The Ruling on the Deputies of the Sultan and the Heads of Villages Who Appoint Highway Robbers and Thieves

The questioner : It is not permissible for the Imam to send someone who is weak against the robbers.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : Yes, yes, yes, and it is obligatory to say about him what is said about the one who turns back and helps them.

The Shaykh : Take his hand.

The questioner : And it is obligatory to say about him what is said about the one who turns back and helps them. If they killed, he is to be killed, according to the opinion of the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), and the majority of the scholars. If they took the money, his hand is to be cut off. If they killed and took the money, he is to be killed and crucified.

The Shaykh : Yes, and a workshop, is that correct?

The questioner : And if he took the money, his hand and his leg are to be cut off. And if they took the money, his hand and his leg are to be cut off. If they killed and took the money, he is to be killed and crucified. And according to the opinion of a group of the scholars, he is to be amputated, killed, and crucified. It was said that he is given the choice between these two. And if he did not give them permission, but when he was able to overpower them, he shared the matter with them.

The Shaykh : Attached, and if he did not give them permission, but. I say you stopped at, and if he did not give them permission, so I made it attached to what came before it, and it is attached to what came after it.

The questioner : But if we attached it to what came after it, there is no answer.

The Shaykh : And if he is.

The questioner : And if he did not give them permission, but when he was able to overpower them, he shared the money with them, and neglected some of the rights and the hudud (fixed punishments).

The Shaykh : Meaning, it is not permissible for him to do that, because his initial position enabled him to do this act. So when he was able to overpower them, he shared with them. That is not permissible for him. Meaning, the governor may not have given permission to these soldiers who pursued the highway robbers and said to them, "The condition is forty, and we will satisfy the owner of the money." It is well known that it is obligatory for the judge, as the Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) said, to cut off the hands and legs of these people if they took the money, and if they killed, to kill them and crucify them. But if they were about to do so, and then they said to him, "We have money with us, we will share it with you," and he prevented the hudud (fixed punishments), then he is like one who takes refuge in the One (Allah) in the same way.