Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 30696 — The one guilty of zina: how many

Sa'id bin al-Musayyib said: Sayyiduna Ma'iz bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) came to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and informed him: I have committed adultery. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr said to him: Have you mentioned this to anyone other than me? He said: No. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr said to him: Conceal your fault and Allah will conceal you, and repent to Allah, for people feel indignation but do not reproach, and Allah, the Lord of Might, accepts repentance from His servants. But his soul found no rest until he came to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and mentioned to him the same as he had mentioned to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr. Sayyiduna Umar also gave him the same answer that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr had given. His soul found no rest until he came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him (peace and blessings be upon him): I have committed adultery. He (peace and blessings be upon him) turned away from him, until he had said it before him (peace and blessings be upon him) several times. When it became too much, he (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a messenger to his people and said to them: Is he ill? Or has madness afflicted him? They said: No, by Allah, O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he is perfectly sound. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: Is he unmarried or previously married? They said: Rather, he is previously married. So by his (peace and blessings be upon him) order he was stoned.