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Requesting Hadith regarding stoning

Question

I read a Hadith attributed to Caliph Umar bin Kathaab saying that there was an Ayah of the Qur'an where Allaah Commanded 'Rajma' i.e. stoning. He said that they all read and memorized the verse. I have searched the entire Qur'an but could not find it; I only saw the one about flogging. Could you please help me confirm this statement and interpret it for my benefit?

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

This narration is correct and it is reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  them. It is mentioned in Fatwa: 85019. The meaning of the narration is that stoning to death is confirmed by the Qur'an as it is confirmed by the Sunnah and the act of the companions  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  them. The verse in this narration is among those verses whose text were abrogated as the scholars may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  them stated, but its ruling remained valid.

For more benefit, it should be noted that texts that have been abrogated (whether from Qur'an or the Sunnah) are of two kinds:

1) Verses whose text and ruling has been abrogated (i.e. neither the text of the verse remained nor the ruling), like what 'Aa'ishah  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  her narrated that ''at the beginning ten known sucklings make the woman a Mahram for the baby who suckled from her, this was later abrogated.'' [Muslim]

2) Verses whose texts were abrogated but their ruling remained, like the verse of stoning to death (of adultery).

3) Verses whose texts remained by their rulings were abrogated, like the saying of Allaah (which means): {And those who are taken in death among you and leave wives behind - for their wives is a bequest: maintenance for one year without turning [them] out.}[Qur'an 2:240].

Allaah knows best.

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