. IÚ IÛJ ':?Ü?I Iljj ,H c.,tÝ (cont.)

,,,. ,,.. ,,. ,,,. ,,,. ,. "',., ,,,. / (. .J. ,,..,. .J. ,,., ., .... , ,., ,J wG ੟ P ,_ 4-.>-i -: ƿh / .J -: / /. , ::-\1L , ::-\ri/ ੣L ੢( Y' . ,,.NJ ӵ if . ৃ · ......J , _._i _ , _._, ) • • • ) "'-... ,... .... ,... ,,.. ź .... - v-- It...:> ,,,. \..:i' ,,,. ,,,. 1J J ,,.. ,... ,,. JL ,,,. ,... "'J ࡖ )j P :; ,,,. ,,,. ,,,. ,,,. "The one who drinks alcohol is to be flogged. If he repeats it, flog him again. If he repeats it, flog him again. Ifhe [again] repeats it, then kill him."1 There is no question that this is an authentic hadith.2 Most scholars seem to consider this hadith to be abrogated though. This hadith is found in Sunan al-Tirmidhi. Al­ Tirmidhi himself said, All of the hadith in this book [ Sunan al-Tirmidhi] are acted upon and followed by some people of knowledgeexcept for two hadith: the hadith of ibn Abbaas in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) combined the Dhuhr and Asr Prayers in Madinah and the Maghrib and lsha Prayers, without fear, traveling or rain. And the hadith in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "If he drinks flog him; if he repeats it a fourth time, kill him. "3 Ahmad Shaakir has written some thirty pages on this hadith alone. He has tried to prove that the claim that it is abrogated is not a strong claim. In fact, it is an unsupported claim. His arguments seem convincing.4 (vii) The case of the thief after being punished four times: There is also a hadith in Sunan Abu Dawood, Sunan al-Nasaai and al-Baihaqi's Sunan al­ Kubra that states that the thief is to be killed if he has already been punished four times for that crime. 5 This is the opinion of some jurists. (viii) The case of dividing the Muslims when they are united under the leadership of one caliph: The Prophet (peace be upon him) once said, 1 This hadith was recorded by Ahmad with this wording. It has also been recorded by al-Tirmidhi and numerous others. 2 Cf., Muhammad Naasir al-Deen al-Albaani, Silsilat al-Ahaadith al-Saheeha (Kuwait: al-Daar al-Salafiya, 1979), vol. 4, pp. 347-348. 3 Quoted in Ahmad Shaakir's footnotes to Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad (Cairo: Maktaba al­ Turaath al-Islaami, 1994), vol. 9, pp. 52-53. In his commentary to Sahih Muslim, al-Nawawi wrote, "As for what he said about the one who drinks alcohol, it is as he said. It is an abrogated hadith. The consensus points to it being abrogated. As for the hadith of ibn Abbaas, the scholars are not agreed upon not acting in accord with it. In fact, they have different statements on that point." Al-Nawawi, Sharh sahih, vol. 5, p. 218 (quoted in Shaakir's notes, vol. 9, p. 53). See Shaakir's notes to ibn Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 9, pp. 40-70. Ibn al-Qayyim was of the opinion that the killing was of a matter of juridical discretion. That is, the judge must have the person flogged but he may also have him killed if he finds that to be the wisest approach. Shaakir does not accept this view either, saying that it is unsubstantiated. Al-Albaani, on the other hand, accepts ibn al-Qayyim's conclusion. (Al-Albaani, Silsilat, vol. 3, p. 348.) 5 The majority of the scholars seem to consider this a weak or very weak hadith. This was the view of al-Nasaai and ibn Rajab. However, al-Hilaali concludes that it is hasan. Allah knows best. See Shuaib al-Amaoot's footnotes to ibn Rajab, Jaami, vol. 1, p. 323; al-Hilaali, Eeqaadh, p. 200. Hadith #14: The Sanctity of a Muslim's Blood "When you are all united under one leader and someone comes to undermine your solidarity or disrupt your unity, you should kill him." (Recorded by Muslim.) (ix) The case of self-defense or defending one's wealth: It is clear from many hadith that it is excusable to kill another Muslim in the case of self­ defense. If the person fights in defense of his wealth and is killed, he will be treated by Allah' as a martyr. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ,,,. ,,,. / J ౎\ R Ǥc 0J_ À :; "The one who is killed while defending his wealth is a martyr." (Recorded by al-Bukhari.) Another hadith states, ,,,. ,,. ,,,. ,,,. ,,,. ,,... ,,... ,,... J ,,,. ,,.. ,,,. J j_f .. R ਖ਼ਗ਼ 0J_ )r ƅƆ 0J_ )r `r 0J_ À :;) :i_f .. R Ǥc 0J_ À :; "Whoever is killed defending his wealth is a martyr. Whoever is killed defending his family or his blood or his religion is a martyr."2 How to Reconcile These Cases with the Meaning of this Hadith The hadith under discussion here from ibn Masood definitely gives the impression that it is only under one of those three cases that a person receives the death penalty.