I have gathered some verses from Surah Noor. I’ve also noticed that “signs” are being mentioned a number of times in the Holy Quran, which means they are very important.
“A sura that We have sent down
And appointed; and We have sent down
In it signs, clear signs, that haply
You will remember.
The fornicatress & the fornicator –
Scourge each one of then a hundred stripes,
And in the matter of God’s religion
Let no tenderness for them seize you
If you believe in God and the Last Day;
And let a party of the believers
Witness their chastisement.
The fornicator shall marry none but
A fornicatress & an idolatress,
And the fornicatress – none shall marry her
But a fornicator or an idolator;
That is forbidden to the believers.”
Everything has been very clear in this verse. It’s 100 stripes, not the punishment of rajm. Furthermore, it is mentioned that:
“The fornicator shall marry none but
A fornicatress & an idolatress,
And the fornicatress – none shall marry her
But a fornicator or an idolator;
That is forbidden to the believers.”
Naturally when the Quran says that the fornicator could marry none but the fornicatress or an idolatress…it highlights that killing is certainly not the punishment for the person who has committed adultery or fornication. If they are being stoned to death, naturally there won’t be any question of marriage.
When you read further, those who lie & make stories about it, even punishment is recommended for them & their testimony should never be accepted.
“And those who cast it up on women in
Wedlock, & then bring not four witnesses,
Scourge them with eighty stripes, & do not
Accept any testimony of theirs ever; those –
They are the ungodly,
Save such as repent thereafter and
Make amends; surely God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.
And those who cast it up on their wives
Having no witnesses except themselves,
The testimony of one of them shall be
To testify by God four times that he
Is of the truthful,
And a fifth time, that the curse of
God shall be upon him, if he should
Be of the liars.
It shall avert from her the chastisement
If she testify by God four times that he
Is of the liars,
And a fifth time, that the wrath of
God shall be upon her, if he should
Be of the truthful.
It’s also clearly written that the curse of God will befall upon those who lie.
We have heard this verse a number of times:
“ Corrupt women for corrupt men,
And corrupt men for corrupt women;
Good women for good men,
And good men for good women.”
These lines in Surah Noor highlight that the significance of signs & that God is the supreme source of Light.
“Now We have sent down to you signs
Making all clear, & an example
Of those who passed away before you,
& an admonition for the godfearing.
God is the Light of the heaven & the earth;
The likeness of His Light is as a niche
Wherein is a lamp
(lamp in a glass,
The glass as it were a glittering star)
Kindled from a Blessed Tree,
An olive that is neither of the East nor of the West
Whose oil wellnigh would shine, even if no fire touched it;
Light upon Light;
(God guides to His Light whom He will.)
(And God strikes similitudes for men,
And God has knowledge of everything.)”
Again it is very explicitly written that “God guides to His Light whom He will.”
“And to whomsoever God assigns no light,
No light has he.”
“Now We have sent down signs making all
Clear; God guides whomsoever He will
To a straight path.”
The best thing is to try to understand the words of God. Following individuals & regarding them as someone who has all the answers is not right. I’ve seen that people do this all the time. But it’s their choice. What can we say? Since I wrote that piece on rajm, I thought it was incumbent on me to mention these verses from Surah Noor.
