One of them is that the amir may hear an allegation against the accused from the emirate’s aides without first investigating a detailed claim. He may rely on their reports concerning the accused’s character: whether he is a person of suspicious conduct and whether he is known for anything resembling what he has been accused of. If they clear him of such conduct, the suspicion is reduced and weakened, his release is expedited, and he is not dealt with harshly. If they characterize him as being involved in similar acts, the suspicion is strengthened, and the investigative measures that we shall mention may be employed in his case. Judges do not have this authority.

Second, the amir may take into consideration circumstantial indicators and the accused’s characteristics when assessing the strength or weakness of the accusation. If the accusation concerns zina and the accused is known for pursuing women, flirtation, and seductive charm, the suspicion is strengthened; if he is the opposite of this, it is weakened. If the accusation concerns theft and the accused is known for roguery, bears marks of having been beaten, or had a tool for boring through walls with him when he was apprehended, the suspicion is strengthened. If he is the opposite of this, it is weakened. This authority likewise does not belong to the judiciary.

Third, the amir may promptly imprison the accused for investigation and the establishment of his innocence.

There is disagreement concerning the duration of his imprisonment. According to one view, imprisonment for investigation and the establishment of innocence is limited to one month and may not exceed it. According to another, it is not fixed; rather, it is left to the judgment and independent legal reasoning of the imam.

The apparent import of the words of Imam Ahmad—may Allah have mercy on him and be pleased with him—is that judges may imprison a person on the basis of an accusation. According to a report transmitted by Hanbal, he said: “If legally valid evidence has been established against him, or he has confessed, the fixed punishment is carried out upon him. He is not imprisoned after the fixed punishment has been carried out. The Prophet did imprison a person on the basis of an accusation, and that continued until the judge’s understanding of his case became clear. He then released him after the fixed punishment had been carried out.”

The wording of the hadith is as follows. Abu Bakr al-Khallāl related in the beginning of his Book of Testimonies, with a chain of transmission from Bahz ibn Ḥakīm, from his father, from his grandfather: “The Prophet imprisoned a person on the basis of an accusation.” He also related, with a chain of transmission from Abū Hurayrah: “The Prophet imprisoned a person on the basis of an accusation for one day and one night, as a precaution and to establish the facts.”

This is also supported by the words of Allah Most High: “And it shall avert the punishment from her that she testify four times by Allah” (Quran 24:8). We have understood “the punishment” here to mean imprisonment, because the suspicion against her was strong as a result of her refusal to engage in liʿān.