Q.Why is H2 stable even though it never satisfies the octet rule?

The octet rule (Kossel and Lewis, 1916) states that during bond formation, an atom loses, gains, or shares electrons so that its outermost (valence) shell ends up with eight electrons, matching the stable $ns^2np^6$ configuration of the nearest noble gas; H and Li are the acknowledged exceptions, being stable with only two valence electrons (a 'duplet', like helium). Despite being broadly useful for predicting an element's normal valence, the rule fails — or fails to explain observed behaviour — in several distinct ways. Some stable molecules have a central atom with an INCOMPLETE octet, fewer than eight electrons around it (e.g. Be in BeCl2 with only 4, B in BF3 with only 6, Li in LiCl with only 2) — such atoms simply do not have enough valence electrons to reach eight even after bonding. Other molecules have a central atom with an EXPANDED octet, more than eight electrons around it, made possible by that atom's access to low-lying d orbitals (e.g. S in SF6 with 12, P in PCl5 with 10) — though the SAME element can also form perfectly ordinary octet-obeying compounds (e.g. S in SCl2, with only 8), so an expanded octet is a property of the specific com …