Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 30688 — The one guilty of zina: how many

Sayyiduna Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Sayyiduna Ma'iz bin Malik al-Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: I have wronged myself and I have committed adultery, and I want you (peace and blessings be upon him) to purify me. He (peace and blessings be upon him) sent him back. When the next day came, he came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) again and said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I have committed adultery. He (peace and blessings be upon him) sent him back a second time. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a messenger to his people and said: Do you consider there to be anything wrong with his mind? Do you see anything amiss in him? They said: We know nothing about him except that his mind is like that of the righteous among us, as far as we can see. The narrator said: Then he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) a third time, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) again sent a messenger to his people and asked about him. They informed him that there was nothing wrong with him or with his mind. When he came the fourth time, he (peace and blessings be upon him) had a pit dug for him, and then by his (peace and blessings be upon him) order he was stoned.