‘Sayyiduna ‘Ubada bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that when revelation would descend upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he would feel hardship and the color of his blessed face would change to the color of dust. He says that one day revelation descended upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and he felt the same hardship. When the revelation ceased, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Learn from me, Allah Almighty has made a way for women. If a married person commits adultery with a married person, and an unmarried person commits adultery with an unmarried person, then the married person should be given one hundred (100) lashes and stoned to death, and the unmarried person should be given one hundred (100) lashes and exiled for one year.”

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ubaydullah bin Abdullah bin Utbah that he heard from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) who said that Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) sat on the pulpit of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: Allah, Glorified is His Majesty, sent Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) with the truth and revealed the Book to him. In that Book was also the verse of stoning (but its recitation was abrogated and the ruling remains). We recited that verse, memorized it, and understood it. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also carried out stoning, and after him, we also carried out stoning. I fear that after a long time has passed, someone may say:“We do not find stoning in the Book of Allah,”and thus go astray by abandoning an obligation which Allah has revealed. Surely, in the Book of Allah, stoning is a right upon the one who commits adultery while being married, whether man or woman. (And this is in the case) when witnesses are established for adultery, or there is pregnancy, or (the adulterer) confesses himself. (Stoning means to bury half the body in the ground and then finish off by throwing stones from above.)

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that a man of short stature, with disheveled hair and a strong body, wearing a sheet and who had committed adultery, was brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace be upon him) turned away from his statement twice, then ordered, and he was stoned. After that, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "When we go out for jihad in the way of Allah, some of you stay behind and bleat like a goat and give a little milk to a woman. Surely, if Allah gives me control over such a person, I will give him such a severe punishment that it will be a lesson for others." The narrator said: I narrated this hadith to Sayyiduna Sa'id bin Jubair (may Allah be pleased with him), and he said that the Prophet (peace be upon him) turned away from his statement four times. And in one narration, there is mention of two or three times.

Narrated from Sayyiduna Buraidah (may Allah be pleased with him) that Ma'iz bin Malik Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah! I have wronged myself by committing adultery. I want you to purify me." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) turned him away. Then, when the next day came, he came again and said, "O Messenger of Allah! I have committed adultery." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) turned him away and sent someone to his people to inquire whether there was any defect in his mind or if they had noticed anything. They said, "We do not know of any defect, and as far as we understand, his mind is sound." Then, for the third time, Ma'iz (may Allah be pleased with him) came, so the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) again sent to his people (to inquire the same), and they said, "He has no illness, nor is there any defect in his mind." When he came for the fourth time (and said the same, 'I have committed adultery, purify me,' although purification could also be achieved through repentance, but Ma'iz (may Allah be pleased with him) doubted whether his repentance would be accepted), the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had a pit dug for him, and then, by the order of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), he was stoned. The narrator says (after this) a woman from the tribe of Ghamid came and said, "O Messenger of Allah! I have committed adultery, purify me." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) turned her away. When the next day came, she said, "O Messenger of Allah! Why do you turn me away? Perhaps you wish to turn me away as you turned Ma'iz (may Allah be pleased with him) away. By Allah, I am pregnant (so what doubt can there be about adultery)?" The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Alright, if you do not turn away (and do not wish to be purified by repentance but rather by worldly punishment), then go and come back after you have given birth." When she gave birth, she brought the child wrapped in a cloth and said, "Here, the child has been born." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Go and nurse him until he is weaned." (Imam Shafi'i, Ahmad, and Ishaq hold the view that a woman will not be stoned even after giving birth until arrangements for nursing are made, otherwise, wait until the child is weaned; while Imam Abu Hanifa and Malik are of the view that she should be stoned as soon as she gives birth.) When the child was weaned, she brought him, and in his hand was a piece of bread, and she said, "O Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)! I have weaned him, and he has started eating food." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gave the child to a Muslim for upbringing. Then, by his order, a pit was dug up to her chest, and people were ordered to stone her. Sayyiduna Khalid bin Walid (may Allah be pleased with him) came with a stone and struck her head, so blood spurted onto the face of Sayyiduna Khalid (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Khalid (may Allah be pleased with him) cursed her, and this cursing was heard by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), so he said, "Beware, O Khalid (do not say such a thing)! By Him in Whose hand is my soul, she has repented such a repentance that if a tax collector (who oppresses people and is involved in violating the rights of others and troubles the poor) were to repent like this, his sin would also be forgiven (although in another hadith it is mentioned that such a person will not enter Paradise)." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ordered that the funeral prayer be offered for her, and she was buried.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that a Jewish man and a Jewish woman who had committed adultery were brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went to the Jews and asked, "What is the punishment for adultery in the Torah?" They said, "We blacken both their faces and make them ride (donkeys) in such a way that their faces are towards the tails (of the donkeys)." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "If you are truthful, bring the Torah." They brought it and began to read. When the verse of stoning came, the person who was reading placed his hand over that verse and read what was before and after it. Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him)—a Jewish scholar who had become Muslim—was with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He said, "Tell him to lift his hand." When he lifted his hand, the verse of stoning was beneath it. Then, by the order of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), both of them were stoned. Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said, "I was among those who stoned them. I saw that the man was shielding the woman from the stones with his own body (i.e., out of love, he was taking the stones upon himself)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was asked: If a slave woman who is not married commits adultery, what will be her punishment? He, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Flog her. Then if she commits adultery again, flog her again. Then if she commits adultery again, flog her again. Then sell her, even if she is sold for the price of a rope. Ibn Shihab was uncertain whether the command to sell was given after the third or the fourth time.

Sayyiduna Abu Abdur Rahman (may Allah be pleased with him) says that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) delivered a sermon and said: O people! Carry out the prescribed punishment on your slave women and slave men, whether they are married or not (that is, flog them). Because a slave woman of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) committed adultery, so the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ordered me to flog her. I saw that she had recently given birth. I feared that if I flogged her, she might die. I mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), so he said: You did well (by postponing the flogging). In another narration, it is added: Leave her until she becomes well (that is, until she is purified from postnatal bleeding. The same ruling applies to a sick woman; the prescribed punishment will not be carried out on her until she recovers).