How can an adulterer marry an adultress if they are stoned to death? And why is flogging and stoning both prescribed for adultery?

Question

In the Quran, it says that an adulterer can only marry an adultress guilty of the same. How can this be possible if the Sharia is in place and they are stoned to death? Also, why in the Holy Quran does it specifically say flogging is prescribed for both fornication and adultery, but the hadith somehow overrules this can someone explain this to me? In shaa Allah.

24:3 The fornicator does not marry except a [female] fornicator or polytheist, and none marries her except a fornicator or a polytheist, and that has been made unlawful to the believers.

Below is the Tafseer for this verse by Ibn Kathir:

The Zani marries not but a Zaniyah or a Mushrikah; and the Zaniyah, none marries her except a Zani or a Mushrik. Such a thing is forbidden to the believers.) Here Allah tells us that the Zani (male who is guilty of illegal sex) does not have intercourse except with a Zaniyah (female who is guilty of illegal sex) or a Mushrikah (female idolator), meaning that no one would go along with him in this action except a sinful woman who is also guilty of Zina, or a Mushrikah who does not think it is unlawful. By the same token,

Answer 1

Bismillah,

One of the main things that we as Muslims should do is to read the Tafseer of the Qur'an to have a better understanding of the verses and the rules.

The verse that you referred to in your question is in Surat An-Nur (verse #3) is related to the previous verse in the same Sura.

The adulteress and adulterer should be flogged a hundred lashes each, and no pity for them should deter you from the law of God, if you believe in God and the Last Day; and the punishment should be witnessed by a body of believers.(2) The adulterer can marry no one but an adulteress or his partner (in the act), and the adulteress cannot marry any but an adulterer or her partner (in the act). This is forbidden for the believers (3)

Before going into the interpretation of the word Nikah نكاح in the verse, I would like to remind you of the ruling that is mentioned in verse #2.

There are two types of punishment for adultery:

1. For unmarried person, it is flogging with 100 lashes and a banishment for a whole year. This answers your first question, an adulterer can be alive and can marry someone.

2. For a married person who has had intercourse with his/her spouse, it is stoning to death. (Here is where your confusion is happening)

Back to verse #3, one of the interpretation of the word Nikah نكاح in verse #3 is that it means fornication; the adulterer doesn't commit adultery except with an adulteress, which means that, an adulteress is the one who is most likely to fall into the trap of an adulterer and have sex with him, and vice-versa.

The second interpretation of the word Nikah is Nikah itself. If an adulterer, who has not repented from committing adultery, proposed to a chaste girl, they are not supposed to get married. Same thing with the adulteress, she doesn't marry a chaste man.

Indeed Allah knows best.