Why did the verse concerning women come in the plural, while the verse concerning men came in the dual, and how accurate is the statement that the first verse speaks of lesbianism and the second of sodomy? Are these two verses considered abrogated, given that the ruling for sodomy is execution?

The plural form in the first verse, "And those who commit unlawful sexual intercourse of your women," refers to all women who commit indecency. The dual form in the other verse, "And the two among you who commit it," refers to the male and female fornicators, and it was also said to refer to homosexuals.

This ruling has been abrogated by the consensus of the Imams, as indicated by the Prophet's (peace be upon him) statement in the hadith of 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit: "Take from me, for Allah has made a way for them: the virgin with the virgin, a hundred lashes and exile for a year, and the married person with the married person, a hundred lashes and stoning."

Thus, the verse from Surat An-Nur: "The woman and the man who commit unlawful sexual intercourse - lash each one of them with a hundred lashes," abrogates the two verses in Surat An-Nisa regarding confinement and harm.

In the early days of Islam, the ruling for a woman who committed unlawful sexual intercourse was confinement to the house until death, and for a man, it was harm through disciplinary punishment and beating. This was later abrogated by lashing or stoning.

Mujahid's opinion, which Abu Muslim al-Isfahani preferred, that the first verse refers to tribadism and the second verse refers to sodomy, despite their rulings not being abrogated, is a weak opinion and contradicts the majority of exegetes.