Boreal

FADE TO BLACK

Triumph of the Irrational

A Stoning Double Standard

Muhammad’s words are a testament to his low opinion of females, but it is in his sentencing of women and girls to be stoned to death that his disdain for females is the most disturbing.

Stoning

(Abbreviated from 1,001 Sayings and Deeds of the Prophet Muhammad, Boreal Books)

Narrated Abdullah:

I or somebody, asked Allah's Apostle "Which is the biggest sin in the Sight of Allah?"

He said, "That you set up a rival (in worship) to Allah though He Alone created you."

I asked, "What is next?"

He said, "Then, that you kill your son, being afraid that he may share your meals with you."

I asked, "What is next?"

He said, "That you commit illegal sexual intercourse with the wife of your neighbor."

Then the following Verse was revealed to confirm the statement of Allah's Apostle: "Those who invoke not with Allah, any other god, nor kill life as Allah has forbidden except for just cause, nor commit illegal sexual intercourse." (25:68)

Bukhari 60.284

Muhammad said that having illegal intercourse is the third worst sin you can commit. From a woman's perspective, it may be the first. As to the first two, both men and women believers can ask and expect forgiveness from Allah as long as they repent before death is imminent; but a woman, unlike a man, cannot expect any mercy from the All Merciful for having illegal sex, no matter what.

Alice: Adultery is not a sin against Allah or His Messenger, so why is an adulteress not deserving of Allah’s Mercy?

Imam: Because there is no way for a woman to make amends for having had sex with someone other than her husband. How would you undo that? How could she undo the dishonour that she has brought on herself, her family and her husband? It is not enough that the adulteress will roast in Hell for eternity, but steps must be taken in the here-and-now to eradicate the reminder of this dishonour and to discourage such destructive behavior.

Alice: Such as stoning the adulteress to death.

From the one-act play Alice Visits a Mosque to Learn about Judgement Day, Boreal Books, 2013

Blame a jealous god!

[The Prophet] said, “O community of Muhammad! By Allah, there is no-one more jealous than Allah of a male or female slave of his who commits adultery. O community of Muhammad! By Allah, if you knew what I knew, you would laugh little and weep much."

Malik's Muwatta 12.12.1.1

It is definitely not a laughing matter.

Malik related to me from Yaqub ibn Zayd ibn Talha from his father Zayd ibn Talha that Abdullah ibn Abi Mulayka informed him that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and informed him that she had committed adultery and was pregnant.

The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to her, "Go away until you give birth."

When she had given birth, she came to him. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to her, "Go away until you have suckled and weaned the baby."

When she had weaned the baby, she came to him.

He said, "Go and entrust the baby to someone."

She entrusted the baby to someone and then came to him. He gave the order and she was stoned.

Malik's Muwatta 41.41.1.5

In another hadith about a defenceless woman stoned to death, Muhammad simply sent a trusted assassin to enquire whether the woman had committed adultery and if she answered in the affirmative, to stone her.

Narrated Zaid bin Khalid and Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said, "O Unais! Go to the wife of this (man) and if she confesses (that she has committed illegal sexual intercourse), then stone her to death."

 Bukhari 38.508

A more complete account of why this poor woman had to die where a double standard is evident.

Narrated Abu Huraira and Zaid bin Khalid Al-Juhani:

A bedouin came to Allah's Apostle and said, "O Allah's apostle! I ask you by Allah to judge my case according to Allah's Laws."

His opponent, who was more learned than he, said, "Yes, judge between us according to Allah's Laws, and allow me to speak."

Allah's Apostle said, "Speak."

He (i.e. the bedouin or the other man) said, "My son was working as a laborer for this (man) and he committed illegal sexual intercourse with his wife. The people told me that it was obligatory that my son should be stoned to death, so in lieu of that I ransomed my son by paying one hundred sheep and a slave girl. Then I asked the religious scholars about it, and they informed me that my son must be lashed one hundred lashes, and be exiled for one year, and the wife of this (man) must be stoned to death."

Allah's Apostle said, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, I will judge between you according to Allah's Laws. The slave-girl and the sheep are to be returned to you, your son is to receive a hundred lashes and be exiled for one year. You, Unais, go to the wife of this (man) and if she confesses her guilt, stone her to death."

Unais went to that woman next morning and she confessed. Allah's Apostle ordered that she be stoned to death.

Bukhari 50.885

Muhammad was not as quick to order a man who confessed to committing illegal intercourse to be stoned and, in the following hadith, his chagrin at having to do so is obvious.

Narrated Abu Hurayrah:

A man of the tribe of Aslam came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and testified four times against himself that he had had illicit intercourse with a woman, while all the time the Prophet (peace be upon him) was turning away from him. Then when he confessed a fifth time, he turned round and asked: Did you have intercourse with her?

He replied: Yes.

He asked: Have you done it so that your sexual organ penetrated hers?

He replied: Yes.

He asked: Have you done it like a collyrium stick when enclosed in its case and a rope in a well?

He replied: Yes.

He asked: Do you know what fornication is?

He replied: Yes. I have done with her unlawfully what a man may lawfully do with his wife.

He then asked: What do you want from what you have said?

He said: I want you to purify me.

So he gave orders regarding him and he was stoned to death. Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) heard one of his companions saying to another: Look at this man whose fault was concealed by Allah but who would not leave the matter alone, so that he was stoned like a dog.

He said nothing to them but walked on for a time till he came to the corpse of an ass with its legs in the air. He asked: Where are so and so?

They said: Here we are, Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him)!

He said: Go down and eat some of this ass's corpse.

They replied: Apostle of Allah! Who can eat any of this?

He said: The dishonour you have just shown to your brother is more serious than eating some of it. By Him in Whose hand my soul is, he is now among the rivers of Paradise and plunging into them.

Abu Dawud 38.4414

The act of stoning does not purify a woman who has committed adultery, but it seems to have that effect on a man found guilty of the same offence. She is going to Hell, he is going to Paradise.

An unmarried slave girl who had sex was shown some mercy, but not much.

Narrated Abu Huraira and Said bin Khalid:

The verdict of Allah's Apostle was sought about an unmarried slave girl guilty of illegal intercourse.

He replied, "If she commits illegal sexual intercourse, then flog her (fifty stripes), and if she commits illegal sexual intercourse (after that for the second time), then flog her (fifty stripes), and if she commits illegal sexual intercourse (for the third time), then flog her (fifty stripes) and sell her for even a hair rope."

Bukhari 82.822

Muhammad boasted that through him, Allah would eliminate adultery. This would explain his pitiless rulings, especially where women accused of adultery were concerned.

Narrated Jubair bin Mutim:

Allah's Apostle said, "I have five names: I am Muhammad and Ahmad; I am Al-Mahi through whom Allah will eliminate infidelity; I am Al-Hashir who will be the first to be resurrected, the people being resurrected there after; and I am also Al-'Aqib (i.e. There will be no prophet after me)."

Bukhari 56.732

Illegal intercourse is such a horrible crime because it is an affront to Allah’s self-respect.

Narrated Aisha:

The Prophet then said, "O followers of Muhammad! By Allah! There is none who has more Ghira (self-respect) than Allah as He has forbidden that His slaves, male or female commit adultery (illegal sexual intercourse). O followers of Muhammad! By Allah! If you knew that which I know you would laugh little and weep much."

Bukhari 17.154

---- end of excerpt ----

When God was first asked about the punishment for adultery He needed to think about it, “or Allah opens another way for them” in the following revelation where the adulteress is to be confined until death or until Allah comes up with another punishment.

4:15 As for those of your women who commit adultery, call four witnesses from your own against them; and if they testify then detain them in the houses till death overtakes them or Allah opens another way for them.

If two men were found guilty of adultery the punishment was typically less severe with a slow, lingering death unlikely.

4:16 If two [men] of you commit it, punish them both. If they repent and mend their ways, then leave them alone. Allah is truly All-Forgiving, Merciful.

Eventually, God informed His spokesman that He had settled on a whipping as the punishment for adultery, for both sexes.

24:2 The adulteress and the adulterer, whip each one of them a hundred lashes; and let no pity move you in Allah’s religion, regarding them; if you believe in Allah and the Hereafter. And let a group of believers witness their punishment.

Stoning of women to death should have ended with the passing of Muhammad had it not been for the meddlesome caliph Umar.

The Lost Verse

(Excerpt from Women and the Koran, Boreal Books)

Narrated Ash-Sha'bi, from Ali when the latter stoned a lady to death on a Friday: Ali said, "I have stoned her according to the tradition of Allah's Apostle."

 Bukhari 82.803

Syed Shahabuddin writing in the Milli Gazette, Indian Muslim’s leading English newspaper, reminds us that in the Koran, flogging is the punishment for adultery, not stoning, and that Allah is the final authority. Even His spokesperson could not substitute his own opinion for that of the god he spoke for.

If so, why does Islamic law, in some jurisdictions, give precedence to the example of Muhammad instead of the Koran?

According to Shahabuddin, this is because “some [Islamic] scholars support 'Rajm' (stoning) by attributing a statement to the second Caliph Umar (second successor to the Prophet Muhammad) that a revelation on the subject had been received but had been lost.”

Narrated Ibn Abbas:

Umar said, "I am afraid that after a long time has passed, people may say, "We do not find the Verses of the Rajam (stoning to death) in the Holy Book," and consequently they may go astray by leaving an obligation that Allah has revealed.

Lo! I confirm that the penalty of Rajam be inflicted on him who commits illegal sexual intercourse, if he is already married and the crime is proved by witnesses or pregnancy or confession."

Sufyan added, "I have memorized this narration in this way." Umar added, "Surely Allah's Apostle carried out the penalty of Rajam, and so did we after him."

Bukhari 82.816

So there you have it. When you hear of a woman being stoned or murdered for committing adultery or for having pre-marital relations in conservative Muslim jurisdictions such as Iran, Nigeria or Saudi Arabia... the justification just might be this lost verse of the Koran.

Shahabuddin, in commenting on the stoning of Amina Lawal, explained why it is always women who get stoned even though the punishment is supposed to apply equally to both sexes.

Apart from the brutality of the 'Rajm' (stoning), repugnant to conscience, here is an element of gender injustice in the operation of the traditional law which allows the male partner to get off scot-free, even if he has coerced and raped the female.

If the woman lodges a complaint, her complaint is taken as a testimony against herself and, therefore, amounts to admission and requires no further evidence while it is necessary to get 4 witnesses against the man.

Also the woman may bear a child, as in Amina's case (Amina Lawal was sentenced to death by stoning by a Nigerian Islamic Sharia Court. Amina had an 8 month old daughter), which is admitted as evidence of zena (guilt) against the woman. Man suffers from no such disability.

Amina would have been placed in a cloth sack, with her hands tied behind her back, and buried in the ground up to her shoulders. She would not be buried up to her neck, allegedly to allow her to wriggle free and prove her innocence before a missile hits its mark, and not to make the event more sporting for the men hurling stones at her head while chanting "Allah hu Akbar" (God is great).

 ---- end of excerpt ----

On August 15, 2004 Atefeh Rajabi, a sixteen year old Iranian girl from the town of Neka was hung from a crane and agonized for more than forty-five minutes inside her black burqa which was sealed at the top with a hangman’s knot. The town’s people, who witnessed the struggling teenager slowly choking to death in that sack-like garment, sobbed and condemned the Mullahs (specialists in Islamic law) for condemning the young girl to this horrible, lingering death.

The girl's crime: having pre-marital sex and being disrespectful to the presiding mullah. The mullah was so incensed at the teenaged girl, that he personally put the noose around her neck before ordering the crane operator to hoist her into the air.

The Taliban have promised to bring back stoning as punishment for illegal intercourse. Whether it’s by stoning or being hung from a crane or other form of gallows as is done in Iran, women who embrace a religion that would do that to their sisters and defend the man who instituted the practice of brutally killing women and girls, for what in a civilized society is not crime, should be ashamed.

For some, it’s not their fault.