by stoning (1).
The point here is that Umar—may Allah be pleased with him—used to consult them, and whenever anyone stated what was correct, he accepted it. This occurred in two ways:
The first was that, in a particular case, the operative basis of the ruling they already knew would be ascertained. An example is Uthmān’s statement, “She did not know that it was forbidden.” Uthmān did not teach them the general ruling; rather, he informed them that this particular individual fell within its scope. Likewise, Ali’s statement that this woman was insane may have been of this kind: he informed Umar of her insanity, her pregnancy, or some comparable circumstance.
The second was that an explicit text (2), or the meaning of a text, indicating the general ruling would become clear. An example is the woman drawing his attention to the words of Allah Most High:
“Even if you have given one of them a great treasure, do not take back any of it.”
[Surah al-Nisā’: 20]
Another example is Abd al-Rahmān’s analogy between the prescribed penalty for drinking intoxicants and the prescribed penalty for falsely accusing someone of illicit sex, and similar cases.
(1) The hadith is narrated by Abd Allah ibn Burayda from his father—may Allah be pleased with him—in Sahīh Muslim, 3/1323–1324, Book of Prescribed Punishments, chapter “One Who Confesses to *zinā* (illicit sexual intercourse).” It begins: Māiz ibn Mālik al-Aslamī came to the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and said, “O Messenger of Allah, I have wronged myself and committed *zinā*, and I want you to purify me.” He turned him away.... The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—then sent for his people and asked, “Do you know of anything amiss with his mind? Have you observed anything unusual in him?” The hadith continues and also recounts the case of the Ghāmidī woman, who committed *zinā* and then repented.... See also what follows in this volume, p. 174.
The hadith is also narrated from Abu Hurayra, without naming Māiz ibn Mālik, in Sahīh al-Bukhārī, 9/68–69, Book of Judgments, chapter “One Who Passes Judgment in the Mosque.” See also the chapter “Testimony Given Before the Judge,” following the preceding hadith, 9/69, which states: “Māiz confessed to *zinā* four times before the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—so he ordered that Māiz be stoned.” Muslim, in his Sahīh, 3/1318–1321, Book of Prescribed Punishments, chapter “One Who Confesses to *zinā*,” and Abu Dāwūd, in his Sunan, 4/204–211, Book of Prescribed Punishments, chapter “The Stoning of Māiz ibn Mālik,” report several hadiths detailing the account of Māiz on the authority of several Companions, including Jābir ibn Abd Allah, Jābir ibn Samura, Ibn Abbās, and Abu Hurayra—may Allah be pleased with them. See also the hadith of Abu Hurayra in the Musnad, al-Maārif edition, 19/41–42.
(2) (H) and (B) read: *nassa* (“expressly stipulated”).