I was sitting with the Prophet ﷺ when a man named Maez bin Malik came to him and said, "Prophet of Allah, I have committed adultery, and I want you to purify me."The Prophet ﷺ said to him, "Go back."The next day, he came to him again and confessed to adultery before him. The Prophet ﷺ said to him, "Go back."Then the Prophet ﷺ sent for his people and asked them about him, saying, "What do you know about Maez bin Malik al-Aslami? Do you see anything wrong with him, or do you find anything defective in his mind?"They said, "Prophet of Allah, we see nothing wrong with him, and we find nothing defective in his mind."Then he returned to the Prophet ﷺ a third time and confessed to adultery before him again, saying, "Prophet of Allah, purify me."The Prophet ﷺ sent for his people once more and asked them about him, and they answered him as they had the first time, "We see nothing wrong with him, and we find nothing defective in his mind."Then he returned to the Prophet ﷺ a fourth time and confessed to adultery before him. The Prophet ﷺ gave the order, and we dug a pit for him. He was placed in it up to his chest, and then the Prophet ﷺ commanded the people to stone him.Burayda said, "We, the companions of the Prophet ﷺ, used to say among ourselves that if Maez bin Malik had simply remained in his dwelling after confessing three times, the Prophet ﷺ would not have sought him out. He only had him stoned because of the fourth confession."
حدثنا أبو نعيم حدثنا بشير بن المهاجر حدثني
كنت جالسا عند النبي ﷺ إذ جاءه رجل يقال له ماعز بن مالك فقال يا نبي الله إني قد زنيت وأنا أريد أن تطهرني فقال له النبي ﷺ ارجع فلما كان من الغد أتاه أيضا فاعترف عنده بالزنا فقال له النبي ﷺ ارجع ثم أرسل النبي ﷺ إلى قومه فسألهم عنه فقال لهم ما تعلمون من ماعز بن مالك الأسلمي هل ترون به بأسا أو تنكرون من عقله شيئا قالوا يا نبي الله ما نرى به بأسا وما ننكر من عقله شيئا ثم عاد إلى النبي ﷺ الثالثة فاعترف عنده بالزنا أيضا فقال يا نبي الله طهرني فأرسل النبي ﷺ إلى قومه أيضا فسألهم عنه فقالوا له كما قالوا له المرة الأولى ما نرى به بأسا وما ننكر من عقله شيئا ثم رجع إلى النبي ﷺ الرابعة أيضا فاعترف عنده بالزنا فأمر النبي ﷺ فحفرنا له حفرة فجعل فيها إلى صدره ثم أمر الناس أن يرجموه وقال بريدة كنا نتحدث أصحاب النبي ﷺ بيننا أن ماعز بن مالك لو جلس في رحله بعد اعترافه ثلاث مرار لم يطلبه وإنما رجمه عند الرابعة