Sunan Ibn Majah — The Chapters on Legal Punishments

`Uthman bin ‘Affan looked at them when they spoke of killing. He said: “Are they kill threatening to kill me? Why would they kill me? I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: “It is not lawful to shed the blood of a Muslim except in one of three (cases): a man who commits adultery when he is a married person, then he should be stoned; a man who kills a soul not in retaliation for murder; and a man who apostatizes after becoming Muslim.’ By Allah (SWT), I never committed adultery either during Ignorance days nor in Islam, and I have never killed a Muslim soul, and I have not apostatized since I became Muslim.”

“It is not lawful to shed the blood of a Muslim who bears witness that none has the right to be worshiped but Allah (SWT), and that I am the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), except in one of three cases: a soul for a soul; a married person who commits adultery, and one who leaves his religion and splits from the Jama`ah.”

“Whoever changes his religion, execute him.”

“Allah (SWT) will not accept any good deed from a polytheist who committed polytheism after having become Muslim, until he leaves the polytheists and joins the Muslims.”

“Carrying out one of the legal punishments prescribed by Allah (SWT) is better than if it were to rain for forty nights in the land of Allah (SWT), Glorified is He.”

“A legal punishment that is carried out in the land is better for the people of that land than if it were to rain for forty days.”

“Whoever denies a Verse of the Qur’an, it is permissible to strike his neck (i.e., execute him) Whoever says, Lailaha illallahu wahduhu la sharika lahu, wa anna Muhammadan `abduhu wa rasuluhu (None has the right to be worshiped but Allah (SWT) alone, and Muhammad (ﷺ) is His slave and Messenger), no one has any was of harming him, unless he (does something which) deserves a legal punishment, and it is carried out on him.”

“Carry out the legal punishments on relatives and strangers, and do not let the fear of blame stop you from carrying out the command of Allah (SWT).”

“I heard ‘Atiyyah Al-Quradhi say: ‘We were presented to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on the Day of Quraidhah. Those whose pubic hair had grown were killed, and those whose pubic hair had not yet grown were let go. I was one of those whose pubic hair had not yet grown, so I was let go.”

“I heard ‘Atiyyah Al-Qurazi say: Here I am still among you,’ ”

“I was presented to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on the day of Uhud, when I was fourteen years old, but he did not permit me (to fight). I was presented to him on the Day of Khandaq when I was fifteen years old, and he permitted me (to fight).’ ”

“Whoever covers (the sin of) a Muslim, Allah will cover him (his sin) in this world and in the Hereafter.”

“Ward off the legal punishments as much as you can.”

“Whoever conceals the (hidden) fault of his Muslim brother, Allah (SWT) will conceal his faults on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever exposes the fault of his Muslim brother, Allah will expose his faults, until (so that) He shames him, due to it, in his (own) house.”

that Quraish became concerned about the case of the Makhzumi woman who had stolen, and they said: “Who will speak to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) concerning her?” They said: “Who would dare to do that other than Usamah bin Zaid, the beloved of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)?” So Usamah spoke to him, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “Are you interceding concerning one of the legal punishments of Allah (SWT)?“ Then he stood up and addressed (the people) and said: “O people! Those who came before you were only destroyed because when one of their nobles stole, they let him off, but when one of the weak people among them stole, they would carry out the punishment on him. By Allah, if Fatimah the daughter of Muhammad were to steal, I would cut off her hand.” (Sahih)(One of the narrators) Muhammad bin Rumh said: “I heard Laith bin Sa’d say: ‘Allah(SWT) protected her (Fatimah) from stealing, and every Muslim should say this.’”

“When the woman stole the Qatifah from the house of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), we regarded that as a serious matter. She was a woman from Quraish. So we came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and spoke to him, and said: ‘We will ransom her for forty Uqiyyah.’ The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘Purification is better for her.” When we heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) speak so kindly, we went to Usamah and said: ‘Speak to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) .’ When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saw that, he stood up to speak and said: ‘How much do you intercede with me concerning one of the legal punishments of Allah (SWT) that has befallen one of the female slaves of Allah (SWT)! By the One in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad, if Fatimah the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) were to do what she has done, Muhammad would cut off her hand.”

“We were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and a man came to him and said: ‘I adjure you by Allah (SWT) to judge between us according to the Book of Allah (SWT).’ His opponent, who was more knowledgeable than him, said: ‘Judge between us according to the Book of Allah (SWT), but let me speak first.’ He said: ‘Speak.’ He said: ‘My son was a servant of this man, and he committed adultery with his wife, and I ransomed him for one hundred sheep and a servant. I asked some men of knowledge and I was told that my son should be given one hundred lashes and exiled for a year, and that the wife of this man should be stoned.” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, I will judge between you according to the Book of Allah (SWT). The one hundred sheep and the servant are to be returned to you and your son is to be given one hundred lashes and exiled for a year. Go tomorrow, O Unais, to the wife of this man and if she admits I then stone her.’”

“Learn from me. Allah (SWT) has ordained for them (women) another way. (If) a virgin (commits illegal sexual intercourse) with a virgin, (the punishment is) one hundred lashes and exile for one year. (If) a Thayyib (commits adultery) with a Thayyib (the punishment is) one hundred lashes and stoning.”

“A man who had intercourse with the slave woman of his wife was brought to Nu`man bin Bashir. He said: ‘I will pass no other judgement than that of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) He said: ‘If (his wife) had made her lawful for him, then I will give him one hundred lashes, but if she has not given permission, I will stone him.’ ”

the case of a man who had intercourse with the slave woman of his wife was referred to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and he did not stipulate any legal punishment for him.

“I fear that after a long time has passed, some will say: ‘I do not find (the sentence of) stoning in the Book of Allah (ﷺ),’ and they will go astray by abandoning one of the obligations enjoined by Allah (SWT). Rather stoning is a must if a man is married (or previously married) and proof is established, or if pregnancy results or if he admits it. I have read it (in the Quran). “And if an old man and an old woman commit adultery, stone them both.” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stoned (adulterers) and we stoned (them) after him.’ ”

“Ma`iz bin Malik came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: ‘I have committed fornication,’ and he (the Prophet (ﷺ)) turned away from him. He said: ‘I have committed fornication,’ and he turned away from him. Then, he said: I have committed fornication, and he turned away from him, until when he had confessed four times, he ordered that he should be stoned. When he was being struck with the stones, he ran away, but a man caught up with him who had a camel’s jawbone in his hand; he struck him and he fell down. The Prophet (ﷺ) was told about how he fled when the stones hit him and he said: ‘Why did you not let him be?’”

a woman came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and confessed to committing fornication. He issued orders, and her garments were tightened around her (so that her private parts would not become uncovered) then he stoned her, then he offered the funeral prayer for her.

The Prophet (ﷺ) stoned two Jews, and I was among those who stoned them. I saw (the man) trying to shield (the woman) from the stones.”

the Prophet (ﷺ) stoned a Jewish man and a Jewish woman.

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) passed by a Jew with a blackened face who had been flogged. He called them and said: ‘Is this the punishment for the adulterer that you find in your Book?’ They said: ‘Yes.’ Then he called one of their scholars and said: ‘I adjure you by Allah (SWT) Who sent down the Tawrah (Torah) to Musa! Is this the punishment for the adulterer that you find in your Book?’ He said: ‘No; if you had not adjured me by Allah (SWT), I would not have told you. The punishment for the adulterer that we find in our Book is stoning, but many of our nobles were being stoned (because of the prevalence of adultery among them), so if we caught one of our nobles (committing adultery), we would let him go; but if we caught one of the weak among us, we would carry out the punishment on him. We said: “Come, let us agree upon something that we may impose on both noble and weak alike.” So we agreed to blacken the face and whip them, instead of stoning.’ The Prophet (ﷺ) ‘O Allah (SWT), I am the first of those who revive your command which they had killed off,’ and he issued orders that (the man) be stoned.”

“If I were to stone anyone without proof, I would have stoned so-and-so, for there is obviously doubt concerning her speech, her appearance and those who enter upon her.”

“Ibn `Abbas mentioned two people who had engaged in the process of Li`an. Ibn Shaddad said to him: ‘Is this the one of whom the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “If I were to stone anyone without proof I would have stoned so-and-so.” Ibn`Abbas said: ‘No, that was a woman who, (although she was a Muslim), used to expose herself.’”

“Whoever you find doing the action of the people of Lut, kill the one who does it, and the one to whom it is done.”

“Stone the upper and the lower, stone them both.”

“The thing that I most fear for my nation is the action of the people of Lut.”

“Whoever has intercourse with a Mahram relative, kill him; and whoever has intercourse with an animal, kill him, and kill the animal.”

“We were with the Prophet (ﷺ) and a man asked him about a slave woman who commits fornication (again), whip her, even if that is for a rope of hair.’ ”

“If a slave woman commits fornication then whip her, and if she commits fornication then whip her, and if she commits fornication then whip her, then sell her even if that is for a rope.”

“When my innocence was revealed, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood on the pulpit and mentioned that, and he recited Quran. When he came down, he ordered that the legal punishment (of slandering) be carried out on two men and a woman.”

“If one man says another: ‘O effeminate one!’ give him twenty lashes. And if one man says to another: ‘O homosexual!’ give him twenty twenty lashes.”

“I would not pay the blood money (Diyah) for those on whom I carried out the legal punishment, except for the wine-drinker. The Messenger of Allah did not institute anything in that case, rather it is something that we would do.”

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to beat (offenders) for drinking wine with sandals and date-palm stalks.”

“When Walid bin `Uqbah was brought to `Uthman, they had testified against him. He said to ‘Ali: ‘You are close to your uncle’s son, so carry out the legal punishment on him.’ So ‘Ali whipped him. He said: ‘The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gave forty lashes, and Abu Bakr gave forty lashes, and ‘Umar gave eighty all are Sunnah.’”

“If he gets drunk, then whip him. If he does it again, then whip him. If he does it again, then whip him.’ And he said concerning the fourth time: ‘If he does it again, then strike his neck (i.e., execute him).’ ”

“If they drink (again), then whip them. If they drink (again), then whip them. If they drink (again), then whip them. If they drink (again), then kill them.”

“There was a man living among our dwellings who had a physical defect, and to our astonishment he was seen with one of the slave women of the dwellings, committing illegal sex with her. Sa’d bin ‘Ubadah referred his case to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), who said: ‘Give him one hundred lashes.’ They said: ‘O Prophet (ﷺ) of Allah (ﷺ), he is too weak to bear that. If we give him one hundred lashes he will die.’ He said: “Then take a branch with a hundred twigs and hit him once.” Another chain reports a similar hadith.

“Whoever bears weapons against us is not one of us.”

“Whoever bears weapons against us is not one of us.’”

“Whoever brandishes weapons against us is not one of us.’”

some people from (the tribe of) `Urainah came to us (to Al-Madinah) during the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), but they did not want to stay in Al-Madinah because the climate did not suit them. He said: “Go out to the camels which belong to us, and drink their milk and urine.” So they did that (and recovered), then they apostatized from Islam and killed the herdsman of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and stole his camels. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent people after them, and they were brought back. Then he cut off their hands and feet, branded their eyes and left them in Harrah until they died.

some people raided the she-camels of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) , so the Prophet(ﷺ) cut off their hands and feet (on opposite sides) and lanced (gouged out) their eyes.

“Whoever is killed defending his property, he is a martyr.”

“If a man’s property is targeted, and he is fought and fights back and is killed, he is a martyr.”

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘If a man’s property is wrongfully targeted, and he is killed, he is a martyr.”

“May Allah curse the thief! He steals an egg and his hand is cut off, and he steals a rope and his hand is cut off”

“The Prophet (S.A.W.) cut off (the hand of a thief) for a shield worth three Dirham.”

“Do not cut off (the thief’s hand) except for something worth one quarter of a Dinar or more

“The hand of the thief is to be cut off for the price of a shield.

“I asked Fadalah bin Ubaid about hanging the hand (of the thief) from this neck, and he said: ‘It is sunnah. The messenger of Allah (ﷺ) cut off a man’s hand then hung it from his neck”’

“O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)! I stole a camel belonging to Banu so-and-so; purify me!” The Prophet (ﷺ) sent word to them and they said: “(Yes), we have lost a camel of ours.” So the Prophet (ﷺ) ordered that his hand be cut off. Tha’labah said: “I was looking at him when his hand fell and he said (to it) ‘Praise is to Allah (STW) Who has purified me of you; you wanted to cause my whole body to enter Hell.”’

“If a slave steals, then sell him, even for half Price.’ ”

one of the slaves of Khumus stole something from the Khumus, and the matter was referred to the Prophet (ﷺ) but he did not cut off his hand, and he said ‘ The Property of Allah, (STW) part of it stealing another part.’ ”

“The hand of the one who betrays a trust, the robber and the pilferer is not to be cut off”.

“I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: ‘The hand of the pilferer is not to be cut off”.

“The hand is not to be cut off for (stealing) produce or the spadix of palm trees.”

“The hand is not to be cut off for (stealing) produce or the spadix of palm trees.”

his father slept in the mosque, using his upper wrap as a pillow, and it was taken from beneath his head. He brought the thief to the Prophet (ﷺ) and the Prophet (ﷺ) ordered that his hand be cut off. Safwan said: “O Messenger of Allah , (ﷺ) I did not want this! I give my upper wrap to him in charity.” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Why did you not give it to him before you brought him to me?”

He said: “What is taken from the tree and carried away, its value and the like of it along with it (meaning double its price must be paid). What (is taken) from the place where dates are dried, (the penalty) is cutting off the hand if the amount taken is equal to the price of a shield. But if (the person) eats it and does not take it away, there is no penalty.” He said: “What about the sheep taken from the pasture, O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)?” He said: “(The thief) must pay double its price and be punished, and if it was in the pen then his hand should be cut off, if what was taken was worth the price of a shield.”

“I heard Abu Mundhir, the freed slave of Abu Dharr, say that Abu Umayyah narrated to him, that a thief was brought to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he admitted his crime, although the stolen goods were not found with him. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘I do not think you stole them.’ He said: ‘Yes I did.’ Then he said (again): ‘I do not think that you stole them.’ and he said: ‘Yes I did.’ Then he ordered that his hand be cut off. The Prophet (ﷺ) ‘ Say: I seek Allah’s forgiveness and I repent to Him.’ So he (the thief) said: ‘I seek Allah’s forgiveness and I repent to him.’ He (the Prophet (ﷺ) said twice: ‘O Allah! Accept his repentance.”

“A Woman was coerced (i.e., raped) during the time of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) He waived the legal punishment for her and carried it out on the one who had attacked her, but he (the narrator) did not say that he rules that she should be given a bridal-money.”

“Do not carry out the legal punishment in the mosque.”

the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade lashing for the legal punishment in the mosques.

“No one should be given more than ten lashes, except in the case of one of the legal punishments of Allah (SWT).”

“Do not punish with more than ten whips.”

“Whoever among you undergoes a Hadd, his punishment has been brought forward, and it is an expiation for him otherwise his case rests with Allah.”

“Whoever commits a sin in this world and is punished for it, Allah (STW) is too just to repeat the punishment for his slave (in the hereafter). And whoever commits a sin in this world and Allah conceals him, Allah is too generous to go back to something that He has pardoned.”

“O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) if a man finds another man with his wife, should he kill him?” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “No.” Sa’d said: “Yes he should, by the one who honored you with the Truth!” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Listen to what your leader says!”

“When the Verse of legal punishments was revealed, it was said to Abu Thabit Sa’d bin Ubadah, who was a jealous man: ‘If you found another man with your wife, what would you do?’ He said: “I would strike them both wife the sword; do you think I should wait until I bring four (witness) and he has satisfied himself and gone away? Or should I say I saw such and such, and you will carry out the legal punishment punishment on me (for slander) and never accept my testimony thereafter?’ Mention of that was made to the prophet (ﷺ) and he said: “The sword is sufficient as a witness.’ Then he said: ‘No (on second thought) I am afraid that the drunkard and the jealous would pursue that.” (Da’if) Abu Abdullah – meaning Ibn Majah – said: “I heard Abu Zurah saying: “This is a Hadith of Ali bin Muhammad At-Tanafisi, I did not hear it from him.”

“My maternal uncle passed by me – (one of the narrators) Hushaim named him in his narration as Harith bin Amr – and the Prophet (ﷺ) had given him a banner to carry. I said to him: ‘Where are you going?’ He said: ‘The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) has sent me to a man who married his father’s wife after he died, and has commanded me to strike his neck (i.e. execute him).”

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent me to a man who had married his father’s wife after he died, to strike his neck (execute him) and confiscate his wealth.”

“Whoever claims to belong to someone other than his father, or (a freed slave) who claims that his Wala is for other than his real master, the curse of Allah (SWT), the angels and all the people will be upon him.”

“I heard Sa’d and Abu Bakrah both say that they heard directly from Muhammad (ﷺ) saying it and memorized: ‘Whoever claims to belong to someone other than his father knowing the he is not his father, Paradise will be forbidden to him.”

“Whoever claims to belong to someone other than his father will not smell the fragrance of Paradise, even though its fragrance may be detected from a distance of five hundred years.”

“I came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) with a delegation from Kindah, and they thought that I was the best of them. I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) are you not from among us?’ He said: ‘We are the tribe of Banu Nadr bin Kinanah, and we do not attribute ourselves to our mother and we do not deny our forefathers.’”He said: “Ash’ath bin Qais used to say: ‘If any man is brought to me who suggests that a man from Quraish does not belong to Nadr bin Kinanah, I would carry out the legal punishment (for slander) on him.’”

“We were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and Amr bin Murrah came and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), Allah (SWT) has decreed that I be doomed, and He has not guided me to earn a living except by beating my tambourine with my hand; give me permission to sing without doing anything immoral.’ The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘I will not give you permission, or honor you nor give you, what you want. You are lying, O enemy of Allah. Allah (SWT) has granted you a good, lawful provision, but you have chosen the provision that Allah (SWT) has forbidden to you instead of that which He has permitted. If I had warned you before, I would have done such and such to you. Get away from me and repent to Allah (SWT). If you do that again, after this warning, I will give you a painful beating and shave your head, to make an example of you, and I will banish you from among your people, and tell the young men of Al-Madinah to come and take your goods,’Amr stood up, suffering grief and humiliation that is known only to Allah (SWT). When he went away, the Prophet (ﷺ) said: ‘Those sinners, whoever among them dies without having repented, Allah (SWT) will gather him on the Day of Resurrection just as he was in this world, effeminate and naked, with not even a piece of cloth to conceal him from the people. Every time he gets up, he will fall to the ground.’”

the Prophet (ﷺ) entered upon her, and heard an effeminate man saying to Abdullah bin Abu Umayyah: “If Allah enable us to conquer Ta’if tomorrow, I will show you a woman who comes in on four (roll of fat) and goes out on eight” The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Throw them out of your houses.”