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To what extent is the story true regarding Uthman ibn Affan stoning the woman who gave birth six months after her marriage?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The narrations vary regarding the story of the woman who gave birth after six months. Some mention 'Uthman and 'Ali, while others mention 'Uthman and Ibn 'Abbas. The people of Basra narrate it from 'Umar and 'Ali. Most of the authenticated narrations state that 'Uthman did not stone her, and that was when Ibn 'Abbas clarified to him from the Holy Qur'an that the minimum gestation period is six months: (And his gestation and his weaning [period] is thirty months) [Al-Ahqaf: 15] and (Mothers shall nurse their children for two whole years) [Al-Baqarah: 233]. So, 'Uthman averted the Hadd punishment from her. As for the narration that mentions her stoning, assuming its authenticity, 'Uthman's ijtihad in it is excusable; giving birth at six months is rare, and if a person errs in their ijtihad, they receive one reward and are forgiven. This does not impugn 'Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, because infallibility is not a condition for the Caliphs.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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