The Book of Legal Punishments

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "May Allah curse the thief who steals an egg and his hand is cut off for that, and he steals a rope and his hand is cut off for that."

‘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: 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.”

‘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).”

‘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

‘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."

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).'"

Abu Nujayd ‘Imrān ibn Husayn al-Khuza‘i (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that a woman from Juhaynah came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) when she was pregnant from adultery. She said: ''O Messenger of Allah, I have committed something that entails a prescribed punishment on me, so apply it to me.'' The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) called her guardian and said to him: ''Be kind to her, and when she has given birth, come to me.'' He did accordingly. So the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) commanded that her clothes be tied around her, and should be stoned to death. Then he offered the funeral prayer for her. However, ‘Umar said to him: ''O Messenger of Allah, you pray over her although she had committed adultery?'' He said: ''Indeed she has made such a repentance that if it were to be divided among seventy from the people of Madīnah, it would be enough for them all. Has she found something better than offering her own soul to Allah, Glorified and Exalted?''

Abu Hurayrah and Zayd ibn Khālid al-Juhani (may Allah be pleased with both of them) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about the unmarried bondmaid who fornicates, and he replied: "If she commits fornication, then flog her; if she commits fornication again, flog her again; and if she commits fornication again, flog her and sell her even for a rope." Ibn Shihāb said: "I am not sure whether the order to sell her is after the third or the fourth time."

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: A man who had drunk alcohol was brought to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and he gave the man about forty lashes with two palm branches. Anas added: “Abu Bakr did the same, but when ‘Umar became the caliph, he consulted the people, and ‘Abdur-Rahmān ibn ‘Awf said: ‘The lightest prescribed punishment is eighty (lashes).' So ‘Umar gave his commands accordingly."

‘Ali ibn Abi Tālib (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I would not blame myself for the death of any person when inflicting a prescribed corporal punishment on him, with the exception of the one who drinks alcohols, for if he were to die (when being punished), I would pay blood money to his family, because no punishment has been fixed by the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) for him.

Abu Burdah al-Ansāri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: "No one should be flogged more than ten lashes except when it comes to one of the limits set by Allah."

‘Ubādah ibn as-Sāmit (may Allah be pleased with him), who witnessed Badr and was one of the chiefs chosen to represent his tribe on the night of ‘Aqabah, reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said, and around him was a group of his Companions: "Give me your pledge that you will not associate anything with Allah, that you will not steal, that you will not commit adultery, that you will not kill your children, that you will not bring forth slander you have invented between your hands and legs, and that you will not disobey in righteousness. Whoever among you fulfills these, his reward is with Allah. And whoever commits any of these and is punished in this world, it will be an expiation for him. And whoever commits any of these and Allah covers him, then it is up to Allah; if He wills, He will pardon him, and if He wills, He will punish him." So we gave him our pledge on that.