Narrated AbuHurayrah:

(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.

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ، أَخْبَرَنَا مَعْمَرٌ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا رَجُلٌ، مِنْ مُزَيْنَةَ ح وَحَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ صَالِحٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عَنْبَسَةُ، حَدَّثَنَا يُونُسُ، قَالَ قَالَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ مُسْلِمٍ سَمِعْتُ رَجُلاً، مِنْ مُزَيْنَةَ مِمَّنْ يَتَّبِعُ الْعِلْمَ وَيَعِيهِ - ثُمَّ اتَّفَقَا - وَنَحْنُ عِنْدَ سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْمُسَيَّبِ فَحَدَّثَنَا عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ - وَهَذَا حَدِيثُ مَعْمَرٍ وَهُوَ أَتَمُّ - قَالَ زَنَى رَجُلٌ مِنَ الْيَهُودِ وَامْرَأَةٌ فَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ اذْهَبُوا بِنَا إِلَى هَذَا النَّبِيِّ فَإِنَّهُ نَبِيٌّ بُعِثَ بِالتَّخْفِيفِ فَإِنْ أَفْتَانَا بِفُتْيَا دُونَ الرَّجْمِ قَبِلْنَاهَا وَاحْتَجَجْنَا بِهَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ قُلْنَا فُتْيَا نَبِيٍّ مِنْ أَنْبِيَائِكَ - قَالَ - فَأَتَوُا النَّبِيَّ ﷺ وَهُوَ جَالِسٌ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ فِي أَصْحَابِهِ فَقَالُوا يَا أَبَا الْقَاسِمِ مَا تَرَى فِي رَجُلٍ وَامْرَأَةٍ زَنَيَا فَلَمْ يُكَلِّمْهُمْ كَلِمَةً حَتَّى أَتَى بَيْتَ مِدْرَاسِهِمْ فَقَامَ عَلَى الْبَابِ فَقَالَ " أَنْشُدُكُمْ بِاللَّهِ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ التَّوْرَاةَ عَلَى مُوسَى مَا تَجِدُونَ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ عَلَى مَنْ زَنَى إِذَا أُحْصِنَ " . قَالُوا يُحَمَّمُ وَيُجَبَّهُ وَيُجْلَدُ - وَالتَّجْبِيَةُ أَنْ يُحْمَلَ الزَّانِيَانِ عَلَى حِمَارٍ وَتُقَابَلَ أَقْفِيَتُهُمَا وَيُطَافَ بِهِمَا - قَالَ وَسَكَتَ شَابٌّ مِنْهُمْ فَلَمَّا رَآهُ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ سَكَتَ أَلَظَّ بِهِ النِّشْدَةَ فَقَالَ اللَّهُمَّ إِذْ نَشَدْتَنَا فَإِنَّا نَجِدُ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ الرَّجْمَ . فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ " فَمَا أَوَّلُ مَا ارْتَخَصْتُمْ أَمْرَ اللَّهِ " . قَالَ زَنَى ذُو قَرَابَةٍ مَعَ مَلِكٍ مِنْ مُلُوكِنَا فَأَخَّرَ عَنْهُ الرَّجْمَ ثُمَّ زَنَى رَجُلٌ فِي أُسْرَةٍ مِنَ النَّاسِ فَأَرَادَ رَجْمَهُ فَحَالَ قَوْمُهُ دُونَهُ وَقَالُوا لاَ يُرْجَمُ صَاحِبُنَا حَتَّى تَجِيءَ بِصَاحِبِكَ فَتَرْجُمَهُ فَاصْطَلَحُوا عَلَى هَذِهِ الْعُقُوبَةِ بَيْنَهُمْ . فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ " فَإِنِّي أَحْكُمُ بِمَا فِي التَّوْرَاةِ " . فَأَمَرَ بِهِمَا فَرُجِمَا . قَالَ الزُّهْرِيُّ فَبَلَغَنَا أَنَّ هَذِهِ الآيَةَ نَزَلَتْ فِيهِمْ { إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَا التَّوْرَاةَ فِيهَا هُدًى وَنُورٌ يَحْكُمُ بِهَا النَّبِيُّونَ الَّذِينَ أَسْلَمُوا } كَانَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ مِنْهُمْ .