The Effect of Repentance on the Dropping of the Fixed Punishment After It Has Been Established

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, if a ruling is established against a person before the Imam through four confessions or by four witnesses, does the Imam have the option to pardon him and not carry out the fixed punishment if he sees that the fornicer has repented, or is it necessary to carry out the fixed punishment whenever it is established by the Shari'ah?

Answer:
If it is established by witnesses, it is necessary to carry it out, even if he repents. If the fornicer repents, his repentance is between him and Allah, but the fixed punishment is not dropped from him. However, if it is established by his own confession and he then retracts his confession, his retraction is accepted; his retraction is accepted. As for repentance, it does not drop the fixed punishment. Rather, repentance is accepted by Allah between the servant and his Lord. But the fixed punishments that Allah has prescribed for crimes, once established, must be carried out. Yes. There is no doubt that Ma'iz (may Allah be pleased with him) came repenting; his repentance carried him. He came repenting, and al-Ghamidiyyah came repenting, and that did not drop the fixed punishment from them. Yes.