Kathir bin Salt says: Sayyiduna Ibn ‘As (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) were writing the Mushaf. When they reached this verse, Sayyiduna Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recite this verse as well: "Al-shaykhu wa al-shaykhatu idha zanaya farjumuhuma al-battah." Sayyiduna ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When this verse was revealed, I came to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: Please have this verse written for me, but it seemed that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) disliked this. Then Sayyiduna ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Do you not see that when an old man is not married, he is flogged for committing adultery, and when a married young man commits adultery, he is stoned?