And whoever among them repents before being apprehended is absolved of all penalties owed as rights of Allah—banishment from the land, the amputation of hand and foot, or mandatory execution. He remains answerable, however, for the rights of human beings with respect to life, limb, and property, unless those entitled to such rights waive their claims. This rests on the Almighty’s words: “Except for those who repent before you gain power over them; then know that Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful” (Q 5:34).

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) said: “The scholars unanimously agree that when a highway robber, thief, or the like is brought before the ruler and only afterwards professes repentance, the prescribed penalty is not waived; it must still be carried out, even if the repentance is genuine.”

Thus the verse grants leniency solely to repentance that occurs prior to capture. One who repents after falling into the authorities’ hands remains subject to the ḥadd by virtue of the verse’s general wording, its implicit meaning, and its explicit detail; otherwise, people could exploit a claim of repentance to disable Allah’s legal limits, for no criminal would fail to feign repentance to escape punishment.

If a person is attacked by someone intent on killing him, if his inviolable honour is assaulted—such as when his mother, daughter, sister, or wife is threatened with violation—or if his property is assaulted by someone determined to seize or destroy it, he may defend against that aggression, whether the aggressor is a human being or an animal. He should repel it with the least force he reasonably believes sufficient, for denying him the right of self-defence would lead to his destruction and to harm befalling his person, honour, and wealth; moreover, if defence were impermissible, people would tyrannize one another. Should the aggressor be driven back only by killing, he may kill him and bears no liability, for he has killed solely to ward off his harm.