Allah Most High has also said:

“The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive to spread corruption in the land is that they be killed, crucified, have their hands and feet cut off on opposite sides, or be banished from the land. That is their disgrace in this world, and in the Hereafter they will suffer a tremendous punishment.”

“Except those who repent before you apprehend them. Know, then, that Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

He thus excepted only those who repent before being apprehended. Anyone who repents after being apprehended remains among those subject to the prescribed punishment, as indicated by the general wording, its implied meaning, and the underlying rationale. This applies when the offence has been established by evidence.

If, however, it is established through a confession, and the person comes forward confessing the sin in repentance, there is a disagreement concerning this, discussed elsewhere. The apparent position of Ahmad’s school is that carrying out the prescribed punishment is not obligatory in such a case. Rather, if the person requests that it be carried out on him, it is carried out; but if he leaves, no prescribed punishment is inflicted on him. This is how the report concerning Mā‘iz ibn Mālik—in which the Prophet said, “Why did you not let him go?”—has been understood, as has the report of the man who said, “I have committed an offence requiring a prescribed punishment, so carry it out on me,” along with other reports.

In the Sunan collections of Abū Dāwūd and al-Nasā’ī, ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Amr reports that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“Pardon one another for offences requiring prescribed punishments before bringing them to me. Once such a case reaches me, its punishment becomes obligatory.”

In the Sunan collections of al-Nasā’ī and Ibn Mājah, Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, reports that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“A prescribed punishment carried out on earth is better for its inhabitants than forty mornings of rain.”

This is because sins cause a reduction in provision and fear of the enemy, as the Quran and Sunnah indicate. Thus, when