Sincere Repentance can Avert Stoning to Death

Waa’il bin Hujr (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that a woman once went out to performed Salaah and met a man [on the road] who covered her with her garment and raped her and ran away. A man then walked up to her, so she said to him: ‘A man did such and such to me.’ Then the man went in search of the man who raped her. Thereafter, a group of people from among the Ansaar walked up to her and stood by her, so she said to them: ‘A man did such and such to me.’ So they (also) went in search of the man who raped her. [After a while], they came with the man who had gone in search of the man who raped her and took him to the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam).

The woman then said [to the Prophet]: ‘He is the one.’ When the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) instructed that he should be stoned to death, the man who actually raped her said: ‘O Messenger of Allaah, I am the one.’ Thereupon, the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) said to woman: ‘Go, Allaah has forgiven you of you sin.’ And he said good words to the man [who was guilty of the rape]. Thereafter, it was said: ‘O Prophet of Allaah, will you not stone him? He said: Indeed he repented a repentance (of such high order) that if the inhabitants of Madeenah were to repent, it would be accepted from them.’ See as-Saheehah (900)

Shaykh al-Albaanee said: This hadeeth contains an important benefit, which indicates that the prescribed punishment can be dropped from the one who repents sincerely. This is the opinion of Ibn Qayyim in al-I’laam 3/17-20

See as-Saheehah (2/569)