Abdullah b. 'Abbas reported that 'Umar b. Khattab sat on the pulpit of Allah's Messenger ( صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ) and said:
Verily Allah sent Muhammad ( صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ) with truth and He sent down the Book upon him, and the verse of stoning was included in what was sent down to him. We recited it, retained it in our memory and understood it. Allah's Messenger ( صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ) awarded the punishment of stoning to death (to the married adulterer and adulteress) and, after him, we also awarded the punishment of stoning, I am afraid that with the lapse of time, the people (may forget it) and may say: We do not find the punishment of stoning in the Book of Allah, and thus go astray by abandoning this duty prescribed by Allah. Stoning is a duty laid down in Allah's Book for married men and women who commit adultery when proof is established, or it there is pregnancy, or a confession.