Is it necessary to dig a hole for a woman upon whom the prescribed punishment for Zina has been established?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Ḥudūd (Prescribed Penalties)
Primary text
The apparent view of Ahmad is that no hole should be dug for a woman either. This aligns with the view stated by Al-Qadi in Al-Khilaf. However, in Al-Mujarrad, it is stated that if the punishment is established by confession, she is not dug for; but if established by clear evidence, she is dug for up to the chest. Abu Al-Khattab considers the latter view sounder, which is also the position of the Shafi'i school, based on the report that the Prophet, peace be upon him, stoned a woman and dug a hole for her up to her breast. The justification for this is that it offers greater modesty for her and there is no need to prevent her from fleeing, as the penalty is established by clear evidence and cannot be invalidated by her actions, unlike when established by confession, where she should be left in a state that allows her to escape, as retracting a confession is acceptable.
Supporting text
The primary view holds that the majority of narrations indicate that digging is omitted, as the Prophet, peace be upon him, did not dig a hole for Al-Juhaniyyah, nor for Ma'iz, nor for the two Jews. The hadith used to support digging is not acted upon and is not generally followed by those who cite it, as the case cited for digging involved a woman whose penalty was established by her own confession, and there is no disagreement among us on that point, making it improper to use as evidence while contradicting its application in other instances.