“Fatwa”

The question in this post is: “Why is it that stoning to death is considered the Islamic punishment for adultery by so many, when it is not mentioned anywhere in the Quran and the punishment for illegal sex (zina) is clearly stated to be 100 lashes?” The reply, given by Sheikh Muhammad Ali Al-Hanooti, states a Muslim believes in the Qur’an and Hadith as two major sources of revelation. If one denies stoning for adultery then he/she is of the people who deny Hadith as a source of Islamic Law, which is used by almost all the schools of Shari’a.

A follow-up question: “The Qur'an has clearly stated a specific punishment (lashing for adultery) so wouldn´t using another punishment be contradicting the revelation of God? Wouldn´t a Hadith stating another punishment be contradictory to the Qur'an and therefore not valid? Or, if it is valid must it not have been under some special circumstances or maybe before the revelation of the specific punishment mentioned in the Qur'an? I want to be clear that I do not reject Hadith as a source of Islam, however I do not understand this particular Hadith and how it can be valid since I feel it is contradictory to the Qur'an, which as the revealed word of God, should be our primary source and what we should compare all other sources to.” The reply, given by Sheikh Muhammad Ali Al-Hanooti, states that the Hadith of stoning is not contradictory but it is additional to the Qur'an. Stoning is the preeminent example for how the Hadith could provide an additional law added to what is provided in the Qur'an.