Fath al-Rabbani

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Bara’ bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) that a Jew was brought past the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), whose face had been blackened and who had been flogged. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called them and said: “Do you find this as the punishment for adultery in your Book?” They said: “Yes.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called one of their scholars and said to him: “I ask you by Allah, Who revealed the Torah to Musa (peace be upon him), do you find this as the punishment for adultery in your Book?” He said: “By Allah, no! And if you had not asked me by this, I would not have told you. In our Book, the punishment for adultery is stoning, but when adultery became common among our upper class, if we caught someone of high status, we would let him go, and if we caught someone weak, we would carry out this punishment on him. Then we held a meeting and passed a law that we should prescribe a punishment that we could enforce on both the high and the low, so we agreed on flogging and blackening the face.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “O Allah! I am Your servant who has revived Your command first, while the Jews have abandoned it.” Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered, and he was stoned. Allah Almighty revealed this verse: {یٰٓاَیُّھَا الرَّسُوْلُ لَا یَحْزُنْکَ الَّذِیْنَیُسَارِعُوْنَ فِی الْکُفْرِ مِنَ الَّذِیْنَ قَالُوْٓا اٰمَنَّا بِاَفْوَاہِہِمْ وَلَمْ تُؤْمِنْ قُلُوْبُہُمْ وَمِنَ الَّذِیْنَ ہَادُوْا سَمّٰعُوْنَ لِلْکَذِبِ سَمّٰعُوْنَ لِقَوْمٍ اٰخَرِیْنَ لَمْ یَاْتُوْکَیُحَرِّفُوْنَ الْکَلِمَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَوَاضِعِہٖیَقُوْلُوْنَ اِنْ اُوْتِیْتُمْ ہٰذَا فَخُذُوْہُ وَاِنْ لَّمْ تُؤْتَوْہُ فَاحْذَرُوْا۔} … O Messenger! Let not those grieve you who hasten into disbelief, of those who say with their mouths, ‘We believe,’ but their hearts do not believe, and of those who are Jews. They are listeners to falsehood, listening for another people who have not come to you. They distort words from their places. They say, ‘If you are given this, take it, but if you are not given it, beware.’ These Jews say among themselves: Go to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), if he gives you the verdict that the adulterer’s face should be blackened and he should be flogged, then accept it, but if he gives the verdict of stoning, then beware. Until Allah Almighty’s statement: {وَمَنْ لَمْ یَحْکُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللّٰہُ فَأُولَئِکَ ہُمُ الْکَافِرُوْنَ} This is about the Jews, and {وَمَنْ لَمْ یَحْکُمْ بِمَا أَ نْزَلَ اللّٰہُ فَأُولَئِکَ ہُمُ الظَّالِمُوْنَ} and {وَمَنْ لَمْ یَحْکُمْ بِمَا أَ نْزَلَ اللّٰہُ فَأُولَئِکَ ہُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ} these two verses are about the disbelievers.