THE STONE AND THE SAVIOR
How Islam and Christianity Respond to a Guilty Woman
The moral heart of any religion is revealed most clearly not in its claims, but in its response to human guilt. How does a religious system treat a sinner who stands exposed, confessing wrongdoing without excuse? Few narratives expose this contrast more vividly than the account of the adulterous woman in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim and the woman brought before Jesus Christ in John 8:1–11. Both women were guilty of sexual sin. Both stood before a religious authority. Yet their stories end in radically different ways—one in death, the other in life.
In Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim Hadith 1695b–1696a, a woman from the tribe of Ghamid comes to Muhammad and confesses that she has committed adultery. Her guilt is not questioned. Muhammad initially turns away from her, not to forgive her, but to delay judgment. When she returns pregnant, he commands her to leave until she gives birth. After childbirth, she comes again with the infant, and the punishment is postponed once more—until she has breastfed and weaned the child. Only after the child can eat solid food does Muhammad take the child, hand him to one of his companions, and order that the woman be stoned to death. The sentence is carried out.
THE FULL HADITH
Sahih Muslim 1695b
‘Abdullah b. Buraida reported on the authority of his father that Ma’iz b. Malik al-Aslami came to Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and said:
Allah’s Messenger, I have wronged myself; I have committed adultery and I earnestly desire that you should purify me. He turned him away. On the following day, he (Ma’iz) again came to him and said: Allah’s Messenger, I have committed adultery. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) turned him away for the second time, and sent him to his people saying: Do you know if there is anything wrong with his mind. They denied of any such thing in him and said: We do not know him but as a wise good man among us, so far as we can judge. He (Ma’iz) came for the third time, and he (the Holy Prophet) sent him as he had done before. He asked about him and they informed him that there was nothing wrong with him or with his mind. When it was the fourth time, a ditch was dug for him and he (the Holy Prophet) pronounced judg- ment about him and he wis stoned. He (the narrator) said: There came to him (the Holy Prophet) a woman from Ghamid and said: Allah’s Messenger, I have committed adultery, so purify me. He (the Holy Prophet) turned her away. On the following day she said: Allah’s Messenger, Why do you turn me away? Perhaps, you turn me away as you turned away Ma’iz. By Allah, I have become pregnant. He said: Well, if you insist upon it, then go away until you give birth to (the child). When she was delivered she came with the child (wrapped) in a rag and said: Here is the child whom I have given birth to. He said: Go away and suckle him until you wean him. When she had weaned him, she came to him (the Holy Prophet) with the child who was holding a piece of bread in his hand. She said: Allah’s Apostle, here is he as I have weaned him and he eats food. He (the Holy Prophet) entrusted the child to one of the Muslims and then pronounced punishment. And she was put in a ditch up to her chest and he commanded people and they stoned her. Khalid b Walid came forward with a stone which he flung at her head and there spurted blood on the face of Khalid and so he abused her. Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ) heard his (Khalid’s) curse that he had huried upon her. Thereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said: Khalid, be gentle. By Him in Whose Hand is my life, she has made such a repentance that even if a wrongful tax-collector were to repent, he would have been forgiven. Then giving command regarding her, he prayed over her and she was buried.
وَحَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ نُمَيْرٍ، ح وَحَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ، اللَّهِ بْنِ نُمَيْرٍ – وَتَقَارَبَا فِي لَفْظِ الْحَدِيثِ – حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي، حَدَّثَنَا بَشِيرُ بْنُ الْمُهَاجِرِ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ بُرَيْدَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، أَنَّ مَاعِزَ بْنَ مَالِكٍ الأَسْلَمِيَّ، أَتَى رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنِّي قَدْ ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسِي وَزَنَيْتُ وَإِنِّي أُرِيدُ أَنْ تُطَهِّرَنِي . فَرَدَّهُ فَلَمَّا كَانَ مِنَ الْغَدِ أَتَاهُ فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنِّي قَدْ زَنَيْتُ . فَرَدَّهُ الثَّانِيَةَ فَأَرْسَلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِلَى قَوْمِهِ فَقَالَ ” أَتَعْلَمُونَ بِعَقْلِهِ بَأْسًا تُنْكِرُونَ مِنْهُ شَيْئًا ” . فَقَالُوا مَا نَعْلَمُهُ إِلاَّ وَفِيَّ الْعَقْلِ مِنْ صَالِحِينَا فِيمَا نُرَى فَأَتَاهُ الثَّالِثَةَ فَأَرْسَلَ إِلَيْهِمْ أَيْضًا فَسَأَلَ عَنْهُ فَأَخْبَرُوهُ أَنَّهُ لاَ بَأْسَ بِهِ وَلاَ بِعَقْلِهِ فَلَمَّا كَانَ الرَّابِعَةَ حَفَرَ لَهُ حُفْرَةً ثُمَّ أَمَرَ بِهِ فَرُجِمَ . قَالَ فَجَاءَتِ الْغَامِدِيَّةُ فَقَالَتْ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنِّي قَدْ زَنَيْتُ فَطَهِّرْنِي . وَإِنَّهُ رَدَّهَا فَلَمَّا كَانَ الْغَدُ قَالَتْ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ لِمَ تَرُدُّنِي لَعَلَّكَ أَنْ تَرُدَّنِي كَمَا رَدَدْتَ مَاعِزًا فَوَاللَّهِ إِنِّي لَحُبْلَى . قَالَ ” إِمَّا لاَ فَاذْهَبِي حَتَّى تَلِدِي ” . فَلَمَّا وَلَدَتْ أَتَتْهُ بِالصَّبِيِّ فِي خِرْقَةٍ قَالَتْ هَذَا قَدْ وَلَدْتُهُ . قَالَ ” اذْهَبِي فَأَرْضِعِيهِ حَتَّى تَفْطِمِيهِ ” . فَلَمَّا فَطَمَتْهُ أَتَتْهُ بِالصَّبِيِّ فِي يَدِهِ كِسْرَةُ خُبْزٍ فَقَالَتْ هَذَا يَا نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ قَدْ فَطَمْتُهُ وَقَدْ أَكَلَ الطَّعَامَ . فَدَفَعَ الصَّبِيَّ إِلَى رَجُلٍ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ ثُمَّ أَمَرَ بِهَا فَحُفِرَ لَهَا إِلَى صَدْرِهَا وَأَمَرَ النَّاسَ فَرَجَمُوهَا فَيُقْبِلُ خَالِدُ بْنُ الْوَلِيدِ بِحَجَرٍ فَرَمَى رَأْسَهَا فَتَنَضَّحَ الدَّمُ عَلَى وَجْهِ خَالِدٍ فَسَبَّهَا فَسَمِعَ نَبِيُّ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم سَبَّهُ إِيَّاهَا فَقَالَ ” مَهْلاً يَا خَالِدُ فَوَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَقَدْ تَابَتْ تَوْبَةً لَوْ تَابَهَا صَاحِبُ مَكْسٍ لَغُفِرَ لَهُ ” . ثُمَّ أَمَرَ بِهَا فَصَلَّى عَلَيْهَا وَدُفِنَتْ .
Sahih Muslim 1696a
Imran b. Husain reported that a woman from Juhaina came to Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ) and she had become pregnant because of adultery. She said:
Allah’s Apostle, I have done something for which (prescribed punishment) must be imposed upon me, so impose that. Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ) called her master and said: Treat her well, and when she delivers bring her to me. He did accordingly. Then Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ) pronounced judgment about her and her clothes were tied around her and then he commanded and she was stoned to death. He then prayed over her (dead body). Thereupon Umar said to him: Allah’s Apostle, you offer prayer for her, whereas she had committed adultery! Thereupon he said: She has made such a repentance that if it were to be divided among seventy men of Medina, it would be enough. Have you found any repentance better than this that she sacr ficed her life for Allah, the Majestic?
حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو غَسَّانَ، مَالِكُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْوَاحِدِ الْمِسْمَعِيُّ حَدَّثَنَا مُعَاذٌ، – يَعْنِي ابْنَ هِشَامٍ – حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ أَبِي كَثِيرٍ، حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو قِلاَبَةَ، أَنَّ أَبَا الْمُهَلَّبِ، حَدَّثَهُ عَنْ عِمْرَانَ، بْنِ حُصَيْنٍ أَنَّ امْرَأَةً، مِنْ جُهَيْنَةَ أَتَتْ نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَهِيَ حُبْلَى مِنَ الزِّنَى فَقَالَتْ يَا نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ أَصَبْتُ حَدًّا فَأَقِمْهُ عَلَىَّ فَدَعَا نَبِيُّ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَلِيَّهَا فَقَالَ ” أَحْسِنْ إِلَيْهَا فَإِذَا وَضَعَتْ فَائْتِنِي بِهَا ” . فَفَعَلَ فَأَمَرَ بِهَا نَبِيُّ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَشُكَّتْ عَلَيْهَا ثِيَابُهَا ثُمَّ أَمَرَ بِهَا فَرُجِمَتْ ثُمَّ صَلَّى عَلَيْهَا فَقَالَ لَهُ عُمَرُ تُصَلِّي عَلَيْهَا يَا نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ وَقَدْ زَنَتْ فَقَالَ ” لَقَدْ تَابَتْ تَوْبَةً لَوْ قُسِمَتْ بَيْنَ سَبْعِينَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ لَوَسِعَتْهُمْ وَهَلْ وَجَدْتَ تَوْبَةً أَفْضَلَ مِنْ أَنْ جَادَتْ بِنَفْسِهَا لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى ” .
In this Islamic account, confession does not lead to mercy but to inevitable execution. Repentance does not erase guilt; it confirms it. Motherhood delays death, but it does not prevent it. The law is fulfilled through blood, and the sinner is removed from the community forever. Justice is satisfied, but redemption is absent.
By contrast, the Gospel of John presents a profoundly different response. In John 8:1–11, a woman caught in adultery is brought before Jesus by religious leaders. Like the woman in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, her sin is not denied. Like the Islamic account, the law demands death. Yet Jesus does not respond by issuing an order of execution. Instead, He exposes the moral hypocrisy of her accusers with a single sentence: “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone.” One by one, they leave.
When Jesus finally speaks to the woman, He does not minimize her sin, but neither does He destroy her for it. “Neither do I condemn you,” He says. “Go, and sin no more.” The woman is spared, forgiven, and called to a transformed life. The law is not denied, but mercy triumphs over judgment.
This contrast reveals two fundamentally different moral visions. In the Islamic narrative, divine justice is expressed through the elimination of the sinner. The holiness of God is preserved by killing the guilty. In the Gospel, divine holiness is revealed through redemptive mercy. Jesus does not excuse sin, but He refuses to define a human being solely by her worst act. He offers forgiveness that leads to repentance, not death that ends the story.
Christianity does not teach that sin is insignificant. On the contrary, it teaches that sin is so serious that it requires atonement. The difference is where the punishment falls. In Islam’s legal framework, the sinner bears the full weight of judgment. In Christianity, God Himself bears it. The cross stands where the stone should have fallen. Jesus does not throw stones at adulterers; He receives nails for them.
The Apostle Paul captures this difference succinctly: “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:6). The woman in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim dies under the letter of the law. The woman in John 8 lives under the Spirit of grace. One story ends in a grave; the other begins with restoration.
This is why Jesus could boldly declare, “The Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them” (Luke 9:56). Christianity proclaims not a God who proves His holiness by killing sinners, but a God who proves His holiness by saving them—at the cost of His own life.
The question, then, is not which system enforces morality more harshly, but which reveals the true heart of God. Between the stone and the Savior, the Gospel answers clearly. Only one leaves room for forgiveness, transformation, and hope.