Surah 4

Surah 4:15

"(As for) those of your women who commit immorality, call witnesses against them, four of you. If they bear witness (to the truth of the allegation), confine them in their houses until death takes them, or God makes a way for (dealing with) them."
The Adulteress is Confined in her House; A Command Later Abrogated Verses 4:15-16
Show Full Scripture Context (4:15-16) — 2 Verses
Verse 15

وَٱلَّـٰتِي يَأۡتِينَ ٱلۡفَٰحِشَةَ مِن نِّسَآئِكُمۡ فَٱسۡتَشۡهِدُواْ عَلَيۡهِنَّ أَرۡبَعَةٗ مِّنكُمۡۖ فَإِن شَهِدُواْ فَأَمۡسِكُوهُنَّ فِي ٱلۡبُيُوتِ حَتَّىٰ يَتَوَفَّىٰهُنَّ ٱلۡمَوۡتُ أَوۡ يَجۡعَلَ ٱللَّهُ لَهُنَّ سَبِيلٗا

(As for) those of your women who commit immorality, call witnesses against them, four of you. If they bear witness (to the truth of the allegation), confine them in their houses until death takes them, or God makes a way for (dealing with) them.

Verse 16

وَٱلَّذَانِ يَأۡتِيَٰنِهَا مِنكُمۡ فَـَٔاذُوهُمَاۖ فَإِن تَابَا وَأَصۡلَحَا فَأَعۡرِضُواْ عَنۡهُمَآۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ تَوَّابٗا رَّحِيمًا

And (if) two of you commit it, harm both of them. But if they turn (in repentance) and set (things) right, let them be. Surely God turns (in forgiveness), compassionate.

At the begining of Islam, the ruling was that if a woman commits adultery as stipulated by sufficient proof, she was confined to her home, without leave, until she died. Allah said,

Quoted Scripture
"And those of your women who commit illegal sexual intercourse, take the evidence of four witnesses from among you against them; and if they testify, confine them (i.e. women) to houses until death comes to them or Allah ordains for them some (other) way."

'Some other way' mentioned here is the abrogation of this ruling that came later. Ibn 'Abbas said, "The early ruling was confinement, until Allah sent down Surat An-Nur (chapter 24) which abrogated that ruling with the ruling of flogging (for fornication) or stoning to death (for adultery)." Similar was reported from 'Ikrimah, Sa'id bin Jubayr, Al-Hasan, 'Ata' Al-Khurasani, Abu Salih, Qatadah, Zayd bin Aslam and Ad-Dahhak, and this is a matter that is agreed upon.

Imam Ahmad recorded that 'Ubadah bin As-Samit said, "When the revelation descended upon the Messenger of Allah it would affect him and his face would show signs of strain. One day, Allah sent down a revelation to him, and when the Messenger was relieved of its strain, he said,

"Take from me: Allah has made some other way for them. The married with the married, the unmarried with the unmarried. The married gets a hundred lashes and stoning to death, while the unmarried gets a hundred lashes then banishment for a year."

Muslim and the collectors of the Sunan recorded that 'Ubadah bin As-Samit said that the Prophet said,

"Take from me, take from me. Allah has made some other way for them: the (unmarried) gets a hundred lashes and banishment for one year, while the (married) gets a hundred lashes and stoning to death."

At-Tirmidhi said, "Hasan Sahih".
Allah said,

Quoted Scripture
"And the two persons among you who commit illegal sexual intercourse, punish them both."

Ibn 'Abbas and Sa'id bin Jubayr said that this punishment includes cursing, shaming them and beating them with sandals. This was the ruling until Allah abrogated it with flogging or stoning, as we stated. Mujahid said, "It was revealed about the case of two men who do it." As if he was referring to the actions of the people of Lut, and Allah knows best.

— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Vol. 2, Page 400-401)

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.