What is the Explanation of the Narration About Stoning of Monkeys?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

What is the explanation of the following hadith, where other monkeys stone a monkey:  Narrated `Amr bin Maimun, During the pre-Islamic period of ignorance, I saw a she-monkey surrounded by several monkeys. They were all stoning it because it had committed illegal sexual intercourse. I, too, stoned it along with them.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.

This is not a hadith but an incident narrated by a follower of a group of monkeys who stoned to death a male monkey for entering into their female group.

Monkeys Stoning an Adulterer Monkey

The narration is as follows:

Nu’aim bin Hammad stated: Hushaim narrated from Husain from ‘Amr ibn Maimun, who said: During the pre-Islamic period of ignorance, I saw a she-monkey surrounded by several monkeys. They were all stoning it because it had committed illegal sexual intercourse. I, too, stoned it along with them. [Bukhari]

Possible Explanations

There are a few possible explanations for this narration:

Monkeys are not morally responsible creatures; neither marriage takes place between them. How can adultery take place and stoning after that?

One answer is that these monkeys were disfigured humans; an incident occurred, and thus, it happened. The whole vent seemed like a scenario of stoning, while in reality, there is no moral responsibility for such creatures or punishment. However, as a note, the lineage of disfigured humans into monkeys does not continue.

Some say these were jinn beings; although they are invisible to human eyes, they are sometimes seen. Thus, an incident occurred, which the follower (Tabi’i) observed and narrated.

Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (Allah have mercy on him), for instance, says, “For attributing adultery to legally incompetent creatures and establishing punishments among animals, it is denounced (munkar) according to scholars.”

Most Likely Correct Explanation

This narration is not mentioned in any of Bukhari’s editions except in the edition of Firbari, who was the last person to read it to Imam Bukhari. The correct answer is that it is not a hadith but an incident narrated by a Mukhadram Tabi’i with a human expression.

A Mukhadram is a person who did not meet the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) despite living during the pre-Islamic age (jahiliyyah) and the Prophetic era. This applies equally whether he accepted Islam during or after the prophet’s lifetime. Uwais ibn ‘Amir al-Qarani (Allah have mercy on him) is one example.

Monkeys are social creatures that live in groups called a troop. Monkeys have a variety of social systems. One of the most common troop structures is called a one-male group, in which a male leads a group of females and other males, usually staying close to a particular location. In the above incident, a male entered a group with only females; this made the others angry, and they went after this male monkey and stoned it. This incident was described as stoning by the follower (Tabi’i), Amr ibn Maimun.

(Palanpuri, Tuhfat al-Qari;  Ibn Hajar, Zakariya al-Ansari, Minhat al-Bari Bi Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari; Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, al-Isti’ab fi Ma’rifa al-Ashab Sharh Nukhba al-Fikr]

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I pray this helps answer your question.

[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.