Stoning as Punishment in Early Islam examines specific factors that contributed to stoning becoming a prescribed punishment for adultery in Islamic law. This work sheds new light on the beginnings of Islamic criminal law, highlighting how historical context influenced legal rulings that later became accepted as normative practice.

Stoning as Punishment in Early Islam explores some of the contingencies that contributed to the process by which death by lapidation (rajm)-stoning-became a standard punishment for illicit sexual intercourse (zina) for certain schools in the Islamic legal tradition. Syed Atif Rizwan explores stoning through a critical examination of the transmission history and textual content of key hadith, as well as a review of procedural and substantive laws relating to zina. Rizwan offers analysis of key historical texts and legal rulebooks to provide insights into the development of dogma that later became orthodox. In addition to providing an overview of the development of Islamic law and jurisprudence for the stoning punishment, this book offers new insights into the development of Islamic criminal law and the role of historical context in the shaping of legal rulings.