Chapter on What Necessitates Discretionary Punishment, Legal Punishment, Stoning, Execution, and Exile in Adultery

It is narrated from Muhammad ibn Isma'il through Salih ibn Uqbah from Abu Shibl who said: I asked Abu Abdullah عليه السلام about a Muslim man who committed adultery with the bondwoman of his brother. What is his repentance? Imam عليه السلام replied: "He should go to him, inform him of what he has done, and ask him to pardon him, and he must not repeat the act." I asked: "What if his brother does not pardon him?" Imam عليه السلام said: "Then he will meet Allah سبحانه وتعالى, the Mighty and Majestic, as an adulterer and a betrayer." I asked: "Will Hellfire be his destination?" Imam عليه السلام replied: "The intercession of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and our intercession encompasses your sins, O' Shia community. But do not return to such acts and do not rely on our intercession, for by Allah سبحانه وتعالى, no one will attain our intercession if he commits this sin until he experiences the pain of punishment and witnesses the terror of Hell."