes. He was again
brought to him, and he flogged him. He was again brought
to him and he flogged him. He was again brought to him and
he flogged him. The punishment of killing (for drinking)
was repealed, and a concession was allowed.
I can still picture myself looking at the Apostle of
Allah (peace_be_upon_him) who was among the camps of the
Companions seeking the camp of Khalid ibn al-Walid, when a
man who had drunk wine was brought before him. He asked
the people: Beat him. Some struck him with sandals, some
with sticks and some with fresh branches of the palm-tree
(mitakhah). Ibn Wahb said: This (mitakhah) means green
palm fronds. Then the apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
took some dust from the ground and threw it on his face.
A man who had drunk wine was brought before the Prophet
(peace_be_upon_him) when he was in Hunayn. He threw some
dust on his face. He then ordered his Companions and they
beat him with their sandals and whatever they had in their
hands. He then said to them: Leave him, and they left him.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) then died, and
AbuBakr gave forty lashes for drinking wine, and then Umar
in the beginning of his Caliphate inflicted forty stripes
and at the end of his Caliphate he inflicted eighty
stripes. Uthman (after him) inflicted both punishments,
eighty and forty stripes, and finally Mu'awiyah
established eighty stripes.
I saw the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) on the
morning of the conquest of Mecca when I was a young boy.
He was walking among the people, seeking the camp of
Khalid ibn al-Walid. A man who had drunk wine was brought
(before him) and he ordered them (to beat him). So they
beat him with what they had in their hands. Some struck
him with whips, some with sticks and some with sandals.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) threw some dust
on his face.
When a man who had drunk wine was brought before
AbuBakr, he asked them (i.e. the people) about the number
of beatings which they gave him. They numbered it forty.
So AbuBakr gave him forty lashes.
When Umar came to power, Khalid ibn al-Walid wrote to
him: The people have become addicted to drinking wine and
they look down upon the prescribed punishment and its
penalty.
He said: They are with you, ask them. The immigrants
who embraced Islam in the beginning were with him. He
asked them and they agreed on the fact that (a drunkard)
should be given eighty lashes.
Ali said: When a man drinks wine, he tells lies. I,
therefore, think that he should be prescribed punishment
that is prescribed for telling lies..
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) forbade to
take retaliation in the mosque, to recite verses in it and
to inflict the prescribed punishments in it.