Opposition to Rajm (Stoning to Death): Analysis and Refutation

[centi50]

I find his arguments void and unconvincing. Critique and comment welcomed

Muslims are often faced with the difficulty of people in the "modern" world pressuring them to change their viewpoints to conform better with what is socially accepted by society. Many of these people (not just non-Muslims, but Muslims as well) see the prescribed punishments of Allah as barbaric practices that should be done away with. They even say that society has advanced so we have moved away from needing such punishments. They seek to deny the very punishments that Allah has instated as most assuredly the best forms of punishment! One such punishment that is disparaged by these critics is the punishment of stoning the adulterers. In an effort to nullify the punishment, they bring up arguments about the hadiths that mention stoning or how it is not mentioned in the Qur'an. However, they fail to note that the hadiths that mention stoning were reported by the very same people who transmitted the Qur'an to us; you cannot deny one without denying the other! This article will dissect these many flawed arguments, and prove without a doubt that the punishment of stoning is supported by the Qur'an and has not been abrogated.

https://www.academia.edu/3656477/Opposition_to_Rajm_Stoning_to_Death_Analysis_and_Refutation

[Emre_1974tr]

A friend's writing:

"
A great slander against Allah and the Prophet: RAJM (stoning to death)

As is well known, adultery is one of the major sins in Islam, and Muslims are required to avoid this sin. However, even during the era of the Prophet, there were people who, despite calling themselves Muslims, succumbed to their desires and committed this sin. During the time of the Prophet, for those who were clearly proven to have committed this crime with four witnesses, Allah prescribed 100 lashes (with a thin stick that only stings the skin) in front of the community, regardless of whether the person was single or married, male or female. We learn this punishment from the following verses in Surah An-Nur:

"The woman and the man guilty of adultery... flog each of them with a hundred lashes... and let not pity for them deter you from obeying Allah's law, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let a group of believers witness their punishment." (24:2)

Long after the death of the Prophet, with the association of hadiths alongside the Qur'an, the punishment for adultery was changed to "rajm," or stoning to death, by the sects. Polytheistic, morally corrupt individuals who fabricated a religion in the name of Allah decided that the lashing punishment in the Qur'an should be applied to those who committed adultery while single, while those who committed adultery while married should be stoned to death—rajm(!!!). In this way, slander was thrown upon Allah and the Prophet, with ridiculous claims that there were indeed verses about rajm, but that these verses were eaten by a goat that entered Aisha's room.

Unfortunately, in modern times, this disgusting and inhumane punishment is still being applied in countries governed by Sharia law, and both Allah and the Prophet continue to be slandered through this practice.

However, Almighty Allah states in the Qur'an, and these morally corrupt individuals who defend stoning are supposedly aware of these verses:

"Whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, they are disbelievers." (Maida 44)
"Whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, they are wrongdoers." (Maida 45)
"Whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, they are defiantly disobedient." (Maida 47)

Furthermore, our Lord shows us how the polytheists slander Allah by following their ancestors rather than what Allah has revealed, as demonstrated in the following verses:

"When they commit an indecency, they say: 'We found our forefathers doing this, and Allah has commanded us to do it.' Say: 'Allah does not command indecency. Do you say about Allah that which you do not know?'" (Araf 28)

Now, let's examine the reasons why stoning to death for adultery committed by a married person is contrary to the Qur'an and is, in fact, a vile slander against Allah and His Messenger:

"Nisa 25: And whoever among you cannot afford to marry free, believing women, then marry from those whom your right hands possess of believing slave girls. Allah is most knowing about your faith. You are of one another. So marry them with the permission of their family and give them their due compensation according to what is acceptable, they should be chaste, not committing unlawful sexual intercourse or taking secret lovers. But if they commit adultery after marriage, then for them is half the punishment for free women. This allowance is for those of you who fear sin. But to be patient is better for you, and Allah is Forgiving and Merciful."

From the above verse, it is clearly seen that the punishment given to a non-free "married" woman is half that of a free woman. Is there such a thing as half of the punishment of being stoned to death? Of course not. However, half of 100 lashes is 50 lashes. This means that according to the Qur'an, if a non-free married woman commits adultery, she is punished with 50 lashes in public, while a free married woman is punished with 100 lashes in public.

Finally, let's look at what kind of people, according to the Qur'an, implement or threaten believers with stoning:

The pagan father of Prophet Ibrahim said to him:
"Do you turn away from my gods, O Ibrahim? If you do not stop, I will surely stone you. Stay away from me for a long time." (Maryam 46)

The polytheists also threatened Prophet Nuh in this way:
"They said, 'O Nuh, if you do not desist, you will surely be among those stoned to death.'" (Shu'ara 116)

The people of Pharaoh said the same to Prophet Musa:
"I seek refuge in my Lord and your Lord from every arrogant one who does not believe in the Day of Account." (Dukhan 20)

And the people who rejected the Companions of the Cave (Ashab al-Kahf) also threatened them with stoning:
"If they find you, they will stone you or force you back to their religion. And then you would never succeed." (Kahf 20)

As clearly seen from the verses, stoning is a punishment practiced by polytheists and idol worshipers in the Qur'an.

Muslims, and those who claim to be Muslims, must immediately abandon this inhumane practice and repent by submitting to the fact that the only source of religion is the Qur'an."

http://antispiritualist.blogspot.com/2012/02/allaha-ve-peygambere-atlan-buyuk-iftira.html

[Mazhar]

Firstly we should reflect on a strange and striking thing regards grammar rules:



Feminine participle is mentioned first and masculine later. This is exception to the normal rule of sequencing male and female. Why? 

[Emre_1974tr]

Firstly we should reflect on a strange and striking thing regards grammar rules:



Feminine participle is mentioned first and masculine later. This is exception to the normal rule of sequencing male and female. Why? 

Answer of GPT o1:

"Linguistic Emphasis: In Arabic, standard grammatical rules place masculine before feminine. However, deviations often serve to emphasize or highlight certain aspects. By placing the feminine first, the text might be underscoring a shift in focus, giving primacy to women or feminine qualities in that context.

Thematic Significance: This reversal could symbolize equality or even priority in certain divine decrees or societal roles, especially if the verse deals with ethics, responsibilities, or spiritual matters.

Cultural Reflection: It may challenge prevailing social norms where masculine dominance is assumed. The text might deliberately reverse the expected order to signal a break from convention, promoting inclusivity or balance.

Ultimately, the exact reason likely depends on the broader thematic context of the passage in question. This shift could serve as a subtle rhetorical device to reshape readers' perceptions about gender roles in the situation being discussed."

GPT o1

[Mazhar]

Answer of GPT o1:

"Linguistic Emphasis: In Arabic, standard grammatical rules place masculine before feminine. However, deviations often serve to emphasize or highlight certain aspects. By placing the feminine first, the text might be underscoring a shift in focus, giving primacy to women or feminine qualities in that context.

Thematic Significance: This reversal could symbolize equality or even priority in certain divine decrees or societal roles, especially if the verse deals with ethics, responsibilities, or spiritual matters.

Cultural Reflection: It may challenge prevailing social norms where masculine dominance is assumed. The text might deliberately reverse the expected order to signal a break from convention, promoting inclusivity or balance.

Ultimately, the exact reason likely depends on the broader thematic context of the passage in question. This shift could serve as a subtle rhetorical device to reshape readers' perceptions about gender roles in the situation being discussed."

GPT o1

Your GPT is fantastic.

Issue is linguistic and ground reality. The Root: ز ن ى is only applicable when a woman has desired intercourse with a man outside the fold of Nikah. Intercourse can be done with a woman forcefully also. In that case it will not be Zina but rape and punishment could extend to capital one.

[Bajram Hoxhaj]

Your GPT is fantastic.

Mira Murati et al (she's moved on recently to another AI startup) — I like the reference to HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey. No danger since AI cannot pre-conceptualize; if a new variable is encountered it becomes delusional. The danger is pushing political and ideological isms.

https://time.com/6252404/mira-murati-chatgpt-openai-interview/

[Wakas]

https://misconceptions-about-islam.com/misconception.php?id=2

[Bajram Hoxhaj]

I find his arguments void and unconvincing. Critique and comment welcomed

Muslims are often faced with the difficulty of people in the "modern" world pressuring them to change their viewpoints to conform better with what is socially accepted by society. Many of these people (not just non-Muslims, but Muslims as well) see the prescribed punishments of Allah as barbaric practices that should be done away with. They even say that society has advanced so we have moved away from needing such punishments. They seek to deny the very punishments that Allah has instated as most assuredly the best forms of punishment! One such punishment that is disparaged by these critics is the punishment of stoning the adulterers. In an effort to nullify the punishment, they bring up arguments about the hadiths that mention stoning or how it is not mentioned in the Qur'an. However, they fail to note that the hadiths that mention stoning were reported by the very same people who transmitted the Qur'an to us; you cannot deny one without denying the other! This article will dissect these many flawed arguments, and prove without a doubt that the punishment of stoning is supported by the Qur'an and has not been abrogated.

https://www.academia.edu/3656477/Opposition_to_Rajm_Stoning_to_Death_Analysis_and_Refutation

Salaam

Why isn't stoning mentioned? Did a goat eat the verses? Likewise, many of the Hadith are Ḍaʿīf (weak), and anyone could have injected themselves into the chain of narrators, especially 100+ years later when these began to proliferate for political legitimacy, etc. It's similar to the below hearsay, "God said so, obey!"

1 Samuel 15:2-3 "Thus says the Lord of hosts, 'I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'"

Numbers 31:17 "Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him."

Deuteronomy 3:6 "We completely destroyed them, as we had done with Sihon king of Heshbon, destroying every city—men, women and children."

Joshua 6:21 "They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys."

https://sunnah.com/bulugh/10/11

Sa'id bin Sa'd bin 'Ubadah (RAA) narrated, 'A small weak man was staying in our tribe, and he committed adultery with one of their slave-women. Sa'd mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and thereupon he said, "Flog him (according to) the prescribed penalty." The people then said, 'O Messenger of Allah! He is too weak to bear it.' The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then said, "Get a stalk of the raceme of a palm tree with a hundred twigs and strike him just once." So, they did. Related by Ahmad, An-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah with a good chain of narrators.

I was glancing through a few hadith and found these two interesting...


Volume 8, Book 82, Number 806:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
A man came to Allah's Apostle while he was in the mosque, and he called him, saying, "O Allah's Apostle! I have committed illegal sexual intercourse.'" The Prophet turned his face to the other side, but that man repeated his statement four times, and after he bore witness against himself four times, the Prophet called him, saying, "Are you mad?" The man said, "No." The Prophet said, "Are you married?" The man said, "Yes." Then the Prophet said, 'Take him away and stone him to death." Jabir bin 'Abdullah said: I was among the ones who participated in stoning him and we stoned him at the Musalla. When the stones troubled him, he fled, but we over took him at Al-Harra and stoned him to death.

Volume 8, Book 82, Number 812:
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
While I was with the Prophet a man came and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have committed a legally punishable sin; please inflict the legal punishment on me'.' The Prophet did not ask him what he had done. Then the time for the prayer became due and the man offered prayer along with the Prophet , and when the Prophet had finished his prayer, the man again got up and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have committed a legally punishable sin; please inflict the punishment on me according to Allah's Laws." The Prophet said, "Haven't you prayed with us?' He said, "Yes." The Prophet said, "Allah has forgiven your sin." or said, "....your legally punishable sin."


Easy to see which hadith above echoes Qur'an and which is the distorted version.

Who knows they could both be fake; although that last one sort of makes sense to me.

[Bajram Hoxhaj]

By the way, for all the numerology folks:
The timestamp of Nun de Plume's post:
7/31/2007 02:54:08

7 31 2007 025408

Hadith Volume 8, Book 82, Number 812:

7 31 2007 025408 8 82 812 = 19 x 384842475021520148

7 31 2007 = 20
025408  = 19
8 82 812 = 29
digit total = 68

384842475021520148

38484 = 27
2475021 = 21
520148 = 20
digit total = 68

68:1 Nūn Wa Al-Qalami Wa Mā Yasţurūna

Cool 😎

Salaam

[centi50]

Answer of GPT o1:

"Linguistic Emphasis: In Arabic, standard grammatical rules place masculine before feminine. However, deviations often serve to emphasize or highlight certain aspects. By placing the feminine first, the text might be underscoring a shift in focus, giving primacy to women or feminine qualities in that context.

Thematic Significance: This reversal could symbolize equality or even priority in certain divine decrees or societal roles, especially if the verse deals with ethics, responsibilities, or spiritual matters.

Cultural Reflection: It may challenge prevailing social norms where masculine dominance is assumed. The text might deliberately reverse the expected order to signal a break from convention, promoting inclusivity or balance.

Ultimately, the exact reason likely depends on the broader thematic context of the passage in question. This shift could serve as a subtle rhetorical device to reshape readers' perceptions about gender roles in the situation being discussed."

GPT o1

Bro your use of AI is very nice

Please can you show me the prompt and data you inluted to get that answer. I want to learn

God bless you