It has already passed under number 16955.
Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: This was in the early days of Islam, when they would be asked several times; otherwise, later on the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Unays (may Allah be pleased with him), and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) sent Abu Waqid (may Allah be pleased with him), but they were not told to ask several times.
The Shaykh said that the statement of Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) is correct.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الحدود / 16992
Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said that when Ma'iz (may Allah be pleased with him) came to him (peace and blessings be upon him), he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Woe to you! Perhaps you kissed, or embraced her, or looked at her, and you are considering that to be adultery?" He said: No. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Did you do such-and-such?" He said: Yes. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that he be stoned.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الحدود / 16994
Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) said that a man of the tribe of Aslam named Ma'iz (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He confessed to adultery, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) turned away from him. When he insisted on it again and again, he (peace and blessings be upon him) asked his people: "Is Ma'iz not insane?" They said: We have not seen any such thing in him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to be stoned. We brought him to Baqi' al-Gharqad; we neither tied him up nor buried him in the ground, and we pelted him with stones, and he ran because of the pain. We caught up with him at al-Harrah and pelted him there, and he died. Then in the evening, at the time of Isha, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered a sermon and said: "Whenever we set out on a military expedition in the path of Allah, some man stays behind among our families, bleating like a he-goat (in lust). Indeed, no man who has done that will be brought to me but I will make him an example to others." He (peace and blessings be upon him) neither spoke ill of Ma'iz (may Allah be pleased with him) nor sought forgiveness for him.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الحدود / 16997
Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that Ma'iz confessed to adultery five times before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Do you know what adultery is?" He said: Yes, it is that just as a man comes to his wife in a lawful way, he does the same with a woman who is not his wife in an unlawful way. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What do you want?" He said: Purify me. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Did you do it as the kohl stick goes into the kohl container, or a stick into something, or a rope into a well?" He said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah! So he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to be stoned. He was stoned, and two men were talking: Allah had covered him, but he exposed himself and was stoned like a dog. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) heard this. Then he moved on and passed by the rotting carcass of a donkey, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Where are so-and-so and so-and-so?" The two of them stood up, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Eat from this rotting carcass of this donkey." They said: May Allah forgive you; who would eat from this? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What you said about your brother was worse than eating this. By Allah, I have just seen that Ma'iz is plunging in a river of Paradise."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الحدود / 16998
Ibn al-Musayyib (may Allah have mercy on him) said that a man of the tribe of Aslam came to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and confessed to adultery. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: Have you told anyone besides me? He said: No. He said: Then repent and keep it concealed. But he could not hold himself back. He told Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) also gave the same answer as Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). Then he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) turned away from him, but after his repeated insistence he (peace and blessings be upon him) had his family asked: "Is he not insane?" They said: No, he is perfectly sound. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Are you married or unmarried?" He said: Married. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to be stoned.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الحدود / 16999