Rajm
Encyclopedia
Rajm is an Arabic
word that means "stoning
". It is commonly used to refer to the Hudud
punishment wherein an organized group throws stones at a convicted individual until that person dies. Traditionally it is called for in cases of adultery
where the criteria for conviction are met. One Muslim
view is that stoning
is the appropriate punishment for adultery committed by a married man or woman with someone who is not legal to him/her. Another view is that it is applicable to rapists and prostitutes. Other Muslims disagree entirely regarding its legality, arguing that it cannot be found in the Qur'an, and the practice goes against some of its verses, particularly those in the Sura
an-Nur
.
the punishment of stoning
has been prescribed as punishment for married men or women who have committed adultery, following a confession or the testimony of four eye-witnesses. It has no basis in the Qur'an
and contradicts Chapter (Surah An-Nur) 24 of that book which requires that the punishment be 100 lashes. Persons who accuse a woman of adultery but are not able to bring four witnesses are liable to a punishment of 80 lashes and to be unacceptable as witnesses unless they repent and reform. The testimony of those who accuse their own spouse without any other witnesses may be accepted if they swear by God four times that they are telling the truth with a fifth oath to incur God's condemnation if they be lying. The accused shall be considered innocent if they swear by God four times that the spouse is a liar, again with the fifth oath inviting God's wrath if the spouse be telling the truth.
Rajm is carried out differently depending upon if the subject is female or male. If the subject is female then she is to be buried up to her chest and stoned until dead. If the subject is male then he is buried up to his waist and stoned until dead.
Stoning punishments have been considered or handed down recently in Nigeria and Somalia for the crimes of adultery
and sodomy
.
is the Hadith of Umar's speech of forbidding Mut'ah and the Hadith of the Verse of Stoning. There are also other ahadith regarding stoning
.
The first hadith contradicts the Qur'an and, following the rules of Fiqh
, such a hadith, of doubtful origin and in clear opposition to the Qur'an, should be discarded. The principles of Islamic Jurisprudence
, particularly that of Shatibi
, state that Sunnah
(the recorded ways and sayings of the prophet Muhammad) provides either an explanation of or an addition to the Qur'an. If it is an explanation its status is secondary to the Quran. It can only be an addition if it has not been discussed by the Qur'an. It is not clear from the second hadith that Muhammad accepted stoning to death after the revelation of the Sura al-Nur quoted above so there is in the first place no real argument from tradition that the death-penalty may legitimately be applied. Further, in the book The Life of Muhammad, Hadhrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmood Ahmad says that the Prophet Muhammad said that the laws count only when the acts are manifest (i.e. when are made openly).
can establish laws which the Qur'an does not mention.
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, a Pakistan
i Islamic scholar, has postulated that the Quran does not support Rajm for adultery- his views are based on a close reading of the Quranic text. Ghamidi claims that stoning
is prescribed only in extreme cases - for someone who rape
s or habitually commits fornication as prostitutes do, which then constitute malfeasance in the land that is punishable according to other Quranic verses. The hadith reports attributed to the Prophet also support this view:
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
word that means "stoning
Stoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
". It is commonly used to refer to the Hudud
Hudud
Hudud is the word often used in Islamic literature for the bounds of acceptable behaviour and the punishments for serious crimes...
punishment wherein an organized group throws stones at a convicted individual until that person dies. Traditionally it is called for in cases of adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
where the criteria for conviction are met. One Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
view is that stoning
Stoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
is the appropriate punishment for adultery committed by a married man or woman with someone who is not legal to him/her. Another view is that it is applicable to rapists and prostitutes. Other Muslims disagree entirely regarding its legality, arguing that it cannot be found in the Qur'an, and the practice goes against some of its verses, particularly those in the Sura
Sura
A sura is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 ayat...
an-Nur
An-Nur
Surat Al-Nur is the 24th sura of the Qur'an with 64 ayat.- Background :The general agreement of scholars is that this sura was revealed shortly before or after the Battle of the Trench in 5 AH-Content:...
.
Overview
In some schools of Islamic lawSharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
the punishment of stoning
Stoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
has been prescribed as punishment for married men or women who have committed adultery, following a confession or the testimony of four eye-witnesses. It has no basis in the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
and contradicts Chapter (Surah An-Nur) 24 of that book which requires that the punishment be 100 lashes. Persons who accuse a woman of adultery but are not able to bring four witnesses are liable to a punishment of 80 lashes and to be unacceptable as witnesses unless they repent and reform. The testimony of those who accuse their own spouse without any other witnesses may be accepted if they swear by God four times that they are telling the truth with a fifth oath to incur God's condemnation if they be lying. The accused shall be considered innocent if they swear by God four times that the spouse is a liar, again with the fifth oath inviting God's wrath if the spouse be telling the truth.
Rajm is carried out differently depending upon if the subject is female or male. If the subject is female then she is to be buried up to her chest and stoned until dead. If the subject is male then he is buried up to his waist and stoned until dead.
Stoning punishments have been considered or handed down recently in Nigeria and Somalia for the crimes of adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
and sodomy
Sodomy
Sodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...
.
Quran
The Qur'an (An-Nur 24:2–9) mentions punishment for adultery or fornication but not stoning. Verse 24:4–5 also mentions the conditions for proving the charge.
24:2
The adulteress and the adulterer you shall whip each of them a hundred lashes. Do not be swayed by pity from carrying out God's law, if you truly believe in God and the Last Day. And let a group of believers witness their penalty.
24:3
The adulterer will end up marrying an adulteress or an idol worshiper and the adulteress will end up marrying an adulterer or an idol worshiper. This is prohibited for believers.
24:4
Those who accuse married women of adultery then fail to produce four witnesses, you shall whip them eighty lashes and not accept any testimony from them: they are wicked.
24:5
If they repent afterwards and reform, God is the Forgiver, the Merciful.
24:6
As for those who accuse their own spouses without any other witnesses, then the testimony may be accepted if (that one) swears by GOD four times that they are telling the truth.
24:7
The fifth oath shall be to incur God's condemnation upon him, if he was lying.
24:8
She shall be considered innocent if she swears by God four times that he is a liar.
24:9
The fifth oath shall incur God's wrath upon her if he was telling the truth.
In the Hadith
Among prominent records of the words of the Prophet (ahadith) mentioning stoningStoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
is the Hadith of Umar's speech of forbidding Mut'ah and the Hadith of the Verse of Stoning. There are also other ahadith regarding stoning
Stoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
.
The first hadith contradicts the Qur'an and, following the rules of Fiqh
Fiqh
Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition and implemented by the rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists....
, such a hadith, of doubtful origin and in clear opposition to the Qur'an, should be discarded. The principles of Islamic Jurisprudence
Fiqh
Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition and implemented by the rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists....
, particularly that of Shatibi
Imam Shatibi
Imam Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi was an Andalusian Sunni Islamic legal scholar following the Maliki madhab. He died 1388 in Granada....
, state that Sunnah
Sunnah
The word literally means a clear, well trodden, busy and plain surfaced road. In the discussion of the sources of religion, Sunnah denotes the practice of Prophet Muhammad that he taught and practically instituted as a teacher of the sharī‘ah and the best exemplar...
(the recorded ways and sayings of the prophet Muhammad) provides either an explanation of or an addition to the Qur'an. If it is an explanation its status is secondary to the Quran. It can only be an addition if it has not been discussed by the Qur'an. It is not clear from the second hadith that Muhammad accepted stoning to death after the revelation of the Sura al-Nur quoted above so there is in the first place no real argument from tradition that the death-penalty may legitimately be applied. Further, in the book The Life of Muhammad, Hadhrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmood Ahmad says that the Prophet Muhammad said that the laws count only when the acts are manifest (i.e. when are made openly).
Views
There is disagreement among modernist Islamic thinkers as to the applicability of stoning for adultery as, while religious texts often give examples both with and without stoning, the Quran does not prescribe stoning as a punishment for any crime, mentioning only lashing as punishment for adultery. However some schools maintain that the punishment may nevertheless be exacted on the grounds that hadithHadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
can establish laws which the Qur'an does not mention.
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, a Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i Islamic scholar, has postulated that the Quran does not support Rajm for adultery- his views are based on a close reading of the Quranic text. Ghamidi claims that stoning
Stoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
is prescribed only in extreme cases - for someone who rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
s or habitually commits fornication as prostitutes do, which then constitute malfeasance in the land that is punishable according to other Quranic verses. The hadith reports attributed to the Prophet also support this view:
Acquire it from me, acquire it from me. The Almighty has revealed the directive about women who habitually commit fornication, about which He had promised to reveal. If such criminals are unmarried or are the unsophisticated youth, then their punishment is a hundred stripes and exile and if they are widowers or are married, then their punishment is a hundred stripes and death by stoningStoningStoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
.
See also
- StoningStoningStoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
- Stoning of the devilStoning of the DevilStoning of the Devil or stoning of the jamarat is part of the annual Islamic Hajj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Muslim pilgrims fling pebbles at three walls called jamarat in the city of Mina just east of Mecca. It is one of a series of ritual acts that must be performed in...
- HirabahHirabahHirābah is an Arabic word for “piracy”, or “unlawful warfare”. Hirabah comes from the root hariba, which means “to become angry and enraged”. The noun harb Hirābah is an Arabic word for “piracy”, or “unlawful warfare”. Hirabah comes from the root hariba, which means “to become angry and...
- The Stoning of Soraya M.The Stoning of Soraya M.The Stoning of Soraya M. is a 2008 American drama film adapted from French-Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam's 1990 book La Femme Lapidée, based on a true story...
(Soraya ManutchehriSoraya ManutchehriSoraya Manutchehri was a 35-year-old woman who was stoned to death in the small village of Kuhpayeh, Iran on 15 August 1986 after being allegedly convicted of adultery....
)
External links
- http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_151_200/opposing_rajm.htm
- http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_51_100/stoning_to_death_does_not_appear.htm
- Stoning to Death
- Punishment of Rajam
- Stoning to Death: A Violation of the Qur'an