Bukhari

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
The details of this incident are mentioned in the narrations: Sharaha al-Hamdaniyyah came to Ali radi Allahu anhu and confessed to adultery. Ali radi Allahu anhu said:
Perhaps you saw a dream, perhaps your husband came to you, perhaps you were forced into it.
She denied all these possibilities, so Ali radi Allahu anhu had her flogged with one hundred lashes on Thursday, and then stoned her to death on Friday.
People said:
You have combined two punishments. He replied:
Yes, I have flogged according to the Book of Allah and stoned according to the Sunnah of the Messenger.
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From this hadith, it is understood that a married adulterer should be both flogged and stoned.
In reality, the fact is that the following ruling regarding adultery was first revealed in the Qur’an:
“As for those of your women who commit indecency, call to witness four of you against them. If they testify, confine them to the houses until death takes them or Allah ordains for them another way.”
(Musnad Ahmad: 1/141)
Then, regarding the “other way” that Allah alluded to, the following hadith is noteworthy. It is narrated from Ubadah ibn Samit radi Allahu anhu, who said:
One day, revelation came down upon the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. When the state of revelation ended, he said:
“Learn the rulings of the Shari’ah from me. Allah has ordained a way for those women: if an unmarried man commits adultery with an unmarried woman, the punishment is one hundred lashes and exile for one year; and if a married man commits adultery with a married woman, the punishment is flogging and stoning.”
(Sahih Muslim, Hudud, Hadith: 4414(1690))
Then Allah prescribed the punishment for the adulterous man and woman in Surah al-Nur. Allah says:
“The adulteress and the adulterer, flog each of them with a hundred lashes. Let not pity for them detain you from carrying out Allah’s law, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let a group of the believers witness their punishment.”
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The punishment mentioned in this noble verse is only for the unmarried man and unmarried woman when they commit adultery, because this incident occurred in 6 AH, as a result of which this punishment was prescribed. We also find several incidents indicating that after the revelation of these verses, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam gave the punishment of stoning to married men and women who committed adultery, for example:
* The married Ghamidiyyah woman was given the punishment of stoning by the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
This is explicitly mentioned in the hadiths.
(Sahih Muslim, Hudud, Hadith: 4431(1695))
Khalid ibn al-Walid radi Allahu anhu threw stones at her, and blood splattered on him, so he cursed her. Upon this, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam admonished Khalid ibn al-Walid radi Allahu anhu.
Khalid ibn al-Walid radi Allahu anhu accepted Islam between the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah and the Conquest of Makkah.
This means that the incident of the Ghamidiyyah woman occurred long after the revelation of Surah al-Nur.
* The famous incident of the laborer boy who committed adultery with his mistress. The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam ordered that the mistress be stoned.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hudud, Hadith: 6842, 6843)
Abu Hurairah radi Allahu anhu was present at the hearing of this case and is himself the narrator of this report.
Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah radi Allahu anhu came to the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and accepted Islam at the time of the Battle of Khaybar in 7 AH, whereas Surah al-Nur had already been revealed before this.
* The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam ordered the stoning of a Jewish man and woman when they committed adultery with each other.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hudud, Hadith: 6841)
According to Musnad al-Bazzar, this narration is also reported from Abdullah ibn Harith.
(Musnad al-Bazzar, Hadith: 3788, and Fath al-Bari: 12/207)
Abdullah ibn Harith radi Allahu anhu accepted Islam after the Conquest of Makkah along with his grandfather, and some narrations indicate that he was among those who stoned them.
This incident also shows that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam gave the punishment of stoning to adulterous men and women after the revelation of the aforementioned verses of Surah al-Nur.
It is also noteworthy that Umar radi Allahu anhu delivered a sermon in favor of stoning.
At that time, a large number of the noble Companions radi Allahu anhum were present in the Prophet’s Mosque.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hudud, Hadith: 6830)
None of the Companions objected to the statement of Sayyiduna Umar radi Allahu anhu, and from that time until today, this ruling has remained agreed upon, and none but the deniers of hadith have rejected it. Furthermore, the danger of adultery and fornication is greater among unmarried men and women, because they have no lawful means to satisfy their desires. Therefore, the Qur’an has made their crime the primary basis and specified flogging as their punishment. As for the adultery of a married man or woman, it is more severe in two respects:
* Such people break the covenant of marriage.
* Despite having a lawful means to fulfill their desires, they commit this crime.
Since the crime of a married couple is more severe than the original crime, their punishment is also more severe, which is stoning, as we have already explained.

(3)
It should be noted that the denial of the hadd (legal punishment) of stoning was first made by the earliest deniers of hadith, the Mu’tazilah. After them, some of the Khawarij agreed with them.
The reason for this denial was the following of base desires, and their fanaticism further fueled this. However, among the modern deniers of stoning, there is another reason: the people of the West consider such Islamic punishments to be barbaric, so those among us who are overawed by the West have also found safety in denying it.
This inferiority complex existed before and is still at work in this denial today.

(4)
The detailed narration from Ali radi Allahu anhu shows that the punishment for a married adulterer or adulteress is both one hundred lashes and stoning. However, during the time of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, only stoning was carried out, as is evident from the incidents of Ma’iz ibn Malik radi Allahu anhu, the Ghamidiyyah woman, the Jewish man and woman, and the sermon of Sayyiduna Umar radi Allahu anhu.
Based on these hadiths and incidents, the majority of scholars, including Imam Malik, Imam Shafi’i, and Imam Abu Hanifah rahimahullah, hold the view that a married adulterer should only be stoned, not flogged, because the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam ordered only stoning in the aforementioned incidents.

(5)
This also appears to be the inclination of Imam al-Bukhari rahimahullah, as he established the chapter with these words:
(Bab Rajm al-Muhsan)
“Stoning of the married adulterer.”
Then, from the narration of Ali radi Allahu anhu, he only mentioned the aspect of stoning. However, Imam Ahmad, Imam Ishaq, and Dawud al-Zahiri rahimahullah are of the opinion that flogging should also be carried out before stoning.
They have presented the hadith narrated from Ubadah ibn Samit radi Allahu anhu as evidence, and have also substantiated their view from the incident of Ali radi Allahu anhu.
According to our inclination, it is better to suffice with only stoning for the married couple when they commit adultery.
And Allah knows best.