And he said: "O Unays, go to the wife of this man, and if she confesses, then stone her." And he did not attend [to supervise] it. [It is a punishment (hadd)], therefore it is not mandatory for the Imam or the witnesses to be present, just like other punishments. We do not accept that their failure to attend or their refusal to begin the stoning constitutes an ambiguity (shubha). As for the statement of Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, it is by way of recommendation and excellence. Ahmad said: The Sunnah regarding confession is that the Imam should begin the stoning, then the people. We do not know of any disagreement regarding the recommendation of this, and its basis is the statement of Ali, may Allah be pleased with him. It has been narrated in a hadith, reported by Abu Bakr, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he stoned a woman, and he dug [a trench] for her up to her chest, then threw a stone at her the size of a chickpea, then said: "Stone her, and avoid the face." Reported by Abu Dawud.

Section: The punishment (hadd) is not to be carried out on a pregnant woman until she delivers, regardless of whether the pregnancy is from adultery or otherwise. We know of no disagreement regarding this. Ibn al-Mundhir said: The scholars have reached a consensus that a pregnant woman is not to be stoned until she delivers. Buraydah narrated that a woman from the tribe of Ghamid said: "O Messenger of Allah, purify me." He said: "And what is that?" She said: "She is pregnant from adultery." He said: "You?" She said: "Yes." So he said to her: "Go back until you deliver what is in your womb." He said: Then a man from the Ansar took responsibility for her until she delivered. He said: So he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: The Ghamidiyyah has delivered. He said: "Then we will not stone her and leave her small child with no one to nurse him." Then a man from the Ansar stood up and said: "I will take charge of his nursing, O Prophet of Allah." He said: Then he stoned her. Reported by Muslim and Abu Dawud. It is narrated that a woman committed adultery during the time of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, and Umar intended to stone her while she was pregnant. Mu'adh said to him: "If you have a way against her, you have no way against what is in her womb." He replied: "Women are incapable of bearing the likes of you." And he did not stone her.