(This is Ma'mar's version which is more accurate.) A man and a woman of the Jews committed fornication.
Some of them said to the others: Let us go to this Prophet, for he has been sent with an easy law. If he gives a judgment lighter than stoning, we shall accept it, and argue about it with Allah, saying: It is a judgment of one of your prophets. So they came to the Prophet (ﷺ) who was sitting in the mosque among his companions.
They said: AbulQasim, what do you think about a man and a woman who committed fornication? He did not speak to them a word till he went to their school.
He stood at the gate and said: I adjure you by Allah Who revealed the Torah to Moses, what (punishment) do you find in the Torah for a person who commits fornication, if he is married?
They said: He shall be blackened with charcoal, taken round a donkey among the people, and flogged. A young man among them kept silent.
When the Prophet (ﷺ) emphatically adjured him, he said: By Allah, since you have adjured us (we inform you that) we find stoning in the Torah (is the punishment for fornication).
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: So when did you lessen the severity of Allah's command? He said:
A relative of one of our kings had committed fornication, but his stoning was suspended. Then a man of a family of common people committed fornication. He was to have been stoned, but his people intervened and said: Our man shall not be stoned until you bring your man and stone him. So they made a compromise on this punishment between them.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: So I decide in accordance with what the Torah says. He then commanded regarding them and they were stoned to death.
Az-Zuhri said: We have been informed that this verse was revealed about them: "It was We Who revealed the Law (to Moses): therein was guidance and light. By its standard have been judged the Jews, by the Prophet who bowed (as in Islam) to Allah's will.
Context and Background
This narration from Sunan Abi Dawud 4450 in the Book of Prescribed Punishments (Kitab Al-Hudud) demonstrates the Prophet's wisdom in dealing with the People of the Book. The Jewish community approached him testing his judgment, acknowledging he was sent with an "easy law" yet seeking to exploit any perceived leniency.
Scholarly Commentary on the Approach
The Prophet's silence initially and subsequent journey to their school demonstrates profound wisdom. Rather than immediately issuing a ruling, he directed them to their own scripture, forcing them to acknowledge the truth from their own sources.
By adjuring them by Allah Who revealed the Torah, the Prophet established common ground and appealed to their religious conscience, making denial impossible for the truthful among them.
Legal Analysis of the Punishment
The incident confirms that stoning (rajm) is the prescribed punishment for married fornicators in Islamic law, as it was in the original Torah before alteration. This establishes continuity between divine laws.
The young man's confession about the compromise reveals how human interference corrupted divine law, showing the danger of applying different standards to nobles and commoners.
Juridical Principles Derived
This hadith establishes that when People of the Book acknowledge a ruling from their authentic scriptures, it can be accepted as evidence in Islamic courts.
It demonstrates the importance of applying divine laws consistently without discrimination based on social status, wealth, or power.
The Prophet's implementation of the Torah's ruling shows that previous divine laws remain valid unless specifically abrogated by Islamic revelation.
Connection to Quranic Revelation
As Az-Zuhri mentions, this incident relates to Quran 5:44, which confirms the Torah contained "guidance and light" and that prophets who submitted to Allah judged by it. The Jewish community's attempt to manipulate divine law exemplifies why they are criticized in this verse.