Gavin Howe
Stoning, or Rajm, in Islam refers to the Hudud punishment where a group throws stones at a convicted individual until they die. While stoning is not mentioned in the Quran, it is prescribed in various hadiths, and some versions of Sharia law consider it the punishment for adultery by a married person. This requires a confession or four witnesses of sexual penetration. However, the Quran only mentions lashing as a punishment for adultery, and some Muslim sects disagree with the legality of Rajm. The implementation of stoning is rare today, practiced primarily in Afghanistan under the Taliban.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Stoning under Sharia law | Prescribed punishment for adultery based on the Quran and the Hadith as primary sources |
| Stoning in the Quran | The Quran does not prescribe stoning as a punishment for any crime, mentioning only lashing as punishment for adultery |
| Stoning in the Hadith | Stoning is prescribed in various Hadiths as a punishment for adultery |
| Countries with stoning provisions in their laws | Afghanistan, Brunei, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen |
| Countries where stoning has been carried out | Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Nigeria, Pakistan |
| Conditions for stoning punishment | Either a confession from the adulterer or adulteress, or four witnesses of sexual penetration |
| Stoning procedure | The hands of the convicted are tied behind their backs, their bodies are put in a cloth sack, and they are buried in a hole with only their heads showing above the ground |
| Stoning in Islamic jurisprudence | Hanafi, Maliki, Shafii, and Hanbali schools of jurisprudence consider stoning as the required punishment for adultery by a married or widowed person |
| Other punishments for adultery | Lashing, exile, death by other means |
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What You'll Learn
Stoning in Islamic Law
Stoning, or Rajm in Arabic, is a form of capital punishment in Islamic Law. It involves throwing stones at a convicted individual until they die. Stoning is prescribed as a punishment for adultery, particularly when committed by a married person. This interpretation of Islamic law is based on specific readings of the Quran and the traditions and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (known as hadiths).
According to these interpretations, stoning is the punishment for married adulterers and certain other unlawful sexual relations, including homosexual relationships. The Quran, however, prescribes flogging as the punishment for adultery, and some commentators argue that stoning was introduced to change the social norms of the time and encourage respect for individual privacy. The Quran also stipulates stringent requirements for accusing someone of adultery, requiring the testimony of four eyewitnesses who must have witnessed the sexual act and provide consistent descriptions.
The implementation of stoning as a punishment is relatively rare, primarily practiced in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime and occasionally in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The punishment has been a subject of debate, with some Muslim sects and modernists disagreeing with its legality due to its conflict with Quranic prescriptions. Additionally, the strict evidential requirements stipulated by Islamic law make it challenging to implement stoning in practice.
The procedure for stoning, as described in Islamic law, involves tying the criminal's hands behind their back and placing their body in a cloth sack. They are then buried in a hole, with only their head (or shoulders, in the case of a woman) showing above the ground. The stones used should be of a size that inflicts serious injury but does not cause death immediately.
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Adultery and punishment
Adultery is considered a serious crime in Islamic law, known as Zina. The Quran and Hadiths provide rules and guidelines for addressing adultery, and Islamic scholars have interpreted these sources to establish punishments for adulterers.
According to traditional interpretations of Islamic law, stoning to death (رجم Rajm) is the prescribed punishment for married adulterers. This punishment also applies to certain other unlawful sexual relations, including homosexual relationships. The procedure for stoning involves tying the hands of the accused behind their backs, placing their bodies in a cloth sack, and burying them in a hole with only their heads exposed. The stones used are chosen to cause serious injury without resulting in a quick death. However, the implementation of stoning as a punishment is rare today, practised primarily in regions under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and occasionally in the Islamic Republic.
The Quran also outlines specific rules regarding the punishment for adultery, prescribing flogging or lashing as the penalty. This punishment involves administering one hundred lashes to the guilty party. Additionally, the Quran emphasizes the importance of providing irrefutable evidence of adultery, requiring the presence of four eyewitnesses who can attest to witnessing the sexual act and provide consistent descriptions. This high standard of proof makes it challenging to validate accusations of adultery.
In the past, there have been instances where the Prophet was pressured by the population, particularly Jewish scholars, to apply punitive sanctions such as stoning. However, the Quran attempts to establish a reformist vision by invalidating the Hebrew law of stoning and promoting respect for the private lives of individuals. The mentality of the people at the time struggled to accept these progressive measures, which contradicted their values of honour and social reputation.
It is worth noting that the position of modern Islamic scholars on adultery punishments varies from country to country. For example, in Malaysia, which follows the Shafi'i fiqh, the Syariah (Sharia) Criminal Offences Act outlines penalties for adultery, including fines, imprisonment, or whipping.
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Stoning in the Quran
Stoning, or Rajm, is not mentioned as a form of capital punishment in the Quran. However, it is referenced in multiple hadiths, which are reports that quote what Prophet Muhammad said on various matters. Sunni Muslims regard the hadiths as a valid source of Sharia law, second only to the Quran.
According to traditional interpretations of Islamic law, stoning is a punishment for married adulterers and certain other unlawful sexual relations, including homosexual relationships. The Quran, however, specifies lashing as the punishment for unlawful sexual relations and is interpreted as applying to unmarried fornicators. The Quran also attempts to establish a reformist vision to change social norms by invalidating the Hebrew law of stoning and encouraging respect for individual privacy.
The implementation of stoning as a punishment is rare in Islamic history due to the strict evidential requirements of Islamic law. Islamic law requires the presence of four eyewitnesses who must have witnessed the sexual act and provide identical descriptions. The Quran also punishes those who present false testimonies with the same penalty as adulterers: flogging and the loss of civil rights.
Islamic modernist Javed Ahmad Ghamidi argues that Quranic verses prescribe stoning only for those who habitually commit fornication, such as prostitutes, which is considered "mischief in the land" and punishable by death according to Quranic verses 5:33-34. However, this interpretation is not widely accepted by most Islamic scholars.
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Stoning in Hadiths
Stoning, or Rajm in Arabic, is a form of capital punishment in Islam where a group throws stones at a convicted individual until they die. It is a controversial topic, with some Muslim sects disagreeing with the legality of the practice. However, stoning is mentioned in multiple Hadiths, which are reports claiming to quote what Muhammad said verbatim.
According to the Hadiths, stoning was prescribed as a punishment for adultery or zina (illicit sexual intercourse). For example, in Sahih Muslim Book 17, Abu Huraira reported that a man confessed to adultery in front of Allah's Messenger, who then ordered that the man be stoned to death. Another similar account is narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah, where a man committed fornication and was stoned to death after it was discovered that he was married.
In another narration, Jaabir ibn Samurah reported that a short-statured man with thick, uncombed hair and a muscular body committed adultery and was stoned to death. Allah's Messenger then addressed the people, saying that if a person committed such a deed, he should be punished.
The Hadiths also mention that stoning was prescribed for married adulterers, with one narration stating that a married man and a married woman who committed adultery together would receive one hundred lashes and then be stoned to death.
It is important to note that the Quran does not explicitly mention stoning as a form of punishment. The discrepancy between the Quran and the Hadiths is explained by a story in the Hadiths, where a verse prescribing stoning was eaten by a goat, resulting in its omission from the Quran. However, classical Islamic jurisprudence imposed stoning as a hadd punishment based on the Hadiths.
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Stoning in recent times
Stoning, a form of execution where a group throws stones at a person until they die, still occurs in parts of the Muslim world, primarily as a punishment for adultery. Most victims are women.
In recent times, stoning has been practised in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Nigeria, and Pakistan. In Afghanistan, stoning became an official punishment for adultery during the Taliban's rule from 1996 to 2001. Although it was abolished after their overthrow, stoning is still practised in areas controlled by the Taliban, warlords, and tribal leaders. In 2013, a 21-year-old woman named Najiba was stoned to death in front of more than 100 cheering men after being accused of "moral crimes" by local warlords in Parwan province.
In Iran, stoning is a legal punishment, and the country has the world's highest rate of execution by stoning. Men are typically buried up to their waists, while women are buried up to their chests. In 2010, the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a woman sentenced to death by stoning for alleged adultery, caused international outrage. While her sentence has been suspended, she remains in prison. In 2021, the Iranian parliament passed a law amending articles related to the Penal Code, and hard-line fundamentalist judges have continued to impose stoning sentences carried out in secret.
In Iraq, various groups have used stoning as a form of punishment. In 2007, Du'a Khalil Aswad, a Yazidi girl, was stoned to death by her fellow tribesmen in northern Iraq, sparking large-scale protests and retaliatory attacks by militant Muslims due to conflicting reports of her conversion to Islam. In 2008, a 16-year-old girl, Kurdistan Aziz, was stoned to death in Iraqi Kurdistan by her relatives after eloping with a man her family disapproved of. In 2012, at least 14 youths were stoned to death in Baghdad as part of a Shi'ite militant campaign against Western-style "emo" fashion.
In Nigeria, stoning is a punishment for adultery in the 12 northern states that adopted Sharia penal codes between 1999 and 2001. In Pakistan, extrajudicial stonings have been known to happen in recent times. In March 2013, a Pakistani soldier was publicly stoned to death for allegedly having a love affair with a girl from a village in the country's north.
In 2014, a new version of the law was passed in Brunei, which includes a mandatory death penalty by stoning for various crimes. However, the Sultan has declared that the country's moratorium on the death penalty would also apply to this law. In 2019, Brunei implemented a new Sharia Penal Code, but the country has not carried out any executions since 1957.
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Frequently asked questions
Stoning, or Rajm in Arabic, is a form of capital punishment in which an organised group throws stones at a convicted individual until they die.
No, the Quran does not prescribe stoning as a punishment for any crime. However, stoning is mentioned in various hadiths, or classical Islamic jurisprudence, as a punishment for certain forms of unlawful sexual intercourse.
Under some interpretations of Sharia law, stoning is the prescribed punishment for adultery committed by a married person. This requires either a confession from the adulterer or the production of four witnesses of sexual penetration.
