Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalam u alaikum,

I want to ask a very important question which my non muslim (christian) friend asked me he said : in complete sahih al bukhari we see Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) as a peace loving and merciful person but there is a hadith when he (pbuh) gave such a strict orders which are against humanity and he quoted this hadith:

Volume 7, Book 71, Number 589: Narrated Anas:

Some people were sick and they said, "O Allah`s Apostle! Give us shelter and food. So when they became healthy they said, "The weather of Medina is not suitable for us." So he sent them to Al-Harra with some she-camels of his and said, "Drink of their milk." But when they became healthy, they killed the shepherd of the Prophet and drove away his camels. The Prophet sent some people in their pursuit. Then he got their hands and feet cut and their eyes were branded with heated pieces of iron. I saw one of them licking the earth with his tongue till he died.

now my question is why Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) ordered his companions to kill them by such a hard torture they can be killed simply by throwing stones or there hands should be cut only why such a hard torture plz answer me in detail and as soon as possible...

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Answer:

Prophet(saws) punished cutting hands and legs

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

The incident and the hadith are indeed considered authentic and recorded with quite some detail by the historians and by Imam Bukhari in his collection of ‘sahih’ (authentic hadeeths).

Without an iota of a doubt brother, none in creation who ever was blessed to walk on this earth was as merciful as the Last and Final Messenger of Allah (saws)……and the Lord Most High Himself bears witness to this truth…..

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 21 Surah Anbiyaa verse 107:

107 We sent thee (O Mohamed (saws)) not, but as a Mercy for the ‘aalemeen’ (absolutely everything in creation)!

If someone was unjust to the Prophet (saws) on a personal basis, never ever did the Prophet (saws) retaliate or take retribution from that person…..but if one openly transgressed the Prescribed Boundaries of Allah Subhanah and the case was brought to him (saws), he (saws) but applied the Law which was revealed by the Lord Creator on the convicts.

Some people from the desert tribes of Ukl and Uraina came to the Prophet (saws) in Madinah in an extremely dilapidated state, embraced Islam at the hands of the Prophet (saws), and asked him to help them. The Messenger of Allah (saws) out of mercy for them, helped them, gave them food and shelter and provided them with some camels and a muslim shepherd. When these people reached a place called Al-Harra, they reverted to disbelief, poured hot iron rods into the shepherd’s eyes, and mercilessly tortured him to death before stealing the camels.

When the news of what happened reached Madinah, the Messenger of Allah (saws) sent some companions in pursuit of the burglars, and applied the Shariah Law revealed by Allah Subhanah on the wrong-doers.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verses 178-179:

178 O ye who believe! The Law of ‘Qisas’ (retribution) is prescribed to you in cases of murder; the free for the free the slave for the slave the woman for the woman. But if any remission is made by the brother of the slain then grant any reasonable demand and compensate him with handsome gratitude; this is a concession and a Mercy from your Lord. After this whoever exceeds the limits shall be in grave penalty.

179 In the law of equality there is (saving of) life to you O ye men of understanding! That ye may restrain yourselves.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verse 45:

45 We ordained therein for them: "Life for life, eye for eye, nose for nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and wounds equal for equal." But if one remits the retaliation by way of charity it is an act of atonement for himself. And if any fail to judge by (the Law) what Allah hath revealed, they are (no better than) wrong-doers.

Because the wrongdoers had pierced the eyes of the innocent shepherd with iron-rods, the Law of Retribution demanded that the exact same punishment be accorded to them. Only the person who was injured or his legal heirs have the right to pardon the wrongdoers; it was not lawful for the Messenger of Allah (saws) to grant a ‘presidential pardon’ (as is sometimes done in this ignorant day and age!). The murderers had obviously killed the shepherd, and it is likely that the heirs of the shepherd wished to apply the Law of ‘Qisas’ or retribution for the injury of their loved one.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verse 33:

33 The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive with might and main for mischief through the land (burglary) is: execution, or crucifixion of the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter.

The Shariah Law prescribed for the crime of burglary by Allah is the cutting of the hands and feet from opposite sides.

To even contemplate that the Messenger of Allah (saws) would belittle the Commands or Laws of Allah Subhanah by himself, and as the ‘Judge’ of the state apply a punishment other than that which the Lord Most High Himself had prescribed for the crime would have been absolutely inappropriate to say the least!

If as argued, the Messenger of Allah (saws) had pardoned the murderers or simply executed them….he (saws) would be (and I seek refuge in Allah from even saying this!) guilty of misappropriating the lawful right of retribution of the murdered shepherd and his heirs in the All-Just Court of the Lord Most High!

A society which insists on being merciful and prescribe ‘humane’ penalties for the criminals who mercilessly and inhumanely usurp the rights of innocent citizens, would be to make a mockery of humanity! The life, the property, and the honor of no lawful citizen would be safe in such a society.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verses 178-179:

179 In the ‘Law of Qisas’ (Retribution) there is (saving of) life to you, O ye men of understanding! That ye may restrain yourselves.

Shariah Law is prescribed by the Lord All-Wise to provide peace and security to the law abiding citizens in a society; and instill awe and fear and serve as an example to the evildoers of a society, not the other way around!

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan