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When a person is stoned, flogging is not added to stoning according to all the jurists, contrary to the Literalists, who hold that the person is first flogged and then stoned. They rely on the apparent meaning of the words of Allah, Mighty and Majestic:
“The woman and man guilty of unlawful intercourse—flog each of them with a hundred lashes” [al-Nūr: 2].
They argue that this encompasses everyone who commits unlawful intercourse, whether possessing the status required for stoning or not. When the evidence establishing stoning became known, they added it to flogging. They also cite the report of ʿUbāda ibn al-Sāmit that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Learn from me, for Allah has now provided a way for them: for a previously married man and woman, one hundred lashes and stoning.” They further adduce the report that ʿAlī ibn Abī Tālib (may Allah be pleased with him) flogged the woman from Hamdān and then stoned her, saying: “I flogged her according to the Book of Allah and stoned her according to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).”
None of this constitutes proof, because the hadith of ʿUbāda ibn al-Sāmit was abrogated by the established ruling of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prescribing stoning without flogging. This latter report also restricts the scope of the apparent Quranic wording on which they rely. As for the report concerning ʿAlī, it is possible that she concealed from him her status qualifying her for stoning, and that he learned of it only after flogging her.
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If a man marries a woman and is alone with her, and they both acknowledge having had intercourse—whether they make this acknowledgment before or after committing unlawful intercourse—the status required for stoning is established for both of them. If, however, they deny having had intercourse after committing unlawful intercourse, and neither is known to have acknowledged it beforehand, there are three opinions as to whether their denial is accepted:
The first is Ibn Wahb’s position: their denial is not accepted, even if it occurs shortly after they begin living together.
The second, held by the majority of Mālik’s companions, is that their denial of intercourse is accepted unless a very long time has elapsed. This is the apparent purport of the passage in the third Book of Marriage in al-Mudawwana.
The third is that their denial is accepted even if they have lived together for a long time after moving in together. This is the apparent purport of the passage in the Book of Stoning in al-Mudawwana.
If their denial precedes the unlawful intercourse, there is no disagreement that it is accepted and that they are not stoned.
Some have held that the issue discussed in the Book of Stoning does not conflict with the issue discussed in the Book of