Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (9/349)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

Likewise, if the governors themselves are the judges, there is no difficulty either, for they will first pass judgment and then carry it out. Thus, it is the governors who appoint agents to enforce the prescribed punishments. But in our present time, responsibilities have become divided: the judge has one responsibility and the governor another. So who has the authority to carry out the prescribed punishments?

The answer: the governor. Accordingly, the judge refers the judgment onward, and then the governor appoints whomever he wishes to carry out the ruling.

What is the evidence for appointing agents in matters of prescribed punishments, both in establishing them and carrying them out?

The evidence is the account of the woman with whom a hired worker employed by her husband committed adultery. This worker was told, “You are liable to stoning.” So his father went and ransomed him with one hundred sheep and a female servant—that is, a slave-girl—so that he would not be stoned. This was an ignorant and erroneous legal ruling. He then asked the people of knowledge, and they said: “Your son is liable to flogging, while the man’s wife is liable to stoning,” because the son was not previously married—that is, he was a virgin—whereas the employer’s wife was previously married.

He then came to the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, and the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said: “As for the sheep and the female servant, they are to be returned to you”—that is, restored to him. In other words, neither the husband nor the wife has any right to possess them, because this ruling contradicts the judgment of Allah and His Messenger, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him. From this we learn that whatever is taken without right must be returned to its owner; that this man’s wife is liable to stoning; and that his son is liable to one hundred lashes and exile for one year. Then the Messenger, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said to a man from among the Ansar: “Go early, O Unays, to this man’s wife; and if she confesses, stone her.” (1)

(1) Narrated by al-Bukhari in Kitab al-Sulh (Reconciliation), chapter: “If they agree upon an unjust settlement, the settlement is invalid” (2695); and by Muslim in Kitab al-Hudud (Legal Punishments), chapter: “Whoever confesses to zina (illicit sexual intercourse)” (1697), on the authority of Abu Hurayrah.

وكذلك إذا كان الأمراء هم القضاة فلا إشكال ـ أيضاً ـ؛ لأنهم سوف يحكمون أولاً ثم ينفذون ثانياً، فالأمراء هم الذين يوكلون في إقامة الحدود، لكن في وقتنا الحاضر تفرقت المسؤولية، فصار القاضي عليه مسؤولية، والأمير عليه مسؤولية، فمن الذي يملك تنفيذ الحدود؟ الجواب: الأمير، وعلى هذا فالقاضي يرفع الحكم، ثم الأمير يوكل من شاء إن ينفذ الحكم. وما الدليل على التوكيل في الحدود في إثباتها واستيفائها؟ الدليل قصة المرأة التي زنا بها أجير عند زوجها، وقيل لهذا الأجير: إن عليك الرجم، فذهب أبوه وافتداه بمائة شاة ووليدة يعني جارية؛ لئلا يرجم، وهذه فتوى جهل وخطأ، فسأل أهل العلم، فقالوا: على ابنك الجلد وعلى امرأة الرجل الرجم؛ لأن الابن غير محصن، أي: بكر، وزوجة المستأجر ثيِّب، ثم جاء إلى النبي ﷺ، فقال النبي ﷺ: «أما الغنم والوليدة فهي رد عليك»، أي: مردودة، يعني لا يملكها الزوج ولا الزوجة؛ وذلك لأن هذا الحكم مخالف لحكم الله ورسوله ﷺ، وبه نعرف أن ما قبض بغير حق يجب أن يرد إلى صاحبه، وأن على زوجة هذا الرجل الرجم، وعلى ابنك جلد مائة وتغريب عام، ثم قال الرسول ﷺ لرجل من الأنصار: «واغد يا أنيس إلى امرأة هذا فإن اعترفت فارجمها» (١).

(١) أخرجه البخاري في الصلح/ باب إذا اصطلحوا على صلح جور فالصلح مردود (٢٦٩٥)؛ ومسلم في الحدود/ باب من اعترف على نفسه بالزنا (١٦٩٧) عن أبي هريرة ﵁.