Is it permissible for the judge to reconcile in cases of hudud (fixed Qur'anic punishments)?
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The questioner:
Peace be upon you, Your Eminence, the father. The questioner says: We have previously established that reconciliation is for those in authority, for scholars, and for students of knowledge. So what if some hudud (fixed Qur'anic punishments) reach the one in authority? Does he begin with reconciliation, or is the hudud (fixed Qur'anic punishments) carried out?
The Shaykh:
There is no reconciliation in hudud (fixed Qur'anic punishments). The hudud (fixed Qur'anic punishments) must be executed. There is no reconciliation in them and no pardon.
The presenter:
Nor is there taking compensation for them.
The Shaykh:
Compensation is not allowed; they must be executed. This is why, when they tried to persuade the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to leave the cutting off of the hand of a woman from Banu Makhzum, he said (peace and blessings be upon him): There is no favoritism in hudud (fixed Qur'anic punishments). If they reach the ruler, they must be executed. Yes.
The presenter:
Peace be upon you, Your Eminence, the father. The questioner says:
The Shaykh:
Pardon, or rather, taking money, this is in qisas (retaliation in kind). Qisas (retaliation in kind) is a right for the person; it is permissible for him to take it, it is permissible for him to pardon it for free, and it is permissible for him to pardon it in exchange for blood money or money, even if it is more than the blood money. This is permissible specifically in qisas (retaliation in kind). As for hudud (fixed Qur'anic punishments), no, there is no exchange. Yes.
Peace be upon you, Your Eminence, the father. The questioner says: We have previously established that reconciliation is for those in authority, for scholars, and for students of knowledge. So what if some hudud (fixed Qur'anic punishments) reach the one in authority? Does he begin with reconciliation, or is the hudud (fixed Qur'anic punishments) carried out?
The Shaykh:
There is no reconciliation in hudud (fixed Qur'anic punishments). The hudud (fixed Qur'anic punishments) must be executed. There is no reconciliation in them and no pardon.
The presenter:
Nor is there taking compensation for them.
The Shaykh:
Compensation is not allowed; they must be executed. This is why, when they tried to persuade the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to leave the cutting off of the hand of a woman from Banu Makhzum, he said (peace and blessings be upon him):
Only those before you were destroyed because when the weak among them stole, they left him alone.
انما اهلك من كان قبلكم انهم كانوا اذا سرق فيهم الضعيف اذا سرق فيهم الشريف تركوه.And when the noble among them stole, they carried out the hudud (fixed Qur'anic punishments) on him. Then he said: Woe to Allah if Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), had stolen, I would have cut off her hand.
واذا سرق بهم الضعيف اقاموا الحد اقاموا عليه الحد ثم قال ويل الله لو ان فاطمه بنت محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم سرقت لقطعت يدهاThe presenter:
Peace be upon you, Your Eminence, the father. The questioner says:
The Shaykh:
Pardon, or rather, taking money, this is in qisas (retaliation in kind). Qisas (retaliation in kind) is a right for the person; it is permissible for him to take it, it is permissible for him to pardon it for free, and it is permissible for him to pardon it in exchange for blood money or money, even if it is more than the blood money. This is permissible specifically in qisas (retaliation in kind). As for hudud (fixed Qur'anic punishments), no, there is no exchange. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [33] هل يجوز للقاضي الصلح في الحدود؟ - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.