The Verse on Stoning: Can we call such verses the Qur'aan?

Is the Verse on Stoning FAKE?

By: Shahid Bin Waheed شاهد بن وحيد

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الحمدلله رب العالمين والصلوة والسلام على اشرف الانبياء وسيدالمرسلين نبينا محمد صل ا لله عليه وعلى آله واصحابه وازواجه اجمعين - امابعد

All the praises and thanks be to Allaah, Sustainer of the Universe, and blessing and salutation to be the most distinguish of the Messengers and foremost among the Prophets, our Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allaah be on him and on his wives, children and Companions.

An alleged Qur’aanic verse has been put forward (quoted below) with claim that it is about stoning and/or is about the punishment of Hudd حد crime. We will inSha Allaah scrutinize the alleged verse in this treatise.

There is no equivalence in the import of the Arabic and English words generally held to be synonyms. The Arabic word {Zina'a زنا، زنی، الزنی} for instance, has no equivalent in English, both 'adultery' and 'fornication' being of much narrower import.

While comparing the following alleged Ayaah آيه (verse) about stoning with Ayaat آيات of the Glorious Qur’aan about same subject, we noticed.

In the alleged verse cited above, the first two words used for male and female have blown the cover. The word “Shaykh or Shaikh or Sheikh” is derived from root letters ش ي خ

The word “ Shaykha” شيخة (for female) is not a part of Qur’aanic vocabulary, it is also not found in the Arabic dictionary. The word “Shaikh” شيخ means an old man, old, aged, advanced in years, senescent, to age, grow old (also chieftain, chief, head, leader, master, elder زَعيم). The words derived from the root letters cited above have been used in Glorious Qur’aan four times as cited below with references. I will elaborate their use by quoting the respective verses.

الشَّيْخ : مَن بلغ الشَّيْخُوخَة ، وهي غالبا عند الخمسين .

شَيْخٌ Used in 28:23

وَلَمَّا وَرَدَ مَاء مَدْيَنَ وَجَدَ عَلَيْهِ أُمَّةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ يَسْقُونَ وَوَجَدَ مِن دُونِهِمُ امْرَأتَيْنِ تَذُودَانِ قَالَ مَا خَطْبُكُمَا قَالَتَا لَا نَسْقِي حَتَّى يُصْدِرَ الرِّعَاء وَأَبُونَا شَيْخٌ كَبِيرٌ

And when he arrived at the water of Madyan (Midian) he found there a group of men watering (their flocks), and besides them he found two women who were keeping back (their flocks). He said: "What is the matter with you?" They said: "We cannot water (our flocks) until the shepherds take (their flocks). And our father is a very old man."

شَيْخًا Used in 11:72 & 12:78

قَالَتْ يَا وَيْلَتَى أَأَلِدُ وَأَنَاْ عَجُوزٌ وَهَـذَا بَعْلِي شَيْخاً إِنَّ هَـذَا لَشَيْءٌ عَجِيبٌ

She said (in astonishment): "Woe unto me! Shall I bear a child while I am an old woman, and here is my husband, an old man? Verily! This is a strange thing!"

قَالُواْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْعَزِيزُ إِنَّ لَهُ أَباً شَيْخاً كَبِيراً فَخُذْ أَحَدَنَا مَكَانَهُ إِنَّا نَرَاكَ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

They said: "O ruler of the land! Verily, he has an old father (who will grieve for him); so take one of us in his place. Indeed we think that you are one of the Muhsinoon (good-doers - see V.2: 112)."

شُيُوخًا : جمع شَيْخٍ Plural of Shaikh or Sheikh

شُيُوخًا Used in 40:67

هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُم مِّن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ ثُمَّ مِنْ عَلَقَةٍ ثُمَّ يُخْرِجُكُمْ طِفْلاً ثُمَّ لِتَبْلُغُوا أَشُدَّكُمْ ثُمَّ لِتَكُونُوا شُيُوخاً وَمِنكُم مَّن يُتَوَفَّى مِن قَبْلُ وَلِتَبْلُغُوا أَجَلاً مُّسَمًّى وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ

He, it is Who has created you (Adam) from dust, then from a Nutfah (mixed semen drops of male and female discharge (i.e. Adams offspring) then from a clot (a piece of coagulated blood), then brings you forth as children, then (makes you grow) to reach the age of full strength, and afterwards to be old (men and women), though some among you die before, and that you reach an appointed term, in order that you may understand.

Readers should notice that in the above Ayaah آيه 40:67 the word used for old (men and women) is شُيُوخاً (aged and old ones), which according to Arabic grammar is a noun (broken plural)[accusative case]. Glorious Qur’aan has used the word cAJOZ عجوز for old woman. The word #Y—qègx” has been derived from root letters ع ج ز, the word —qàftã means “woman who has passed child bearing age.” For example in Ayaah آيه 11:72!

قَالَتْ يَا وَيْلَتَى أَأَلِدُ وَأَنَاْ عَجُوزٌ وَهَـذَا بَعْلِي شَيْخاً إِنَّ هَـذَا لَشَيْءٌ عَجِيبٌ

She said (in astonishment): "Woe unto me! Shall I bear a child while I am an old woman, and here is my husband, an old man? Verily! This is a strange thing!"

One mind-boggling question remains to be answered is that, why this alleged verse has only addressed to old man and woman explicitly (entertaining the absurd and impossible idea that young married people {men & women} either can’t commit adultery or Hudd حد punishment does not apply on them), knowing the facts the Ahkaam احكام and/or Hudd حد injunctions in the Glorious Qur’aan are in general terms? The next question would be why this alleged verse has not used the term شُيُوخاً for old men and women as used in Ayaah آيه 40:67?

We must know and understand the Islaamic Shariah rules about abrogation نسخ and abrogated منسوخ. Abu Dawood رحمة الله عليه, Ibn Majah رحمة الله عليه, Musnad Ahmad رحمة الله عليه, Ruh-ul-Ma’ni, and Imaam Razi رحمة الله عليه, in his Tafsîr has quoted on the authority of Umar رضی الله عنه that there was an Ayaah آيه in the Glorious Qur’aan about stoning. Readers must know that Umar رضی الله عنه did not tell the wording of that Ayaah آيه about stoning, nor did he tell that if there is a separate Ayaah آيه beside the Ayaah آيه in Surah Noor سورة النور and why it is not included in the Glorious Qur’aan. He only said that if there was no risk involved that people would put a blame on him of making addition in the Book of Allaah, he would have written this verse on a corner of the Qur’aan (al-Nasai’). Another point to be noted that Umar رضی الله عنه did not say that he would have included this verse in the Qur’aan. But before one jumps the gun, he must know that Islaamic Shariah rule about Naskh نسخ includes: Naskh نسخ of recitation and not the commandment. There are also very few Ayaat آيات is Glorious Qur’aan which are recited but command[s] have been abrogated.

Can we call this verse the Qur’aan?

The answer is no, we cannot call and/or consider it the Qur’aan. For Glorious Qur’aan Tawatur تواتر (continuity) is a must. The Glorious Qur’aan is defined as,

(صلى الله عليه وسلم) انه الكلام المعجزُ المنزلُ علی النّبى

المكتوب فى المصاحف المنقول باتواتر، المتعبد بتلاوته

“It is the word of Allaah, miraculous, revealed on the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, written in Mus-haf مصحاف, passed on from generation to generation with Tawatur تواتر (continuity)[recitation of which is done as a worship].”

Tawatur تواتر (continuity) means that something is passed on in such as way that in each generation its narrators and/or reciters are so numerous that they cannot be counted and it is logically impossible for so many people living in different parts of the world to get united for telling a lie and/or making a mistake. For an Ayaah آيه (verse) to be a part of Qur’aan this Tawatur تواتر (continuity) is must. Therefore, only those Ayaat آيات of the Glorious Qur’aan which have come to us from Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم by Tawatur تواتر (continuity) are recited as the Qur’aan. An interesting fact must be mentioned here that Jews and especially Christians cannot produce the Tawatur تواتر (continuity) for their scriptures, tracing their scriptures back to Moses and/or Jesus and/or any other Biblical prophets etc. beside making hollow claims.

Let again examine the Qur’aanic phraseology as we find in Ayaah 24:2 regarding the Hudd حد crime,

الزَّانِيَةُ وَالزَّانِي فَاجْلِدُوا كُلَّ وَاحِدٍ مِّنْهُمَا مِئَةَ جَلْدَةٍ وَلَا تَأْخُذْكُم بِهِمَا رَأْفَةٌ فِي دِينِ اللَّهِ إِن كُنتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَلْيَشْهَدْ عَذَابَهُمَا طَائِفَةٌ مِّنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

The woman who is guilty of illegal sexual intercourse الزَّانِيَةُ

The man who is guilty of illegal sexual intercourse وَالزَّانِي

Glorious Qur’aan has discussed this issue in Surah An-Nisaسورة النساء as we read in Ayaah آيه 4:15[& 16] that I quote:

وَاللاَّتِي يَأْتِينَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مِن نِّسَآئِكُمْ فَاسْتَشْهِدُواْ عَلَيْهِنَّ أَرْبَعةً مِّنكُمْ فَإِن شَهِدُواْ فَأَمْسِكُوهُنَّ فِي الْبُيُوتِ حَتَّىَ يَتَوَفَّاهُنَّ الْمَوْتُ أَوْ يَجْعَلَ اللّهُ لَهُنَّ سَبِيلاً

أَوْ يَجْعَلَ اللّهُ لَهُنَّ سَبِيلاً (or Allah ordains for them some (other) way. {or Allaah prescribes a way for them}). The punishment mentioned in Surah An-Nisaسورة النساء to confine women in their homes was regarded sufficient at that time. Therefore, it was revealed later the punishment of fornication is exclusively 100 lashes and the punishment of adultery is stoning to death for married man and woman according to Ibn Abbas رضی الله عنه, who said:

الرّجم للثّيب واجلد للبكر

It is prescribed that if the married man and woman commit this crime then they should be stoned to death and the punishment of unmarried culprit is a hundred stripes. (Sahih Bukhari, Kitabut-Tafseer p. 657 صحيح بخارى، كتاب التفسير)

In conclusion, we can say with confidence that the alleged verse about stoning is fake, which is poles apart from Qur’aanic language and its richness; let alone meeting the Islaamic Shariah rule of Tawatur تواتر (continuity).