Punishing one who is suspected is not permissible, so how is the hadith: “You are coming to me to dispute, and perhaps some of you are more eloquent in their argument than others”?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Punishing one who is suspected is not permissible, because we would be punishing based on a possibility, and that is not permissible. In some cases, Sahih al-Bukhari 2680 and in others, did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) rule based on suspicion?
The Shaykh : It is not based on suspicion; he rules based on the implications of the words before him. Also, note that we say the hadd is not established against him, but if the circumstances become strong, he is given a discretionary punishment. The discussion is about the hadd.
You people present your cases to me and some of you may be more eloquent and persuasive in presenting their argument
إنكم تختصمون إلي ولعل بعضكم ألحن بحجته من بعضThe Shaykh : It is not based on suspicion; he rules based on the implications of the words before him. Also, note that we say the hadd is not established against him, but if the circumstances become strong, he is given a discretionary punishment. The discussion is about the hadd.