Re: The woman or man found guilty of sexual intercourse - lash each one of them
The injunction to deal fully the punishment of those who are sentenced should be understood in context to hiding the faults in people until it becomes virtually impossible to do so. We are required to veil people and their sins.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "He who sees something which should be kept hidden and conceals it will be like one who has brought to life a girl buried alive (a pre-Islamic practice). - Sunan of Abu-Dawood, Hadith 2292
Narrated AbuBarzah al-Aslami: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: O community of people, who believed by their tongue, and belief did not enter their hearts, do not back-bite Muslims, and do not search for their faults, for if anyone searches for their faults, Allah will search for his fault, and if Allah searches for the fault of anyone, He disgraces him in his house. - Sunan of Abu Dawood, Number 2283
Despite a woman pleading to be cleansed for her adultery RasoolAllah (SAW) kept delaying her and turned away from her … and in other cases the insistence of being given a penalty by the person who did the crime is a clear proof that we should not be quick to condemn and if we see a crime of this type we should hide it until or unless it becomes open or harms the interests of others and require their justice. If a spouse suspects his or her partner of zina then they should keep quiet about it and protect each other - even if they dissolve their marriage. The ayat about not holding back or feeling pity is only relevant AFTER conviction and does not apply to exposing people.
**I should have been more explicit on this one !