Stoning for Adultery: The Verse That Disappeared
One of the most disturbing aspects of Islamic law is the practice of stoning adulterers to death—a punishment known as rajm. What makes this particularly troubling is that this penalty doesn't appear in the Quran today, yet Islamic jurisprudence across all major schools of thought upholds it as divinely mandated. The explanation? According to Islamic tradition, a verse prescribing stoning once existed in the Quran but was lost or abrogated while its legal ruling remained in force.
The Missing Verse
According to multiple authentic hadiths, a verse commanding stoning for adultery was once part of the Quran but is no longer found in the text Muslims recite today:
"Umar said: 'I am afraid that after a long time has passed, people may say, "We do not find the Verses of the Rajam (stoning to death) in the Holy Book," and consequently they may go astray by leaving an obligation that Allah has revealed. Lo! I confirm that the penalty of Rajam be inflicted on him who commits illegal sexual intercourse, if he is already married and the crime is proved by witnesses or pregnancy or confession.' Sufyan added, 'I have memorized this narration in this way.' Umar added, 'Surely Allah's Apostle carried out the penalty of Rajam, and so did we after him.'"
Sahih Bukhari 8:82:816
Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second caliph of Islam and one of Muhammad's closest companions, explicitly stated that a verse about stoning existed. Other hadiths claim this verse said: "The married man and the married woman, if they commit adultery, stone them to death as an exemplary punishment from Allah."
"It has been narrated on the authority of Abu Harb b. Abu al-Aswad that he heard from his father who heard from Abu Musa al-Ash'ari who said: 'Allah's Messenger sent me and Mu'adh b. Jabal to Yemen. I said: Messenger of Allah, there is a drink which is prepared in our land and is called Mizr (beer) and another drink called Bit' (made from honey). He said: All intoxicants are forbidden. They found a Qur'anic verse on the subject but when they came to Muhammad, they found he had passed away. Umar said: Allah has not made us helpless. We have the Sunnah of the Prophet of Allah. And among the things they found was the verse of stoning.'"
Related traditions in Sahih Muslim and other collections
The Practice of Stoning
Despite the verse's absence from the Quran, stoning remains part of Sharia law. The hadiths contain numerous accounts of Muhammad ordering stonings:
"A man from the tribe of Aslam came to the Prophet while he was in the mosque and said, 'I have committed illegal sexual intercourse.' The Prophet turned his face to the other side. The man turned towards the side towards which the Prophet had turned his face, and gave four witnesses against himself. On that the Prophet called him and said, 'Are you insane? Are you married?' The man said, 'Yes.' On that the Prophet ordered him to be stoned to death in the Musalla (a praying place)."
Sahih Bukhari 8:82:805
"A married man from the tribe of Bani Aslam who had committed illegal sexual intercourse and bore witnesses four times against himself was ordered by the Prophet to be stoned to death."
Sahih Bukhari 8:82:806
"A woman from Ghamid came to Allah's Messenger and said: 'I have committed adultery, so purify me.' He turned her away. On the following day she said: 'Why do you turn me away? By Allah, I am pregnant.' He said: 'If you insist upon it, then go away until you give birth.' When she gave birth she came with the child wrapped in rags and said: 'Here is the child I have given birth to.' He said: 'Go away and suckle him until you wean him.' When she had weaned him, she came to him with the child who was holding a piece of bread. She said: 'I have weaned him and he eats food.' He gave the child to one of the Muslims and then pronounced punishment. She was put in a ditch up to her chest and he commanded people and they stoned her."
Sahih Muslim 17:4206
The Theological Problem
This situation creates several profound problems for Islamic theology:
1. Quranic Preservation: Muslims claim the Quran has been perfectly preserved without addition or subtraction. Yet here is clear testimony from Muhammad's companions that verses were lost. How can both claims be true?
2. Legal Authority: If the verse is missing, on what basis do Muslims stone adulterers? The Quran mentions flogging for adultery (Surah 24:2) but never stoning. The practice relies entirely on hadith and the memory of a verse that supposedly existed.
3. Abrogation Confusion: Islamic scholars developed the concept of "naskh" (abrogation) to explain this—the idea that the verse's recitation was abrogated but its ruling remained. But this creates the absurd situation where Muslims must follow a commandment from a verse they cannot read or verify.
Modern Application
Stoning for adultery is not merely historical. It remains part of Sharia law in multiple countries and is actively practiced:
- Iran has stoned numerous individuals for adultery in recent decades
- Saudi Arabia includes stoning in its legal code
- Afghanistan under Taliban rule prescribes stoning
- Northern Nigeria's Sharia courts have issued stoning sentences
- Sudan, Somalia, and other nations with Sharia law include stoning provisions
The method is particularly brutal: the convicted person is buried up to the chest (women) or waist (men) and pelted with stones until death. Islamic jurisprudence even specifies the size of stones—not so large as to kill quickly, not so small as to fail to cause death.
The Quran's Alternative
Ironically, the Quran itself prescribes a different punishment for adultery:
"The woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication, flog each of them with a hundred stripes."
Quran 24:2
This creates an obvious contradiction. The Quran says to flog adulterers. The hadith says to stone them based on a missing verse. Which takes precedence? Islamic scholars have performed mental gymnastics to harmonize these, typically claiming the flogging applies to unmarried fornicators while stoning applies to married adulterers—a distinction found nowhere in the Quran itself.
Biblical Contrast
While the Old Testament Law did prescribe stoning for adultery (Deuteronomy 22:22-24), Jesus Christ dramatically transformed this approach:
"The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, 'Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?' This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.' And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.'"
John 8:3-11
Jesus didn't deny the seriousness of adultery—He called it sin and commanded her to "sin no more." But He offered grace and transformation rather than brutal execution. This reflects the consistent New Testament teaching that while all sin is serious, God offers forgiveness and new life through Christ rather than demanding death.
The Apostle Paul wrote: "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). In Christ, the penalty for all our sins—including adultery—was paid on the cross. Believers are called to holiness not through fear of stoning but through gratitude for grace and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
The Deeper Issue
The stoning controversy reveals something deeper about Islam's foundations. A religion claiming perfect textual preservation admits that verses were lost. A religion claiming to supersede Judaism and Christianity maintains a harsh penalty that Jesus explicitly set aside. A religion claiming divine justice prescribes a punishment so brutal that it shocks modern conscience.
Moreover, the practice reveals the ultimate authority in Islam. When the Quran says one thing (flogging) and the hadith says another (stoning based on a missing verse), which wins? The answer—the hadith and jurisprudence developed centuries after Muhammad—demonstrates that Islam is not truly "Quran alone" but rather "Quran as interpreted through tradition." And that tradition includes stoning people to death based on the memory of a verse that has vanished.
Questions to Consider
- If the Quran is perfectly preserved, how can verses have been lost?
- Is it just to enforce a punishment based on a verse that no longer exists in the holy book?
- Why does Islamic tradition maintain stoning when the Quran itself prescribes flogging?
- How do you reconcile a religion of mercy that stones people to death for adultery?
- Which approach better reflects divine justice and mercy—Jesus' response to the adulterous woman or Muhammad's practice of stoning?
- If modern Muslims find stoning barbaric, what does that say about the timeless nature of Sharia law?
- Can a legal system based on a missing verse truly claim to be from an all-knowing God?