Al-Siyasa al-Shar'iyya - Ibn Taimiya - (الكتاب/149)

Al-Siyasa al-Shar'iyyaIbn Taimiya

It also depends on the offender’s condition. If he habitually engages in immoral conduct, his punishment is increased, unlike one who does so only rarely.

It also depends on the gravity of the offense. Thus, someone who makes advances toward people’s womenfolk and children is punished (1) more severely than one who has made advances toward only one woman or one boy (2).

There is no fixed minimum for discretionary punishment. Rather, it may take any form that causes a person pain—through words or deeds, or through withholding words or deeds (3). A man may be disciplined by being admonished, rebuked, and addressed sternly. He may be disciplined by being shunned and not greeted with peace until he repents, if that serves the best interest, just as the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and his Companions shunned the three who were left behind (4). He may be disciplined by removal from office, as the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and his Companions used to do. He may also be disciplined by being removed from service in the Muslim army [أ/ق 46], as in the case of a fighting soldier who flees from the battlefield, for fleeing from the battlefield is a major sin, and cutting off his stipend is a form of discretionary punishment. Likewise, if a commander commits an act deemed grave, removing him from command is a discretionary punishment for him (5).

Discretionary punishment may also take the form of imprisonment or beating, or of blackening the offender’s face and seating him backward on a mount. It is narrated that Umar ibn al-Khattāb—may Allah be pleased with him—ordered

(1) (Y) reads: “in a manner in which he punishes him”; (F, Z, B) read: “in a manner in which he does not punish him.” (2) (Zā, B) read: “for the one woman”; (Zā) alone also reads: “or for the one boy.” (3) (Y) reads: “by doing whatever [causes pain].” (4) (Y) reads: “his Companions … stayed behind … would discipline in that manner.” “And his Companions” is absent from (F). (5) The passage from “Likewise …” through this point is omitted from (Y).

وعلى حسب حال المذنب، فإذا كان من المدمنين على الفجور زِيدَ في عُقوبته بخلاف المُقِلِّ من ذلك. وعلى حسب كبر الذنب وصغره، فيُعاقب من يتعرض لنساء الناس وأولادهم ما لا يُعاقَب (١) من لم يتعرَّض إلا لامرأة واحدة أو صبي واحد (٢). وليس لأقلِّ التعزير حدٌّ، بل هو بكل ما (٣) فيه إيلام للإنسان من قول وفعل، وتَرْك قولٍ وتَركِ فعل، فقد يُعَزَّر الرجلُ بوعظه وتوبيخه والإغلاظ له، وقد يُعَزَّر بهجره وترك السلام عليه حتى يتوب إن كان ذلك هو المصلحة، كما هجر النبي ﷺ وأصحابُه الثلاثةَ الذين خُلِّفوا (٤)، وقد يُعزر بعزله عن ولايته، كما كان النبي ﷺ وأصحابُه يُعَزِّرون بذلك، وقد يُعَزَّر بترك استخدامه في جند المسلمين [أ/ق ٤٦] كالجندي المقاتل إذا فرَّ عن الزحف، فإن الفرار من الزحف من الكبائر، وقَطْعُ خبزِه نوعُ تعزيرٍ له، وكذلك الأمير إذا فعل ما يُستَعْظم فعزلُه عن الإمارة تعزيرٌ له (٥). وقد يُعَزَّر بالحبس، وقد يُعزر بالضرب، وقد يُعزر بتسويد وجهه وإركابه على دابةٍ مقلوبًا، كما قد رُوي عن عمر بن الخطاب ﵁ أنه أمر

(١) (ي): «ما يعاقبه»، (ف، ز، ب): «ما لا يعاقبه». (٢) (ظ، ب): «للمرأة الواحدة» و (ظ) فقط: «أو للصبي الواحد». (٣) (ي): «بفعل ما». (٤) (ي): «أصحابه ... تخلفوا يعزرون بذلك». «وأصحابه» ليست في (ف). (٥) قوله: «وكذلك ... » إلى هنا ساقط من (ي).