The Ruling Regarding the Verse of Stoning (Āyat al-Rajm)
Source: Fatāwā Ameenpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri
❖ Question:
What is the ruling concerning the verse of stoning (rajm)?
❖ Answer:
A verse regarding rajm (stoning of the adulterer) was revealed in the Qur’an, but its recitation was abrogated while its ruling remained in force. There is consensus (ijmāʿ) on this matter.
✿ Evidence from the Companions
✔ ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه said:
لقد خشيت أن يطول بالناس زمان، حتى يقول قائل: لا نجد الرجم فى كتاب الله، فيضلوا بترك فريضة أنزلها الله، ألا وإن الرجم حق على من زنى وقد أحصن، إذا قامت البينة، أو كان الحبل أو الاعتراف
“I fear that with the passing of time, people may say: We do not find stoning in the Book of Allah, and thus go astray by abandoning an obligation which Allah has revealed. Indeed, stoning is the truth for the one who commits adultery and has been married, when evidence is established, or pregnancy occurs, or there is confession.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 6829, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1691)
✿ Scholarly Consensus
✔ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Jawzī رحمه الله (597H) said:
إن الإجماع انعقد على بقاء حكم ذلك اللفظ المرفوع من آية الرجم، وترك الإجماع ضلال
“Consensus has been established on the continuation of the ruling of the abrogated words of the verse of rajm. To reject this consensus is misguidance.”
(Kashf al-Mushkil: 1/64)
Conclusion:The verse of rajm was revealed, its recitation was later abrogated, but the ruling remains binding by consensus. The punishment of stoning for a married adulterer is firmly established in Islam through the Sunnah and ijmāʿ.
