Prescribed Punishments (Kitab Al-Hudud)

‘Ikrimah reported: ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) burned some people, and this news reached Ibn ‘Abbās, who said: Had I been in his place, I would not have burned them, as the Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Do not punish (anybody) with Allah's punishment." No doubt, I would have killed them, for the Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Whoever changes his religion, kill him."

Ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "The blood of a Muslim is inviolable except by one of three: adultery of a married person, a life for a life (homicide), and abandoning Islam and separating from the Islamic body.''

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is unlawful to shed the blood of a Muslim who testifies that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, except in one of three cases: a married person who commits adultery, they are to be stoned; one who goes forth to fight against Allah and His Messenger, they are to be killed, crucified, or exiled from the land; or one who commits murder, for which he is killed in retribution."

Abu Mūsa (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) along with two men (from the tribe) of Ash‘ariyyīn, one on my right and the other on my left, while the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was brushing his teeth (with a tooth-stick), and both men asked him for employment (as governors). The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Abu Mūsa (or O ‘Abdullāh ibn Qays)!" I said: "By Him Who sent you with the truth, they did not tell me what was on their minds and I did not feel that they were seeking employment." As if I were looking now at his tooth-stick being drawn to a corner under his lips, and he said: "We will not (or, we do not) appoint for our affairs anyone who seeks that position. But O Abu Mūsa! (or O ‘Abdullāh ibn Qays!) You go to Yemen." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) then sent Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal after him, and when Mu‘ādh reached him, he spread out a cushion for him and asked him to sit. There was a fettered man beside Abu Mūsa. Mu‘ādh asked: "Who is this (man)?" Abu Mūsa said: "He was a Jew and became a Muslim and then reverted back to Judaism." Then Abu Mūsa asked Mu‘ādh to sit down but Mu‘ādh said: "I will not sit down till he is killed. This is the judgment of Allah and His Messenger (for such cases)," and he repeated it thrice. Abu Mūsa ordered that the man be killed, and he was killed. Then they discussed the voluntary night prayers and one of them said: "I pray and sleep, and I hope that Allah will reward me for my sleep as He rewards me for my prayers."

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Some people from ‘Ukl or ‘Uraynah came, and the climate of Madīnah did not suit them, so they became ill. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) ordered them with the milch camels and drink from their urine and milk. They left, and when they recovered, they killed the herdsman of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and drove off the camels. The news came early in the day, so he sent people in pursuit of them. When the sun had risen, they were brought back. He ordered that their hands and feet be cut off and their eyes be branded, and they were thrown into Al-Harrah, where they begged for water but were not given any. Abu Qilābah said: They stole, killed, disbelieved after embracing faith, and waged war against Allah and his Messenger.

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Quraysh were greatly concerned about the case of the Makhzūmi woman who had committed theft. They wondered who should intercede for her with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). Some said: "Only Usāmah ibn Zayd, the Prophet’s beloved one, would dare do so." As Usāmah spoke to the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) about this issue, he said to him: "Do you intercede regarding one of the punishments prescribed by Allah?" Then, he got up and addressed the people, saying: "The people before you were ruined because if a noble person among them committed theft, they would leave him unpunished, but if a weak person among them committed theft, they would inflict the legal punishment on him. By Allah! Were Fātimah, the daughter of Muhammad, to commit theft, I would cut off her hand." Another wording reads: "She was a woman who used to borrow things from people and deny having taken them. So, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that her hand should be cut off.”

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Forgive the people of good qualities their slips, but not faults to which prescribed corporal punishments apply."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) cut off (a thief's hand) for a shield that was worth three dirhams.

Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Hibbān reported: A slave stole a plant of a palm-tree from the orchard of a man and planted it in the orchard of his master. The owner of the plant went out in search of the plant and found it. He sought help against the slave from Marwān ibn al-Hakam, who was the Governor of Madīnah at that time. Marwān confined the slave and intended to cut off his hand. The slave's master went to Rāfi‘ ibn Khadīj and asked him about that case. Rāfi‘ told him that he had heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: "The hand is not to be cut off for taking fruit or Kathar (the pith of the palm-tree)." The man then said: "Marwān has seized my slave and wants to cut off his hand. I wish you would go with me to him and tell him what you have heard from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him)." Rāfi‘ ibn Khadīj went with him to Marwān ibn al-Hakam. Rāfi‘ said to him: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) say: ‘The hand is not to be cut off for taking fruit or Kathar.'" So Marwān gave orders to release the slave, and he was released.

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about fruit on the tree. He said: "Whatever a needy person eats without putting any in his pocket (and taking it away), there is no penalty on him. But whoever takes something away, he must pay a fine of twice its value and receive punishment. Whoever steals something after it has been stored properly, and its value amounts to the price of a shield, his hand must be cut off."

Safwān ibn Umayyah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I was sleeping in the mosque while covered by a Khamīsah cloak of mine whose price was thirty dirhams. A man came and snatched it away from me. The man was seized and brought to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) who ordered that his hand should be cut off. I came to him and said: "Will you cut off his hand for the sake of only thirty dirhams? I will sell it to him on credit." He said: "Why did you not say this before bringing him to me?"

‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There are three (people) whose actions are not recorded by the Pen: a sleeping person till he awakes, a boy till he reaches puberty, and a person with an unsound mind till he regains his sanity."

‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There are three (people) whose actions are not recorded by the Pen: a sleeping person till he awakes, a boy till he reaches puberty, and a person with an unsound mind till he regains his sanity."

‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There are three (people) whose actions are not recorded by the Pen: a sleeping person till he awakes, a boy till he reaches puberty, and a person with an unsound mind till he regains his sanity."

‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There are three (people) whose actions are not recorded by the Pen: a sleeping person till he awakes, a boy till he reaches puberty, and a person with an unsound mind till he regains his sanity."

‘Ubādah ibn As-Sāmit (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) received revelation, he felt distressed and the color of his face changed

‘Ubādah ibn As-Sāmit (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Learn from me, learn from me. Allah has ordained another way for them (women who commit illegal sexual intercourse). (If) a virgin (commits adultery) with a virgin, (the punishment will be) one hundred lashes and exile for a year. (If) a non-virgin (commits adultery) with a non-virgin, (the punishment will be) one hundred lashes and stoning (to death).”

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās reported that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb, while he was sitting on the Prophet's pulpit, said: "Verily Allah sent Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) with the truth and sent the Book down to him. Part of what was revealed to him was the verse on stoning. We recited, understood, and comprehended it. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) did administer stoning and we administered it after his death. Yet, I am concerned that, after a long time has passed, someone may say: 'We cannot find stoning in Allah's Book,' and they will be led astray for abandoning an obligation that Allah has sent down. Indeed, stoning is established in the Book of Allah against those married men and women who commit adultery, when there is evidence, pregnancy, or a confession."

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When Mā‘iz ibn Mālik came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) (in order to confess adultery), the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "Probably you have only kissed, winked, or looked (at the lady)?" He said: "No, O Messenger of Allah." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: using no euphemism: "Did you copulate with her?" The narrator added: "At that, (i.e. after his confession) the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that he be stoned (to death)."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: A Muslim man went to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) while he was in the mosque and called him, saying: "O Messenger of Allah, I have committed adultery." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) turned his face away from him. So, the man came round (from the other side) towards his face and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have committed adultery." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) again turned his face away from him, until the man did this four times. When he testified four times that he had done so, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) called him, saying: "Do you suffer any form of insanity?" The man replied: 'No.' The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) then asked him: "Are you married?" The man answered: 'Yes.' The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said (to his Companions): "Take him away and stone him (to death)." Ibn Shihāb said: "Abu Salamah ibn ‘Abdur-Rahmān informed me that he heard Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh say: ‘I was one of those who stoned him. We stoned him at the place of prayer. When the stones hurt him, he ran away. We caught him in Al-Harrah and stoned him (to death).'"

‘Imrān ibn al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: A woman from the tribe of Juhaynah came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) while she was pregnant from adultery, and she said to him: "O Messenger of Allah, I have committed a sin liable to the legal punishment, so execute the legal punishment on me." The Messenger of Allah called her guardian and said to him: "Treat her kindly and bring her to me after she delivers (her baby)." The man complied with the order, and the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) commanded that the legal punishment be executed on her. Her clothes were secured around her and she was stoned to death. The Prophet then led the funeral prayer over her.

Abu Hurayrah and Zayd ibn Khālid al-Juhani (may Allah be pleased with both of them) reported: Two men from among the Bedouins came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I adjure you by Allah to judge me according to the Book of Allah." The other disputant – who was smarter – said: "Yes, judge between us according to the Book of Allah, and give me permission to speak first." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Speak.’ He said: "My son was employed by this man, and he committed adultery with his wife. I was told that the punishment for my son would be stoning but that he could be ransomed for one hundred sheep and their offspring. I asked the people of knowledge, and they told me that the punishment for my son would be one hundred lashes and exile for one year and that this woman would be stoned." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By the One in Whose hand my soul is! I will judge between you according to the Book of Allah. The offspring and sheep will be returned, and your son is to be given one hundred lashes and exiled for one year. O Unays, go to that man's wife tomorrow, and if she admits, then stone her." So he went to her the next day, and she admitted it, and the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) gave the order that she be stoned.

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Jews came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him that a man and a woman from among them had committed unlawful sexual intercourse. The Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) asked them: "What do you find in the Torah about stoning?" They said: "We disclose their sin and flog them." ‘Abdullāh ibn Salām said: "You have lied! The verse of stoning is there (in the Torah)." They fetched the Torah, spread it out, and one of them placed his hand over the verse of stoning. He recited what was before it and what was after it. Thereupon, ‘Abdullāh ibn Salām told him to lift his hand. He lifted his hand and there was the verse of stoning. They said: "He has spoken the truth, O Muhammad." So, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that they be stoned. ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar added: "I saw the man leaning over the woman to protect her from the stones."