Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (9/344)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

His statement: “and in establishing the prescribed punishments.” Hudūd is the plural of ḥadd, which linguistically means prevention. Here, it refers to every punishment fixed by the Sacred Law for a sin, in order to deter people from committing the like of it and to expiate the offender’s sin. What is meant by establishing them is, for example, when a judge says to someone, “Go to so-and-so and have him confess to what necessitates a prescribed punishment.” This concerns establishing it.

His statement: “and carrying them out.” This is when the offender has confessed and the prescribed punishment has been established; then the judge appoints someone to carry it out. There is no harm in this. The evidence is the Prophet’s statement to a man from the Ansar: “Go, O Unays, to this man’s wife, and if she confesses, stone her.” His words, “if she confesses,” concern establishing the punishment, while his words, “stone her,” concern carrying it out.

Let us now review the prescribed punishments: the punishment for unlawful sexual intercourse, the punishment for false accusation of unlawful sexual intercourse, the punishment for theft, and the punishment for highway robbery.

First: unlawful sexual intercourse. Its punishment is established by the explicit text of the Quran. Allah, Exalted is He, says:

“Strike the female fornicator and the male fornicator with a hundred lashes each.” [Surah al-Nur 24:2]

The Sunnah adds to this: the male and female offender are to be banished from the town in which the act took place for one year. If the offender is muḥṣan—that is, someone who has married through a valid marriage and consummated the marriage with his wife—then his punishment is stoning, even if he has subsequently separated from his wife.

Second: false accusation of unlawful sexual intercourse. Its punishment is eighty lashes. Allah, Exalted is He, says:

“Those who accuse chaste women and then do not produce four witnesses—flog them with eighty lashes, and never accept their testimony.” [Surah al-Nur 24:4]

Third: theft. Its punishment is the amputation of the right hand at the wrist joint;

قوله: «والحدود في إثباتها» الحدود جمع حد، وهو في اللغة المنع، والمراد به هنا كل عقوبة مقدرة من الشرع على معصية لتمنع من الوقوع في مثلها وتكفر ذنب صاحبها، والمراد بإثباتها، مثل أن يقول الحاكم لشخص: اذهب إلى فلان ليقر بما يقتضي الحد، فهذا في إثباتها. قوله: «واستيفائها» بأن يكون المذنب قد اعترف وثبت الحد، فيوكل الحاكم من يقيم هذا الحد، فهذا لا بأس به، والدليل قول النبي لرجل من الأنصار: «اغد يا أنيس إلى امرأة هذا، فإن اعترفت فارجمها»، فقوله: «فإن اعترفت» هذا إثبات، وقوله: «فارجمها» هذا استيفاء. فلنستعرض الحدود وهي: حدّ الزنا، وحدّ القذف، وحد السرقة، وحد قطع الطريق. أولاً: الزنا، وهو حد بنص القرآن، قال الله ـ تعالى ـ: ﴿الزَّانِيَةُ وَالزَّانِي فَاجْلِدُوا كُلَّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا مِئَةَ جَلْدَةٍ﴾ [النور: ٢]. وجاءت السنة بزيادة على ذلك، وهي أن يُغرَّب الزاني والزانية عن البلد الذي حصل فيه الزنا لمدة عام، وإن كان محصناً ـ وهو الذي قد تزوج بنكاح صحيح وجامع زوجته ـ فإن حده الرجم، حتى وإن كان قد فارق الزوجة. ثانياً: القذف، وحده ثمانون جلدة، قال الله تعالى: ﴿وَالَّذِينَ يَرْمُونَ الْمُحْصَنَاتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَأْتُوا بِأَرْبَعَةِ شُهَدَاءَ فَاجْلِدُوهُمْ ثَمَانِينَ جَلْدَةً وَلَا تَقْبَلُوا لَهُمْ شَهَادَةً أَبَدًا﴾ [النور: ٤]. ثالثاً: السرقة، وحدها قطع اليد اليمنى من مفصل الكف؛