announcing his name and offense before the people. On other occasions the punishment is simply to remove him from the gathering, as public welfare and discipline may require, and at times it may be flogging.
As for the fixed penalties, once a case has reached the ruler it is unlawful for anyone to intercede. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “When a ḥadd reaches the ruler, Allah curses the one who intercedes and the one for whom intercession is sought”—a curse meaning expulsion and banishment from the mercy of Allah. He also said, “Whoever’s intercession blocks the implementation of one of Allah’s prescribed limits has set himself in opposition to Allah in His decree”—and we seek refuge with Allah.
If the matter has not yet come before the judge, then intercession and mediation may be permissible. Suppose someone actually witnesses a man committing fornication, and he has three other witnesses besides himself. If he judges it better for the man to be urged to repent, and the man does repent so that the matter remains concealed, there is no harm in that. But once it has reached the ruler, intercession is not allowed.
The author then cites the ḥadith of ʿĀʾishah—may Allah be pleased with her—in the chapter on the prohibition of interceding in the ḥudūd, the story of the woman from the Makhzūm clan.
[Explanation]
The author—may Allah have mercy on him—entitles this chapter “The Prohibition of Interceding in the ḥudūd.” The ḥudūd are the punishments that Allah and His Messenger have fixed for the perpetrator of a sin: among them are the ḥadd for fornication, for false accusation, for theft, and for highway robbery. Execution for apostasy, however, does not fall under the ḥudūd, for if the apostate repents—even after being brought before the ruler—the death penalty is waived.
These ḥudūd are obligatory and are not dropped except when a person repents before he is apprehended, as Allah the Exalted says:
“Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive upon earth to cause corruption is none but that they be killed, or crucified, or that their hands and feet be cut off on opposite sides, or that they be exiled from the land. That is disgrace for them in this world, and for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment—except for those who repent before you apprehend them; then know that Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Quran 5:33–34)