Muslim

Hadith Commentary:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:
(1)
al-bikr:
A virgin,
an unmarried man or woman.
(2)
al-thayyib:
A married man or woman.
(3)
kuriba:
To be afflicted with distress and hardship.
(4)
tarabbada:
To become blackish,
because "rabda" is the transformation of something white towards blackness.
(5)
al-sabeel:
In the Noble Qur’an, Surah al-Nisa, verse 15, while mentioning the punishment for a sinful woman, it is stated,
("Confine them to their houses until death overtakes them or Allah ordains for them another way (sabeel), i.e., a new command.")
And in this hadith, the specification or clarification of this "sabeel" has been made,
which Allah Ta’ala has prescribed for them. And from this hadith, it is also established that revelation would descend upon the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam in the form of hadith and sunnah besides the Qur’an,
upon which he would act just as he did upon the Qur’an.
In this revelation, the ruling is stated that if a man or woman is unmarried, then their punishment is one hundred (100)
lashes and exile from the city for one year, and if they are married, then for them it is one hundred lashes and stoning to death (rajm).
Among the imams, there is some difference in the details of this,
but for an unmarried man or woman,
the punishment is one hundred lashes,
and there is consensus on this,
but regarding exile, the following opinions exist:
(1)
Both the man and the woman should be exiled for one year,
as the hadith requires,
and this is the position of Imam Shafi’i,
Imam Ahmad,
Ishaq,
Abu Thawr,
Ibn Abi Layla,
Sufyan Thawri,
Ata’,
Tawus rahimahumullah,
and this was the practice of the Rightly Guided Caliphs radi Allahu anhum.
(2)
According to Imam Malik and Imam Awza’i, exile is only for the man,
because a woman cannot protect herself in another place.
Therefore, she should not be exiled.
(3)
Exile is not part of the hadd (prescribed punishment),
it is a discretionary (ta’zeer) ruling,
which is left to the discretion of the ruler or judge,
and this is the opinion of Imam Abu Hanifah and Imam Muhammad.
(For details, see al-Mughni,
vol. 12,
pp. 322–335,
issue no. 1553)
2.
Ruling for a married adulterer:
If a married man or married woman commits adultery, then by consensus of Ahl al-Sunnah except for the Khawarij, they are to be stoned to death (rajm),
but there is a difference as to whether one hundred lashes should be administered before stoning or not.
One opinion of Imam Ahmad is that first (100)
lashes should be given,
then stoning should be carried out,
as is mentioned in this narration.
This was also the view of Ibn Abbas,
Ibn Abi Ka’b, and Abu Dharr radi Allahu anhum, and Ali radi Allahu anhu implemented this during his caliphate.
This is also the opinion of Hasan al-Basri,
Ishaq,
Dawud, and Ibn al-Mundhir,
but Umar,
Uthman,
Ibn Mas’ud radi Allahu anhum, and Nakhai,
Zuhri,
Awza’i,
Malik,
Shafi’i, and the Hanafis, as well as the second opinion of Imam Ahmad, hold that stoning should be carried out and lashing is not necessary,
because the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did not administer lashes to Ma’iz and the Ghamidiyyah woman,
and likewise, when he sent Anas radi Allahu anhu to the woman, he said,
"If she confesses, then stone her,"
and did not order lashing.
This is a muttafaqun alayh narration.
(For details,
see al-Mughni,
vol. 12,
p. 313,
issue 551,
al-Fasl al-Thani,
Fath al-Bari,
vol. 12,
p. 145)
Imam Shah Waliullah has written in Musawwa Sharh Muwatta, vol. 2, p. 135,
If the imam wishes to administer both punishments, stoning and lashing, he may do so,
but it is better that he suffice with stoning,
because the main objective is to make the person an example and to eliminate the crime,
which is achieved through stoning.
"When two punishments are combined, it is possible to include the lighter within the more severe,
therefore the imam should act according to the situation and circumstances,
if it is appropriate to combine both hadd punishments, then he should do so, as Ali radi Allahu anhu combined both punishments,
and if, in light of the circumstances, stoning alone suffices, then he should suffice with that,
as was done in the cases of Ma’iz, the Ghamidiyyah, or the case of the slave (Asif) radi Allahu anhu.
This is what I have, and Allah knows best what is correct.

Explanation:
1:
Those who were commanded to be confined in their homes for the crime of adultery and were told to wait for Allah’s command, Allah has now provided a way out for such people. This is a reference to the verse: ﴿And those of your women who commit indecency, call to witness four among you against them; then if they bear witness, confine them to the houses until death takes them or Allah ordains for them another way﴾ (: al-Nisa: 15). (That is, from among your women who commit indecency, call for four witnesses from among yourselves; if they testify, then confine those women to their houses until death completes their lives, or Allah provides another way for them.) This was the temporary punishment for women at the beginning of Islam, before the punishment for adultery was specified.

2:
This is the view of the majority of scholars and the four Imams (a’immah arba‘ah) that the punishments of flogging and stoning cannot be combined. For, if several prescribed punishments (hudud) are combined with execution (qatl), then execution alone suffices and the remaining hudud are dropped. (And Allah knows best.)

Commentary:
Benefits and Issues:
Prophetic Instruction:
“Allah has prescribed a way for them.”
This is a reference to the blessed verse in which this ruling was revealed:
﴿وَاللَّاتِي يَأْتِينَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مِن نِّسَائِكُمْ فَاسْتَشْهِدُوا عَلَيْهِنَّ أَرْ‌بَعَةً مِّنكُمْ ۖ فَإِن شَهِدُوا فَأَمْسِكُوهُنَّ فِي الْبُيُوتِ حَتَّىٰ يَتَوَفَّاهُنَّ الْمَوْتُ أَوْ يَجْعَلَ اللَّـهُ لَهُنَّ سَبِيلًا﴾ Translation:
“Those among your women who commit indecency, call four witnesses from among yourselves against them; if they testify, then confine those women to their houses until death completes their term, or Allah makes for them another way.”

(2)
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) prescribed for married adulterers only the punishment of stoning to death (rajm), and did not have them flogged.
As is stated in Hadith: 2549.
From this it is understood that the punishment of flogging is subsumed within the punishment of stoning.

(3)
The punishment for an unmarried person is one hundred lashes, and in addition, exile from the homeland for one year, so that by changing the environment, the urge to sin may be eliminated.
In the present era, the punishment of imprisonment can be considered as a substitute for exile, provided that the environment of the prison does not encourage criminal behavior.