“Stoning: Does it have any Basis in Shari’ah?”

The question in this post is: “I have heard that the punishment specified for the person who commits adultery is 80 lashes. I would like to ask, from where did you get the punishment of stoning to death? Moreover, if you say that it is based on the Sunnah, I can say that how to depend on Sunnah in this regard. Isn’t it a fact that the Qur’an is the source of legislation for all Muslims?” The reply, given by an unnamed Islamic scholar, is that stoning is explicitly sanctioned both by the Qur’an and Prophetic Tradition. He quotes the Bible (Deuteronomy 22:22; Leviticus 20:10), but is able to give no proof from the Qur’an except by saying “there was a verse (Ayah) in the Qur’an that talked about this matter. Though the verse was abrogated, but the abrogation here is in wording”. Furthermore, the scholar states that there are also many incidents in the Sunnah and life of the Prophet in which the Prophet stoned married adulterers to death. Therefore, the scholar concludes, that the punishment is proven, authentic, and is not debatable.