Narrated Sahl ibn Saad: A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and confessed before him that he had committed fornication with a woman whom he named. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ 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.
Related hadith on this topic
Explanation & Benefits
Shaykh Umar Farooq Saeedi
Benefits and Issues:
That is, he was given the hadd (prescribed punishment) for an unmarried fornicator (one hundred lashes).
However, in the following narrations, it is explicitly stated that when it became known that this person was actually married, he was given the punishment of stoning.
Source: Sunan Abu Dawood – Commentary by Shaykh Umar Farooq Saeedi, Page: 4437
Shaykh Umar Farooq Saeedi
Benefits and Issues:
Imam Malik and Imam Shafi'i rahimahullah, in light of this hadith, rule that the prescribed punishment (hadd) should be carried out on a person who confesses to committing fornication (zina) with a specific woman. In contrast, Imam Abu Hanifah rahimahullah holds the opinion that the punishment for false accusation (hadd al-qadhf) applies in such a case.
Source: Sunan Abu Dawood – Commentary by Shaykh Umar Farooq Saeedi, Page: 4466