thousand to be used after his death to build a mosque. The judge is responsible for overseeing the execution of this bequest, unless it has a specifically appointed executor; in that case, the appointed executor is responsible for it.

Seventh: his statement, “marrying off those women who have no guardian”—that is, women who either have no guardian or have a guardian who is not qualified for guardianship.

An example of the first is a woman who has no relatives except her maternal uncles and brothers through her mother, and has neither full brothers nor paternal half-brothers, paternal uncles, or paternal cousins. The judge is the one who marries her off, because she has no guardian.

An example of the second is a woman who has an uncle or a brother, but he does not pray. One who does not pray is not qualified to marry her off, because he is a disbeliever, and a disbeliever has no guardianship over a Muslim. Thus, the judge marries off a woman who has no guardian, whether her guardian is absent altogether or is not qualified.

Eighth: his statement, “carrying out the prescribed punishments.” This means that the one responsible for carrying out the prescribed punishments is the legitimate ruler, for the Prophet ﷺ used to carry out the prescribed punishment himself, though at times he would appoint someone else to do so. Thus, he said to Unays: “Go, O Unays, to this man’s wife, and if she confesses, stone her.” (1) Here, the judge may appoint someone to carry out the prescribed punishment on his behalf.

His statement, “the prescribed punishments,” refers to legally stipulated penalties for acts of disobedience, intended to deter people from committing similar acts and to expiate the offender’s sin. These punishments include the penalty for unlawful sexual intercourse, false accusation of unlawful sexual intercourse, theft, and highway robbery. What matters is understanding the governing criterion.