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“Enjoining right and forbidding wrong” cannot be fully accomplished without the punishments prescribed by Islamic law, for Allah restrains through governing authority those whom He does not restrain through the Quran. Enforcing the prescribed punishments is a duty incumbent upon those in authority. This is accomplished by punishing the neglect of obligations and the commission of prohibited acts. Some punishments are fixed, such as giving the slanderer eighty lashes and amputating the thief’s hand. Others are not fixed and may be called “discretionary punishment.” Their severity and form vary according to the gravity of the sins, the offender’s circumstances, and how infrequently or frequently the offense occurs.

“Discretionary punishment” takes various forms: verbal reprimand and rebuke, imprisonment, banishment from one’s homeland, and beating.

If beating is imposed for neglecting an obligation—for example, failing to pray or to discharge binding obligations, such as repaying a debt despite being able to do so, returning wrongfully seized property, or restoring something entrusted to one to its rightful owners—the offender is beaten repeatedly until he fulfills the obligation, with the beatings spread out over successive days.

If, however, the beating is imposed for a past sin, as recompense for what he has done and as a deterrent from Allah to him and others, only as much as is needed is administered. There is no fixed minimum.