The following is a Muslim article which has been removed from the website Jamiatul Ulama (KZN): Council of Muslim Theologians, but which I have salvaged from archive.org: https://web.archive.org/web/20030224043756/https://jamiat.org.za/isinfo/stoning.htm.

Rajm(Stoning) for Adultery in the Shariah and the (Hypo)Critics

It is not surprising to see the extent of blatant hypocrisy that is practised by godless worshippers of the flesh who have lost their moral and ethical anchorage. Sadly, their  Western-secular orientation has given them a skewed vision of moral values.

Status of the Shariah (Islamic Law)

Let us first understand the principled position of the divinely revealed Shariah. The Islamic Shariah(Legal System) has been revealed by the Creator and King of the Universe through two main sources which are the Holy Quraan and the Sunnah (Prophetic traditions).These two sources are  absolutely inviolable and cannot be changed by any human being.

The Ahkaamul-Hudood(Penal Laws) is a part of the Islamic Shariah. The Islamic Penal Laws cannot be compartmentalized so that it operates in isolation from the rest of the Shariah system. It is necessary to look at the larger picture of the complete Shariah system to appreciate it’s perfection. The political-economic and social system of the Shariah is geared to develop a society of caring believers, whose rich History bears testimony to the fact that it’s value-system strongly encourages the society to share with the less fortunate. One needs only study the laws of the Shariah to verify this. So the chances for vice and crime are strongly deterred in an Islamic society. Now insignificant braying is quite often heard from Western-influenced (hypo)critics that the Penal code of Islam is barbaric, that it is unjust to women, that it is archaic etc. etc …

Stoning to death for adultery is part of the Shariah’s penal code, whether we like it or not ! Muslims should not be apologetic about any law of the Shariah as it is not the product of the human mind, but it is divinely revealed.

RAJM(STONING) FIRMLY ESTABLISHED IN SHARIAH

 The issue of rajm or stoning for adultery is established and proven from the authentic traditions and practices of the Final Messenger. The scholars of Islam are unanimous that stoning a married person(male or female) for adultery is the prescribed Hadd(penal punishment) of the Shariah. This is established by the Sunnah(prophetic traditions) and these traditions are in the rank of tawaatur ( it’s narrations cannot be denied due to it’s appearance in all three generations by numerous narrators). It is also proven by the consensus of the scholars which is the third source of Islamic Law. Ibn Masud reports: “The blood of a Muslim person is not permissible except in one of three situations; the adulterer who is married, one who has killed unjustly, and the apostate.”(Bukhari and Muslim) This hadeeth is also reported with different wording by Uthmaan, Ayesha, Abu Hurairah, Jaabir and Ammaar bin Yaasir. Then there is the incident reported by Abu Hurairah and Zaid bin Khalid Al-Juhani regarding a workman who committed adultery with another woman. The Messenger of Allah instructed a man from the tribe of Aslam: “Go in the morning to this (particular) lady; so if she confesses, then stone her.” (Bukhari ,Muslim, Muatta, Musnad Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, An-Nasaai)

Buraida(r.a.) also reports the story of Maaiz which appears in various narrations. So he confessed to committing adultery and the Prophet Muhammad ordered for him to be stoned.(Muslim, Abu Dawud) This incident is also reported by Abu Hurairah in Musnad Ahmad, Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi and Abu Dawood. In fact the list of references is too long to mention here. Furthermore Buraida also reports the incident of Gaamidiyyah who confessed to adultery. The Final Messenger only accepted her confession on her third approach, and ordered that she be stoned after the child had been weaned. She dutifully returned after such a long period to be stoned.(Muslim, Musnad Ahmad, Abu Dawud). Adultery is considered the third most heinous crime after associating partners in worship with the Sole Creator, and after killing an innocent person. For this reason the Magnificent Quran states: “And go not near to zina (unlawful sexual intercourse). Certainly, it is a Fahishah (a shameful transgression), and an evil way.”(that leads to hell unless Allah forgives him\her.)Quran-Chap.17-Verse:32 

SPIRIT AND AIMS OF SHARIAH HUDOOD (Penal Code of Islam) The Shariah needs to be understood in proper context to appreciate it’s spirit and objectives. The sacred Shariah aims to preserve and protect that which it also considers sacred and they are the following:

1) Human life– therefore a strict and severe penalty of execution will be imposed, if the heirs of the murdered person do not forgive the murderer\ess, neither do they accept compensation.   

2) Aql (human intellect)-for this reason the Shariah imposes 100 lashes for consuming intoxicants and alcoholic beverages since they affect the mental faculty, create dependency, harm the body and pose immense danger to society.

3) Respect and honour of citizens– slander and false accusations regarding a person’s chastity would result in 80 lashes being imposed by the Shariah court.

4) Purity of Lineage– allowing fornication and adultery would result in abundance of illegitimate children and, as is common today in the shameless westernized society, abortions(murder) of innocent unborn children.(This is happening by the thousands by the way, yet no Miss World or Law Society has come out with so much as a whimper to protest against this slaughter).Precisely to protect the lives of innocent, unborn children, we find the Shariah imposing an exemplary punishment that acts as a harsh deterrent by stoning to death or 100 lashes.

5) Property – if theft and looting are left unchecked it would lead to numerous difficulties for the hardworking members of society. As a result the Shariah here again imposes a deterrent punishment of cutting of the hand.

We should remember that each of these severe punishments are dependent on very strict conditions being met. If the Shariah court has the slightest doubt in the evidence which itself is quite stringent, then it would not implement the Hadd punishment.

The conditions for stoning for adultery are either uncoerced confession, or 4 eyewitnesses who witness the act as the pen enters the inkpot.(not even video footage will be accepted-a lighter sentence will be imposed, but not stoning). In the case of Amina Lawaal of Nigeria, the details are very vague , but we are given to understand that she confessed on her own. Since there are no eyewitnesses, the man cannot be punished unless he also confesses to being the adulterer. This happened in the time of Prophet Muhammad(s.a.w.).Two  people, Maaiz and Ghaamidiyya confessed to adultery due to their feelings of shame and seeking penitence from Allah. The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) only accepted their confession on their third approach. The first two times he turned them back. Eventually they were stoned to death. The Prophet of Allah(s.a.w.) actually commented on the sincere repentance of Ghaamidiyyah, that had her tauba(repentance) been distributed for all the people of Medina, it would have been sufficient to gain forgiveness for all the people of Medina! The Shariah even permits a person to withdraw his confession even after the stoning has started! Furthermore, stoning a woman who was raped is totally out of the question, rather the guilty male stands a strong chance of being executed by the Shariah court. 

SHARIAH – STRIKING A BRILLIANT BALANCE

When keeping these objectives and principles in mind, the Shariah also   strikes a brilliant balance between the rights of individuals(human rights) and the rights of society so that both individuals and the society as a whole are amply protected. Unfortunately, the Western society imposes an unnatural emphasis on individual human rights without corresponding obligations, which has resulted in the rights of society as a whole being seriously violated, allowing for a descent into anarchy. The issue of crime out of control is one example of extremism. The opposite extremism is when the vigilantes take law into their own hands after much frustration. Then you sit with jail houses overflowing to the brim with hardened criminals at the poor tax-payers expense and with no chances of rehabilitation. They are deprived of the family support and rehabilitation, rather they go deeper into vice and corruption. The recent exposure of the corruption of wardens and prisoners at prisons in Bloemfontein captured on video footage amply demonstrates the failure of western penal system.

The incidence of Shariah punishments being applied pales into insignificance when one compares the high rates of crimes in Western countries and resulting convictions with it’s burgeoning costs !

The moderate and balanced system of the Shariah is criticised by ignorant fools who lack the necessary knowledge and depth of understanding and, who often are led by their own base and selfish desires. The world has tried all the extreme ‘isms’ (ruthless communism, socialism, corrupt capitalism, narrow nazism, genocidal zionism etc) and they are proving to be a dismal failure. It is now time for Islam to arrive on the world scene and when it does, it will appear in all it’s splendour and glory to save the fallen humanity by bringing a truly just and natural social order which has the divine stamp of approval !! This is the bold and confident promise of none other than the Master of the Universe: “He(Allah) it is who has sent His messenger(Muhammad) with guidance and the religion(code of law) of truth in order that it may dominate over all other religions(isms) even though the idolaters may detest it.” (Qura’an-Chap.61 Verse: 9)

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