Kitab al-Hudud and Kitab al-Qada

The chapters on prescribed punishments (hudud) and judicial procedure (qada) in Sunan Abu Dawud represent two of the most specialized sections of the collection and have been central references for scholars working on Islamic criminal law and the theory of Islamic adjudication.

Kitab al-Hudud opens by establishing the seriousness of the prescribed punishments and the strict evidentiary standards required before they may be applied. The hudud are a fixed category of punishments specified in the Quran and Sunnah for specific offenses: the hadd for unlawful sexual intercourse (zina), theft, consuming alcohol, false accusation of zina (qadhf), highway robbery (hirabah), and apostasy. Abu Dawud collects the hadiths bearing on each, together with the conditions that must be met before the punishment applies.

The chapter on zina is notable for its emphasis on the extraordinary evidentiary bar the Prophet set. The requirement of four witnesses to the act of penetration itself — an almost impossibly high standard — appears clearly in the hadiths, along with the famous story of Maiz al-Aslami, who confessed to zina and came to the Prophet repeatedly to receive the punishment. The Prophet repeatedly asked him whether he was perhaps drunk, whether he understood what he was confessing, and gave him multiple opportunities to retract — illustrating that even confession was to be received with great caution and the accused encouraged to reconsider.

The theft chapters cover the minimum threshold (nisab) below which amputation does not apply, the circumstances in which theft is excused (such as dire need), and the categorical statement that a thief's hand is cut off only for the minimum threshold value. The famous hadith recording that the Prophet's daughter Fatimah would not be spared if she stole — used to establish that the hadd applies equally to all — appears in the two Sahihs but Abu Dawud's collection provides additional context.

The hadd for false accusation of zina (qadhf) receives detailed treatment: the number of lashes, the circumstances in which it applies, and the conditions under which it is waived (such as when the accuser has witnesses). These chapters became foundational for jurists concerned with protecting personal honor while maintaining the integrity of the evidentiary system.

Kitab al-Qada — the Book of Judicial Procedure — is one of the most practically important sections of Abu Dawud's collection for any Muslim judge or ruler. The Prophet said: 'Judges are of three types: one in Paradise and two in Hellfire. The one in Paradise is the one who knows the truth and judges by it. The one who knows the truth but judges contrary to it is in the Fire. And the one who judges without knowledge is in the Fire.' This hadith sets the stakes for the entire section.

The chapters on judicial procedure cover how a judge should conduct hearings, take oaths, evaluate witnesses, deal with conflicting claims, and issue rulings. The hadith that a judge should not rule while angry is among the most famous in this section and became a standard principle in Islamic legal theory. Abu Dawud also records hadiths on the permissibility and conditions of court settlements (sulh), the duty of arbiters to be impartial, and the prohibition of bribery in judicial proceedings — completing a picture of a system designed around procedural integrity.