Reportedly, rajm was only ever carried out one time during the entirety of the the Ottoman Empire for zena. I am just wondering, does anyone imagine that this means zena only occurred once during that time?
Because, let’s be honest. The Shari’ah punishment for zena is not exactly a deterrent. The evidentiary requirements are so fantastical that we can only conclude the ruling is intended more as a symbolic instruction about the moral severity of zena, than as an enforceable penalty.
Essentially what is punishable by rajm, or by lashes, is not zena per se, but zena that is performed so indiscreetly that even 4 righteous, honest, credible Muslim witnesses observe it. Or else zena that is voluntarily disclosed by the ones who committed it. And how likely are either of these scenarios?
The ruling on zena, despite what is said about it, reveals the tremendous Compassion and Mercy of the Creator. Allah has informed us that it is a grave sin, deserving of punishment in this world, but He has made it all but impossible to carry that punishment out.
My point is…if you imagine that writing the Hadd for zena into the penal code is going to bring an end to men and women having illicit sex, you have not really thought it through. Unless you are going to do what tyrants and extremists do, and discard Quranic evidentiary procedure. And if you want to implement the Shari’ah punishment without implementing the conditions for its application, then you are not implementing Shari’ah at all.