Islamonline confirms stoning basis in Shariah

By now, everyone has heard of the sad case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, an Iranian woman convicted of adultery and sentenced to death. Her death sentence may or may not be carried out through stoning. Since this story has emerged in the Western media, there has been a debate about whether or not stoning is "Islamic" or has basis in the Quran, the Hadith or in Shariah law. Some Muslims in particular have come out claiming that stoning is not Islamic and has no basis in Shariah law.

One person in particular has written two such articles, both very similar to each other. Harris Zafar wrote an article on 9 July in which he claims that stoning is unislamic and contrary to Islamic law (Shariah). He also wrote a very similar article back on 24 September 2009 when a stoning law was passed in Indonesia, saying:

 In other words, we have two cases of two of the most populous predominantly Muslim nations on earth dealing with stoning, yet an American Muslim from Portland states emphatically that stoning is unislamic and has no basis in Shariah. This could very well be a case of taqiyya (the Islamic doctrine of sacred deception in which Muslims are authorized and even instructed to lie to promote Islam).

Authoritative counterjihad experts have written about this case as well, such as Robert Spencer’s recent article in Human Events. Spencer reveals dishonesty at the UN from the Iranian delegation on the issue of stoning:

While researching another article, I came across a passage that may be dispositive on the issue.

Islamonline.net is a web site founded by Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi. Qaradawi is perhaps the world’s foremost Sunni Shariah scholar and an ideological inspiration for the Muslim Brotherhood. He has also been banned from entering the US and the UK due to his ties to Jihadist terrorist organizations. On Islamonline.net, there is a forum section in which Muslims can pose questions which will be answered by Shariah scholars. On March 31st, 2005, someone specifically asked whether stoning had basis in Shariah law. The answer is quite clear. I have provided excerpts and a link to the Q&A:

Stoning: Does It Have Any Basis in Shari`ah?

Question: "Dear scholars, as-Salamu `alaykum. I have heard that the punishment specified for the person who commits adultery is 80 lashes. I would like to ask, from where did you get the punishment of stoning to death. Moreover, if you say that it is based on the Sunnah, I can say that how to depend on Sunnah in this regard. Isn’t it a fact that the Qur’an is the source of legislation for all Muslims? Jazakum Allah khayran."

Answer: "Coming to the issue of stoning to death as a punishment for married adulterer and adulteress, the statement that there is no verse stipulating that punishment is not correct. It is to be made crystal clear that the punishment is explicitly sanctioned by both the Qur’an and the Prophetic Tradition."

…

"…we would like to note that there are many incidents in the Sunnah and the life of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in which the Prophet stoned the married adulterer and adulteress to death. This happened in the case of Ma`iz and the Ghamidi woman. All this makes it clear that the punishment is proven and authentic and is not debatable."