Umayyah was sleeping on a cloak of his in the mosque of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, when a thief came and stole it. He seized the thief, who was brought before the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. The Prophet ordered that his hand be cut off. Safwān said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, would you cut off his hand over my cloak? I give it to him.’ He replied, ‘Why did you not do that before bringing him to me?’ Then he had his hand cut off.” Reported by the compilers of the Sunan.

He, peace and blessings be upon him, meant that pardoning the thief before bringing him would have been permissible, but not after the matter had been brought before him. Thus, a prescribed punishment may not be set aside through pardon, intercession, a gift, or any other means. For this reason, the scholars agree—as far as I know—that when highway robbers, thieves, and others like them are brought before the ruler and subsequently repent, the prescribed punishment is not waived. Rather, it must be carried out even if they repent. If their repentance is sincere, the punishment serves as an expiation for them, and their submitting to it completes their repentance—just as one must restore people’s rights and submit to legal retribution for violations of human rights.

The basis for this is Allah’s saying:

“Whoever intercedes for a good cause will have a share in it, and whoever intercedes for an evil cause will bear a share of it. Allah is ever a Keeper over all things.”

Intercession means assisting a petitioner, joining him so that they become a pair where previously he stood alone. If someone assists him in righteousness and piety, that is good intercession; if he assists him in sin and aggression, that is evil intercession. Righteousness is what one is commanded to do, and sin is what one is forbidden to do. If, however, they are lying about their repentance, Allah does not bring the schemes of the treacherous to success.