Why is stoning (rajm) not mentioned in the Quran as a punishment for the married fornicator, especially since the verse in Surah An-Nisa (إذا أحصنَّ فإن أتين بفاحشة فعليهن نصف ما على المحصنات من العذاب - "If they commit indecency after they are married, their punishment shall be half that of free married women") indicates that the punishment for a married woman, which is death, is not halved; and how are the meanings of (فإذا أحصن - "if they are married") and (المحصنات - "married women") to be understood in a context that appears to contradict stoning? And why do the hadiths of stoning, such as the hadith "One hundred lashes and stoning," contradict the occurrences of stoning without lashing? And is the abrogated verse "The old man and the old woman, if they commit adultery, stone them irrevocably" considered an argument despite the linguistic and semantic issues within it?

Stoning (Rajm) is established by the continuously transmitted Sunnah of the Prophet, the consensus of the Companions, and the Muslim community throughout the ages. Many scholars have transmitted this consensus. Stoning has been inferred from the Holy Quran in verses, including: {O People of the Scripture, there has come to you Our Messenger making clear to you much of what you used to conceal of the Scripture and overlooking much} (5:15) and {Indeed, We sent down the Torah, in which was guidance and light. The prophets who submitted [to Allah] judged by it for the Jews} (5:44). The application of stoning by the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his Companions confirms its definitive establishment. As for the verse {And if they commit indecency, then upon them is half of what is due upon free married women of punishment} (4:25), the term "free married women" (al-muhsanat) here refers to free virgins, or that the punishment mentioned is flogging, which is subject to halving, not stoning. There is a difference of opinion in the narrations regarding combining stoning and flogging for the married person (al-muhsan). The preponderant view is that he is only stoned, and that flogging for him has been abrogated. As for the phrase "the old man and the old woman" in the hadith of stoning, it is linguistically correct and refers to the married man and woman without considering old age. It is an exaggeration to demonstrate the ugliness of the act when committed by elders. The recitation of this verse was abrogated, but not its ruling. The wisdom behind differentiating in punishment between the married and the unmarried, and between free persons and slaves, is due to the complete intellect and maturity of the married and free person, and to avoid aggression against slaves.