Atheists, Christian missionaries, and some Orientalists claim that the Qur’ān once contained a verse about stoning (rajm) for adultery but that it was removed and is now missing from the text of the Qur’ān. They often cite a narration from ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (رضي الله عنه) to support this claim.
“Indeed Allah sent Muḥammad ﷺ with the truth and revealed the Book to him. Among what was revealed was the verse of stoning, and we recited it, memorized it, and acted upon it. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ stoned (adulterers), and so did we after him. I fear that after a long time has passed, people will say: ‘We do not find the verse of stoning in the Book of Allah,’ and thereby go astray by abandoning an obligation Allah revealed. Stoning is a duty in the Book of Allah for married adulterers when there is evidence, pregnancy, or confession...”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Ḥudūd; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Ḥudūd; Musnad Aḥmad)
✔ Here, “Kitāb Allāh” means Allah’s legal ruling, whether found in the Qur’ān or ḥadīth.
✔ Thus, it remained part of the sunnah (authentic ḥadīth), not of the Qur’ān’s written text.
✔ Mufti Taqi Usmani:
The verse of stoning was never part of the Qur’ān; it was part of the Torah and the ḥadīth of the Prophet ﷺ continued it.
(Takmilah Fatḥ al-Mulhim, vol. 2, pp. 354–361)
✔ Imām al-Ālūsī:
“This ruling was not part of the Qur’ān and was not abrogated in the Qur’ān’s text.”
(Rūḥ al-Maʿānī, 9/278)
✔ al-Bāqillānī in al-Intiṣār:
“It was never written in the Qur’ān nor removed from it.”
The stoning punishment is part of divine law but not a Qur’ānic verse.
The phrase “al-shaykh wa al-shaykhah…” was never part of the Qur’ān; it was known from earlier scriptures and the Sunnah.
The term “Kitāb Allāh” includes divine rulings (ḥukm) and is not exclusive to the Qur’ān’s text.
The Qur’ān remains perfectly preserved; no verse of the Qur’ān has ever been lost or deleted.
The claim that the stoning verse was removed from the Qur’ān is baseless. It is a misinterpretation of reports and misunderstanding of Islamic legal sources. The punishment of stoning is an authentic ruling of Islam, confirmed through ḥadīth and the Prophet’s practice, but it was never part of the Qur’ān’s revealed text.
“Indeed Allah sent Muḥammad ﷺ with the truth and revealed the Book to him. Among what was revealed was the verse of stoning, and we recited it, memorized it, and acted upon it. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ stoned (adulterers), and so did we after him. I fear that after a long time has passed, people will say: ‘We do not find the verse of stoning in the Book of Allah,’ and thereby go astray by abandoning an obligation Allah revealed. Stoning is a duty in the Book of Allah for married adulterers when there is evidence, pregnancy, or confession...”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Ḥudūd; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Ḥudūd; Musnad Aḥmad)
- They misunderstand this narration to mean that there was a literal verse in the Qur’ān which was later lost.
- They ignore the distinction between:
➜ Qur’ānic revelation (waḥy matlū)
➜ Non-Qur’ānic divine revelation (waḥy ghayr matlū, such as ḥadīth) - Their aim is to portray the Qur’ān as incomplete or tampered.
- Some narrations mention the wording:
“الشيخ والشيخة إذا زنيا فارجموهما البتة”
(“If the elderly man and woman commit adultery, stone them absolutely.”)
- However, thorough examination reveals:
✔ This phrase was never part of the Qur’ān.
✔ It was known from earlier revelations (like the Torah), confirmed in the practice of stoning.
- Linguistic Clarification:
➜ The word “kan” (كان) in Arabic can mean something currently in force or part of divine law, not necessarily part of the Qur’ān’s written verses. - Conclusion:
✔ The phrase refers to a divine ruling, not a Qur’ānic verse.
- “Kitāb Allāh” in Islamic terminology often means:
➜ Allah’s law or judgment (not always referring solely to the Qur’ān). - Example:
“I will judge between you according to the Book of Allah: stoning for married adulterers and lashes for the unmarried.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Ḥudūd, ḥadīth 6827)
✔ Here, “Kitāb Allāh” means Allah’s legal ruling, whether found in the Qur’ān or ḥadīth.
- Evidence from the Companions (ṣaḥābah):
➜ Zayd ibn Thābit (رضي الله عنه) and other scribes of revelation affirmed:
“The Prophet ﷺ did not order for it to be written in the Qur’ān.”
(al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasāʾī, ḥadīth 7151)
✔ Thus, it remained part of the sunnah (authentic ḥadīth), not of the Qur’ān’s written text.
- He feared that later generations would forget the law of stoning if they only relied on the written Qur’ān and did not know the ḥadīth that affirmed this punishment.
- His statement:
“If I were not afraid that people would say ʿUmar has added to the Qur’ān, I would have written it in the margin.”
(Musnad Aḥmad, ḥadīth 151)
✔ He did not believe it was part of the Qur’ān’s revealed verses.
✔ Mufti Taqi Usmani:
The verse of stoning was never part of the Qur’ān; it was part of the Torah and the ḥadīth of the Prophet ﷺ continued it.
(Takmilah Fatḥ al-Mulhim, vol. 2, pp. 354–361)
✔ Imām al-Ālūsī:
“This ruling was not part of the Qur’ān and was not abrogated in the Qur’ān’s text.”
(Rūḥ al-Maʿānī, 9/278)
✔ al-Bāqillānī in al-Intiṣār:
“It was never written in the Qur’ān nor removed from it.”
The stoning punishment is part of divine law but not a Qur’ānic verse.
The phrase “al-shaykh wa al-shaykhah…” was never part of the Qur’ān; it was known from earlier scriptures and the Sunnah.
The term “Kitāb Allāh” includes divine rulings (ḥukm) and is not exclusive to the Qur’ān’s text.
The Qur’ān remains perfectly preserved; no verse of the Qur’ān has ever been lost or deleted.
The claim that the stoning verse was removed from the Qur’ān is baseless. It is a misinterpretation of reports and misunderstanding of Islamic legal sources. The punishment of stoning is an authentic ruling of Islam, confirmed through ḥadīth and the Prophet’s practice, but it was never part of the Qur’ān’s revealed text.
