Umdat at-Talib - Al-Buhuti - (1/228)

Book of Prescribed Punishments (1) may be enforced only by the Imam (2) or by his deputy, and only upon a legally accountable person who is bound by the law and knows the act is prohibited.

It is not to be carried out inside a mosque.

A man subjected to a ḥadd is lashed while standing, with a whip that is neither worn-out nor brand-new, without stretching him out, tying him, stripping him, or striking him excessively. The blows are distributed over his body, avoiding the head, the genitals, and the vital organs.

The same procedure applies to a woman, except that she is seated; her clothing is fastened around her and her hands are held.

The order of severity in lashing is: fornication, then slander, then drinking, then taʿzīr (discretionary chastisement).

No pit is dug for stoning, and the executor is not liable so long as he does not exceed the limits.

Section [On the ḥadd for fornication]

A sexually experienced offender (muḥṣan) is stoned when he commits fornication. A muḥṣan is one who has had intercourse with his spouse in her front passage (3) within a valid marriage, and both spouses are free and legally accountable.

(1) Al-hudud (sing. had) literally means “prevention”; the hudud of Allah are His forbidden limits. In juristic usage, the term denotes a fixed Sharia penalty for a specific sin, intended to deter its repetition. (2) In MS B the reading is: “the imam.” (3) The text enclosed in square brackets is taken from MS B and is absent from the other manuscripts.

كِتابُ الحُدود (١) لا يُقيمه إلا إمامٌ (٢) أو نائبُه، على مكلَّفٍ مُلتزِمٍ عَالِمٍ بالتحريم. ولا يُقامُ في مسجدٍ. ويُضْربُ الرَّجلُ في الحد قائمًا، بسَوْط لا خَلِقٍ ولا جَديدٍ، بلا مَدٍّ ولا ربطٍ ولا تجريد، ولا مُبالغةٍ في الضَرب، ويُفرَّق على بَدَنِه، ويُتَّقَى الرَّأسُ والفَرْجُ والمَقَاتِل. وكذا المرأةُ لكن جالسةً، وتُشَدُّ عليها ثيابُها، وتُمْسَكُ يداها. وأَشَدُّ جَلْدٍ في زنىً، فقذفٍ، فشُرْبٍ، فَتعزيرٍ. ولا يُحْفرُ لِرجْمٍ، ولا يَضْمن مُقِيمُه إن لم يَتَعَدَّ. فَصلٌ [في حد الزنى] يُرجم المُحْصَنُ إذا زنى، وهو مَنْ وَطِئَ زوجَتَه [في قُبُلها] (٣) في نكاحٍ صَحيحٍ، وهما مُكلَّفانِ حُرَّان.

(١) الحدود جمع حد، وهو لغةً: المنع. وحدود الله محارمه. وشرعاً: عقوبة مقدرة شرعا في معصية لتمنع من الوقوع في مثلها. (٢) في (ب): "الإمام". (٣) ما بين المعقوفتين من (ب)، وليس في بقية النسخ.