'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, exalted is He: "And those who commit unlawful sexual intercourse among your women, bring against them four witnesses from among you. And if they testify, confine them to houses until death takes them or Allah ordains for them a way." "And the two who commit it among you, punish them. But if they repent and correct themselves, leave them alone. Indeed, Allah is Ever Accepting of Repentance and Merciful." His saying: "And those who" is the plural of "the one who," and it is also pluralized as "allati." It is said "la'i" with a 'ya.' And "the unlawful sexual intercourse" in this context refers to adultery and every major sin. However, the definite article here is for specification. Ibn Mas'ud read: "with unlawful sexual intercourse" with the genitive construction. His saying: "from your women" is an addition in the meaning of Islam, for a disbeliever may be among the women of the Muslims by lineage, and this ruling does not apply to her. Allah made the testimony for adultery specific, which is not complete except with four witnesses, as a strictness on the accuser and a concealment for the servants. Some people said that this is so that two witnesses would be established for each of the two adulterers. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is weak. This was the first punishment for adulterers: confinement in homes. 'Ubadah ibn as-Samit, Al-Hasan, and Mujahid said: Until it was abrogated by the punishment that follows it, then that was abrogated by the Ayah of Light and by stoning for the married. A group said: Rather, the punishment was first, then it was abrogated by confinement, but the recitation was delayed and advanced, as mentioned by Ibn Furak. And "a way" means: an exit by a command from the commands of the Shari'ah. Hittan ibn 'Abdullah ar-Raqashi narrated from 'Imran ibn Husayn that he said: "We were with the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, when revelation descended upon him, then he lifted it and his face was red. He said: 'Indeed, Allah has ordained for them a way: the unmarried for the unmarried, a hundred lashes and exile for a year, and the married for the married, a hundred lashes and stoning.'" "And the two" is the dual form of "the one who," and it was expected that it would be said: "the two who" like "the two who". Sibawayh said: The 'ya' was omitted to differentiate between the definite nouns and the indefinite nouns. Abu Ali said: The 'ya' was omitted for ease since there is no confusion in "the two who"; because the 'nun' does not drop and the 'nun' of duality in the definite nouns may drop with the addition in "your two" and "the chosen of the people." If the 'ya' were omitted, the singular would be confused with the dual. Ibn Kathir read: "the two who" with a doubled 'nun,' and that is a substitute for the omitted 'ya.' Likewise, he read: "these two," and "those two," with the doubling in all of them. Nafi', Ibn 'Amir, 'Asim, Hamzah, and Al-Kisai read: with the simplification of all of that, and Abu 'Amr doubled "those two" alone and did not double the others. "And the two" is raised by the beginning, and it was said in the meaning: in what is recited to you, "the two who." There is a difference in the punishment, 'Ubadah and as-Suddi said: It is reproach and blame, and a group said: It is cursing and harshness without reproach. Ibn 'Abbas said: It is harm with the tongue and hand and striking with sandals and similar things.

Mujahid and others said: The first verse is general for women, for both the chaste and the non-chaste. The second verse is for men, and it specifies by the wording of duality the two types of men: those who are chaste and those who are not chaste. The punishment for women is imprisonment, and the punishment for men is harm. This is a statement that the wording necessitates, and the text of the speech fulfills the categories of the fornicators upon it. It is supported by the wording in the first verse: 'from your women' and His saying in the second: 'from you.' Al-Suddi, Qatadah, and others said: The first verse is about chaste women, meaning it includes those men who are chaste in meaning, and the second verse is about the man and the two unmarried women.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The meaning of this statement is complete, except that the wording of the verse is concerning. Al-Tabari preferred it. Ibn Mas'ud read: 'And those who do it among you.'

The scholars unanimously agreed that these two verses are abrogated by the verse of flogging in Surah An-Nur. This was said by Al-Hasan, Mujahid, and others, except for those who said that harm and reproach remain alongside flogging because they do not contradict but can both apply to one person. As for imprisonment, it is abrogated by consensus. The verse of flogging is general for fornicators, both chaste and non-chaste, and likewise, the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, generalized it in the hadith of Hitan ibn Abdullah Al-Raqashi, which I mentioned earlier. Although it is in Sahih Muslim, it is a report of individuals. Then it was reported in the mutawatir report that 'the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, stoned and did not flog.' So whoever said that the mutawatir Sunnah abrogates the Quran has made the stoning of the Messenger without flogging abrogating the flogging of the married person. This is what the imams hold; that the mutawatir Sunnah abrogates the Quran, as both are revelation from Allah, and both necessitate knowledge and action. They only differ in that the Sunnah has less of the miraculous aspect, and this has been confirmed from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, in the report of Ma'iz, in the hadith of the Ghamidiyyah, and in the hadith of the woman whom he sent to Unays. And whoever said that the mutawatir Sunnah does not abrogate the Quran said that the ruling of the Quran is certain, then the Sunnah comes as a new ruling without abrogating.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And this is an imagination that does not stand, for we find that the Sunnah raises by its ruling what has been established from the ruling of the Qur'an to the extent of abrogation. No consideration can refute this, nor can any principle be violated by it. As for this incident specifically, it is directed at me to say regarding it: that the abrogator of the ruling of stoning is the Qur'an, which is agreed upon to have its wording raised while its ruling remains, in His saying, the Exalted: "The male and female adulterer, lash them both one hundred lashes." This is a text regarding stoning, and Umar established it on the pulpit in the presence of the Companions, and he mentioned that they recited it during the time of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and the hadith is complete in Muslim. Also, supporting that this is from the Qur'an is the saying of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, who said to him: "Judge between us, O Messenger of Allah, by the Book of Allah." The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said to him: "I will certainly judge between you by the Book of Allah," then he commanded Unays to stone the woman if she confessed. This indicates that stoning was in the Qur'an, and the Ummah has agreed to raise its wording. These two verses, I mean the lashing and the stoning, if there had not been a clarification from the Messenger, it would not have been necessary for one of them to abrogate the other, as it is permissible for both to coexist for one person. And the hadith of Ubadah, which was mentioned earlier, strengthens both of them. Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, acted upon it in Shurahat: he lashed her and then stoned her, and he said: "I lash her by the Book of Allah and I stone her by the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him." And this is also the opinion of Al-Hasan and Ishaq ibn Rahawaih. However, when the Messenger clarified by his stoning without lashing, his action is akin to his saying with this verse: "Stone and do not lash," so the Qur'an is the abrogator and the Sunnah is the clarifier. It is valid for us to object to one who abrogates by the Sunnah in this incident and say: The abrogator must independently clarify by itself, and if it does not independently clarify, then it is not an abrogator. The verse of stoning, after its establishment, does not independently abrogate by itself, but rather it is built upon with lashing and they coexist, as indicated by the hadith of Ubadah ibn al-Samit. However, the Messenger's omission of lashing is the abrogator, because his action in that is akin to his saying: "Do not lash the married one." As for the unmarried one, there is no disagreement that he is lashed, and there is a difference regarding his exile. The four caliphs, Ibn Umar, Malik, Al-Shafi'i, and a group say: There is no exile today, while a group says: He is exiled, and it is said: His exile is his imprisonment. And the woman and the slave are not exiled; this is the view of Malik and a group of scholars.

And His saying, "So turn away from both of them," this punishment of withholding and harm is intended for the sinners to repent. It is the return from sin and persistence upon it. So Allah, glorified and exalted is He, commanded the believers that if the two sinners repent and rectify their other actions, they should stop harming them. The command for this cessation is in the word "turn away." In the strength of the wording, there is a disdain for the sinners even if they have repented, because leaving them is indeed a turning away. Do you not see His saying, "And turn away from the ignorant" [Al-A'raf: 199]? And the turning away in both verses is not a command to abandon, but rather it is the leaving of one who turns away. In that is a contempt for them according to the previous sin and according to the ignorance in the other verse. And Allah, glorified and exalted is He, is the Accepting of Repentance, meaning: He turns His servants away from sins to leaving them and adhering to obedience.