or others. Allah Most High said concerning them:

“The penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive to spread corruption in the land is that they be executed or crucified, or 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.”

Al-Shāfiʿī, may Allah have mercy on him, narrated in his Musnad that Ibn ʿAbbās, may Allah be pleased with them both, said concerning highway robbers:

“If they kill and seize property, they are executed and crucified. If they kill without seizing property, they are executed but not crucified. If they seize property without killing, their hands and feet are cut off on opposite sides. If they terrorize travelers without taking any property, they are banished from the land.”

This is the view of many scholars, including al-Shāfiʿī and Ahmad, and it is close to the view of Abū Hanīfah, may Allah have mercy on him.

Some scholars hold that the ruler may exercise his judgment concerning them: he may execute anyone whose execution he considers beneficial, even if that person has not killed anyone—for example, a leader whose orders are obeyed in such activities. He may likewise order amputation for anyone whose amputation he considers beneficial, even if that person has not taken any property—for example, someone with the stamina and strength to seize property. Some scholars also hold that when they seize property, they are executed, subjected to amputation, and crucified. The first view is that of the majority.

If an armed aggressor has killed someone, the ruler must execute him as a prescribed punishment. By scholarly consensus, he may under no circumstances be pardoned. Ibn al-Mundhir reported this consensus. Nor is the decision in his case left to the heirs of the person killed. This differs from the case of a man who kills another because of enmity between them, a dispute, or some other