It has also been reported:

“When Hīt complained of hunger, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, instructed him to enter Medina every Friday to ask for enough to sustain him until the following Friday.”

It is clear that Allah’s words, “or be banished from the land,” do not mean banishing him from the entire earth, but rather removing him from among the people. This is achieved by expelling him and confining him. Such banishment, as prescribed by the Sharia, is a form of separation—that is, shunning the offender. This is not like the banishment of the three who were left behind, nor is shunning him like shunning them. The Prophet prohibited people—even their wives—from associating with them or speaking to them, but did not prevent them from seeing people or attending their gatherings for prayer and other purposes. This falls short of the prescribed banishment, which combines both measures.

Allah created human beings dependent upon one another’s assistance for their religious and worldly welfare. Anyone whose association with people offers no support in religious matters, but instead corrupts them and harms their religious and worldly affairs, deserves to be removed from among them. He brings harm without benefit: his association with them corrupts both them and their children. When a boy sees another boy like himself doing something, he imitates him and follows his ways in the company of the wicked. Associating with those who engage in unlawful sexual intercourse and sodomy brings the gravest corruption and harm upon women, boys, and men. Thus, those who commit sodomy and unlawful sexual intercourse must be punished in a manner that separates them from others and keeps them away.

The essence of separation is to shun evil deeds and those who commit them. The same applies to shunning those who call to