Chapter on Discretionary Punishment

Shaykh al-Islām Abū al-‘Abbās was asked:

A Muslim emir owns slaves and has attendants in his service. May he carry out a prescribed punishment on any of them who commits an offense warranting it? May he command them to fulfill an obligation they neglect, such as the five daily prayers and similar duties? What kind of whip should he use to punish them?

He replied:

Praise be to Allah. He must command them all to do what is right and forbid them from wrongdoing and aggression. At the very least, whenever he hires one of them, he must stipulate this as a condition, just as he stipulates the work to be performed. Whenever any of them fails to comply, he should dismiss him.

If he is able to punish them, with the ruler allowing him to do so under prevailing custom, while no one else punishes them because they are under his protection or for a similar reason, then he should administer discretionary punishment if they will neither fulfill their obligations nor refrain from prohibited acts without punishment. In that case, he is the one charged with this duty, for he is able to carry it out, whereas others