Kathir ibn al-Salt reported: Amr ibn al-‘As and Zayd ibn Thabit would write down the Quran. They passed over this verse, and Zayd said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say: The married old man and old woman, if they commit adultery, then stone them irrevocably.” Umar said, “When this was revealed, I went to the Prophet and I said: Let me write it.” Shu’bah said, “It was as if the Prophet disliked that.” Umar said, “No doubt, you see that if an old man is unmarried, he is merely flogged, while if a youth commits adultery while married is stoned.”
Source: Musnad Aḥmad 21596
Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Albani
Abu Muhammad said, “When the verse of stoning was revealed, it was memorized, acknowledged, and it was acted upon by the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, except that he did not have it written in the copies of the Quran, nor did he affirm its wording in the Quran. Umar ibn al-Khattab asked about that, as we have related, and the Prophet did not obligate him to do it.”
Source: al-Muḥallá 12/177
عَنْ كَثِيرِ بْنِ الصَّلْتِ قَالَ كَانَ ابْنُ الْعَاصِ وَزَيْدُ بْنُ ثَابِتٍ يَكْتُبَانِ الْمَصَاحِفَ فَمَرُّوا عَلَى هَذِهِ الْآيَةِ فَقَالَ زَيْدٌ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ الشَّيْخُ وَالشَّيْخَةُ إِذَا زَنَيَا فَارْجُمُوهُمَا الْبَتَّةَ فَقَالَ عُمَرُ لَمَّا أُنْزِلَتْ هَذِهِ أَتَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقُلْتُ أَكْتِبْنِيهَا قَالَ شُعْبَةُ فَكَأَنَّهُ كَرِهَ ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ عُمَرُ أَلَا تَرَى أَنَّ الشَّيْخَ إِذَا لَمْ يُحْصَنْ جُلِدَ وَأَنَّ الشَّابَّ إِذَا زَنَى وَقَدْ أُحْصِنَ رُجِمَ
21596 مسند أحمد بن حنبل
6/974 المحدث الألباني خلاصة حكم المحدث إسناده صحيح في السلسلة الصحيحة
قَالَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ لِأَنَّ آيَةَ الرَّجْمِ إذْ نَزَلَتْ حُفِظَتْ وَعُرِفَتْ وَعَمِلَ بِهَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إلَّا أَنَّهُ لَمْ يَكْتُبْهَا نُسَّاخُ الْقُرْآنِ فِي الْمُصْحَفِ وَلَا أَثْبَتُوا لَفْظَهَا فِي الْقُرْآنِ وَقَدْ سَأَلَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ ذَلِكَ كَمَا أَوْرَدْنَا فَلَمْ يُجِبْهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إلَى ذَلِكَ
12/177 المحلى بالآثار