Delaying Rajm of a Pregnant or Nursing Fornicatress
By: Imrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
❖ Principle
A pregnant woman is not to be stoned before delivering her child.
If she has no one to nurse her infant, she is not to be stoned until she has breastfed the child and weaned him.
❖ Evidences
➊ The Case of the Ghamīdiyyah Woman
A woman from the tribe of Azd came to the Prophet ﷺ and said:
“O Messenger of Allāh! Purify me.”
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“May Allāh have mercy on you. Go back and seek forgiveness and repent to Allāh.”
She replied:
“Do you wish to turn me away as you turned Māʿiz ibn Mālik away? I am pregnant because of zinā.”
The Prophet ﷺ asked: “Are you pregnant?” She replied, “Yes.”
He ﷺ said: “Return after you give birth.”
When she gave birth, the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Idhan lā narjumuhā wa naddaʿu waladahā ṣaghīr al-sinn laysa lahu man yurḍiʿuh.”
“In this case we will not stone her and leave her child in infancy with no one to nurse him.”
An Anṣārī man stood up and said: “O Messenger of Allāh, I will take responsibility for his nursing.”
So the Prophet ﷺ said: “Farjumūhā.” – “Then stone her.”
[Muslim: 1695; al-Dāraqutnī: 3/92]
➋ Another narration:
The Prophet ﷺ handed the child back to the woman and said:
“Idhhabī fa-arḍiʿīhi ḥattā tufṭimīhi.”
“Go and nurse him until you wean him.”
Later, she brought the child with a piece of bread in his hand, saying: “I have weaned him, and now he eats food.”
The Prophet ﷺ then entrusted the child to a Muslim guardian and ordered her to be stoned.
[Muslim: 1695; Musnad Aḥmad: 5/347; Abū Dāwūd: 4442]
Conclusion
- A pregnant adulteress is not stoned until she delivers.
- If she is the only one available to breastfeed, rajm is delayed until the child is weaned.
- This ruling safeguards the life and welfare of the innocent child, in line with the Prophet’s ﷺ example.
