or a single boy. There is no fixed minimum for discretionary punishment. It may take any form that causes a person distress, whether through words, actions, withholding words, or withholding actions. A man may be disciplined by admonition, rebuke, or stern words. He may also be disciplined by shunning him and withholding greetings until he repents, when this serves the best interest, just as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions shunned “the three who were left behind.”

He may be disciplined by removal from office, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions used to do. He may also be disciplined by no longer being employed in the Muslim army, as in the case of a soldier who flees the battlefield. Fleeing the battlefield is a major sin, and cutting off his pay is a form of discretionary punishment. Likewise, if a commander commits a grave offense, he may be removed from his command as a disciplinary punishment.

Discretionary punishment may also take the form of imprisonment, beating, blackening the offender’s face, or making him ride an animal backwards. It is reported that ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) ordered such treatment for a false witness. For the liar has blackened his own reputation, so his face is blackened; he has turned the account upside down, so he is made to ride backwards.

As for its maximum, one view states: “No more than ten lashes may be administered.” Many scholars hold that discretionary punishment must fall short of a fixed prescribed punishment. They then differ between two views. Some say: “It must fall short of the least prescribed punishment.” Thus, for a free person, it must fall short of the least prescribed punishment applicable to a free person, which is forty or eighty lashes; and for a slave, it must fall short of the least prescribed punishment applicable to a slave, which is