Apostle of God." Then Usámah spoke to him; and the Apostle of God replied, "Dost thou intercede in the matter of one of God's punishments?" After that he stood up and gave an address and said, "Those who lived before you were destroyed simply because, when any honourable person amongst them committed theft, they used to let him off; but when any insignificant one amongst them committed theft, they used to execute the full penalty of the law upon him. By God! Verily if Fáṭimah, the daughter of Muḥammad, had committed theft, I would certainly have cut off her hand."'—Muslim, Al Bukhárí.
Concerning the Punishment for Drinking Intoxicants
It is related from Anas that, 'The Prophet of God beat one who drank wine with the branch of a palm-tree stripped of its leaves, and with shoes. And Abú Bakr scourged with forty stripes.'—Muslim, Al Bukhárí. And in another tradition from the same person it runs, 'Verily the Prophet used to beat the one who drank wine, with forty blows of a shoe and a branch of a palm-tree stripped of its leaves.'
It is related from Ibn ʿAbbás that he said, 'A man drank wine and became intoxicated. And he was met in the road staggering with unsteady gait, and he was taken to the Apostle of God. But when the man arrived opposite the house of ʿAbbás he escaped and entered in to ʿAbbás and clung to him. Then the matter was mentioned to the Prophet. Then he laughed and said, "Did he do that!" And he did not order anything concerning him.'—Abú Dáud.
Concerning What is not Allowed to be Said to
Those Punished
It is related from ʿAlí that, 'The Prophet said, "Whoever has violated the law, and his punishment is hastened in this world, then God is too just to repeat the punishment upon His servant a second time in the next world. And whoever violates the law, and God conceals it and forgives it, then He is too generous to return to anything which He has forgiven."'—At Tirmidhí, Ibn Májah.
Concerning Punishments Undefined by Law
It is related from ʿAbú Burdah bin Niyár that, 'The Prophet said, "A man shall not be scourged with more than
