Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (14/208)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

“A hadd punishment is not obligatory except upon such-and-such,” then it is as though the basic assumption were that a hadd punishment is not obligatory. But if he had said, “A hadd punishment is obligatory upon every adult, sane person who is legally accountable and knows that the act is prohibited,” it would have been more emphatic. For carrying out a hadd punishment is obligatory according to the Quran, the sunnah, and scholarly consensus.

Allah, Exalted is He, says: “As for the thief, male or female, cut off their hands as a punishment from Allah, so that they may serve as a deterrent. And Allah is Almighty, All-Wise” [al-Ma'idah 5:38]. The command indicates obligation: “as a punishment from Allah,” so that no one will dare to steal thereafter. He concluded the verse with “Almighty,” so that He possesses absolute authority, and “All-Wise,” so that it may not be said: “This is foolishness: why cut off his hand for the sake of a quarter of a dinar, when, if someone cut it off through an act of aggression, the compensation would be five hundred dinars?” We say: Yes. If it is cut off for theft, it is cut off for a quarter of a dinar; but if it is cut off through an act of aggression, five hundred dinars must be paid as compensation—protecting wealth by cutting it off for a quarter of a dinar, and protecting lives by requiring five hundred dinars for cutting it off.

Allah, Exalted is He, also says: “As for the fornicatress and the fornicator, flog each of them with one hundred lashes, and let not compassion for them prevent you from carrying out Allah’s law” [al-Nur 24:2]. So beware of saying, “He is an elderly man—shall we flog him a hundred lashes?!” This applies if he has not been married. But if he has been married, then it is stoning. Do not say, “I feel pity for him”; rather, say, “I do not pity him,” for the One more merciful than I commanded that he be flogged and forbade me from showing compassion towards him, saying: “And let not compassion for them prevent you from carrying out Allah’s law, if you truly believe in Allah and the Last Day” [al-Nur 24:2].

If someone says, “Flog him in his house, so that no one sees him,” we say: Allah, Exalted is He, says: “And let a group of the believers witness their punishment.” The One who legislated these prescribed punishments is Allah, and He is more merciful than all created beings; indeed, He is more merciful to a child than its mother. For carrying out the prescribed punishments entails countless great benefits: they deter and they purify.

لا يجب الحد إلا على كذا، كأن الأصل عدم وجوب الحد، لكن لو قال: «يجب الحد على كل بالغ عاقل ملتزم عالم بالتحريم» صار أبلغ؛ لأن الحد إقامته واجبة بالكتاب، وبالسنة، والإجماع. قال الله تعالى: ﴿وَالسَّارِقُ وَالسَّارِقَةُ فَاقْطَعُوا أَيدِيَهُمَا﴾، والأمر للوجوب ﴿نَكَالاً مِنَ اللَّهِ﴾ حتى لا يجترئ أحد على السرقة بعد ذلك ﴿وَاللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ﴾ ختمها بالعزة حتى يكون له السلطان ﷿ ﴿حَكِيمٌ﴾ [المائدة: ٣٨] حتى لا يقال: إن هذا سفه، لماذا تقطع يده من أجل ربع دينار؟! ولو قطعها جانٍ لكانت الدية خمسمائة دينار؟ قلنا: نعم، إذا سرقت قطعت في ربع دينار، وإن قُطعت في جناية سُلِّمت خمسمائة دينار، حماية للأموال في قطعها بربع دينار، وحمايةً للنفوس في وجوب خمسمائة دينار في قطعها. وقال تعالى: ﴿الزَّانِيَةُ وَالزَّانِي فَاجْلِدُوا كُلَّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا مِئَةَ جَلْدَةٍ وَلَا تَأْخُذْكُمْ بِهِمَا رَأَفَةٌ فِي دِينِ اللَّهِ﴾ [النور: ٢] فإياك أن تقول: هذا شيخ كبير، نجلده مائة جلدة!! وهذا إن لم يتزوج، وأما إذا تزوج فالحجارة، فلا تقل: أرحمُهُ، بل قل: لا أرحمُهُ؛ لأن من هو أرحم مني أمر بجلده، ونهاني أن أرأف به، فقال: ﴿وَلَا تَأْخُذْكُمْ بِهِمَا رَأَفَةٌ فِي دِينِ اللَّهِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ﴾ [النور: ٢]. فإذا قال: اجلدوه في بيته حتى لا يطلع عليه أحد، قلنا: قال تعالى: ﴿وَلْيَشْهَدْ عَذَابَهُمَا طَائِفَةٌ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ﴾، والذي شرع هذه الحدود الله، وهو أرحم من الخلق جميعاً، فهو أرحم من الوالدة بولدها؛ لأن في إقامة الحدود مصالح عظيمة لا تحصى، ففيها ردع وتطهير.