In answer to the video "Top 5 Misconceptions About Islam - Debunked (Merciful Servant)"
Per the Quran, the punishment for adultery and fornication is 100 lashes for both men and women who are considered equally guilty 24:2-3. This shows that contrary to popular belief, stoning to death is a Biblical command, not a Quranic one, just as honor killing is found again in the Bible Gen34:1,31 not the Quran. The punishment for adultery in the Quran is preceded by an admonishment to the reader
"a sura We have revealed and made obligatory and in which we have revealed clear communications that you may be mindful".
It is a solemn warning against any attempt at widening or re-defining its injunctions. This refutes the traditional interpretation that the adulters must be stoned to death solely for this specific transgression. According to certain accounts, Aisha was accused of adultery. Those involved in passing the rumours were not just hypocrites, but Muslims like Hassan bin Thabit, meaning it 'qualified' as acceptable in hadith methodology as far as isnad is concerned. The Quran stated, that instead of this news was passed from tongue to tongue, the Muslims should have declared it a fabrication from the very outset. The principle is just because something is mentioned in 'numbers', doesn't mean 'valid'. The content of the report is a huge factor in determining whether something is acceptable or not and the notion that because something is narrated by a group of people does not make it any stronger. In fact, sometimes scholars would say the numericity of the report indicates its falsehood. Islamic legislation, as will be shown below, provides guarantees which make it hard for injustice the like of which Aisha was accused of, to take place. It makes it almost impossible for punishment to be inflicted on the basis of suspicion or mistaken identity. Another thing to note is that Islam is a complete code of living, promoting a lifestyle that prevents transgression, such as with the various dresscodes and directives for gender interactions. That is why punishment becomes justified upon individuals that abandon this system in order to deliberately submerge themselves in filth.
Per the Quran, physical punishment is followed by social alienation of those that are proven guilty of adultery, and that do not decisively repent and mend their ways. Their future marriages may only be between similar sexual offenders, like themselves. In the process of delivering the prescribed punishment, no leniency is permitted. As a general rule in all offences, when the crime or offence is proved prior to the guilty repenting and mending his/her way, decisiveness and firmness of rule must be observed, and false sentiments, which harm the system of society, must be put away.
As stated in 4:25, the physical punishment for adultery is to be halved when it involves certain women, raised in particular difficult social conditions that may have affected their deed. If the punishment for adultery was death by stoning, then the very idea of halving the punishment of a woman would be absurd. Stoning to death cannot be halved. This verse also establishes that the social context of one caught should be taken into account, at least as far as the Quran is concerned.
The only time the Quran allows death to a crime (without specifiying the execution method) as an extreme measure, among other severe measures, is murder 2:178 and spreading corruption in the land 5:33. And even in such cases, as well as others like theft where violent punishment is prescribed 5:38-40, physical punishement or death are only used against criminals who insist on transgression before the government is able to seize them. This speaks of criminals who actually have to be subdued by force so as to safeguard society. This is corroborated in the Arabic language where sariq (masc) and sariqa (fem) are adjectives and denote thoroughness and completeness in the characteristics of the word they qualify.
An important thing to keep in mind is that this punishement is one that is prescribed within a society where the just Islamic system is implemented as a whole, where its members earn their living fairly and have the entire right to enjoy it freely and securely, where a portion of their wealth is used to meet the needs of the less fortunate, and where such crime is totally unjustified. That is why when the Muslim state was stricken by famine under the second caliphate, that the government could not guarantee the needs of all of its citizen, Umar suspended the enforcement of the punishment for theft. When a camel belonging to a man of the tribe of Muzaynah was stolen by 2 men, Umar ordered their hands to be cut off. But when he learned that their master kept them hungry, he punished their master instead, imposing on him a fine equivalent to the price of two camels. But when the Islamic law is implemented to its fullest and that should a person shouldnt have to resort to theft to answer his basic needs, then it means the crime was meant at increasing one's wealth and status at the expense of others. The thief in that case is one that deems legitimate aqcuisition of wealth and status to difficult, so he seeks it through easier but illegitimate means. The Quran then counters that perverse mindframe by making it even harder for the one proven guilty to seek wealth in a legitimate manner, permanently reducing him, both in his appearance and abilities.
The Quran does therefore mention the death penalty for certain transgressions. The question then arises as to why would it omit doing likewise in the context of adultery, which is spoken of in greater length than murder and fasad fil ard?
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