Understanding The Prophet's Life
From Issue: 725 [Read full issue]
Bringing Ease
When two of the Prophet's (peace be upon him) Companions, Muadh b. Jabal and Abu Musa al-Ashari (may Allah be pleased with them both) were leaving as judges to the Yemen, the Prophet instructed them to:
"Be gentle to the people and avoid harshness to them; bring them good news and scare them not." [Muslim]
With regard to the implementation of penalties, the Prophet instructed the judges and rulers to 'Suspend the prescribed punishments (hudud) as far as you can. For it is better to err in forgiveness than making an error in punishment.' [Abu Yusuf]
In a hadith narrated by the Prophet's widow, Aisha, and recorded by both al-Bukhari and Muslim, the Prophet said: "God is gentle and he loves gentleness in all matters." Then he confirmed in another hadith to say that:
"Gentleness fails not to bring beauty in everything, and it is not taken away from anything without causing ugliness." [Muslim]
A juristic conclusion drawn from these guidelines is that bringing ease to the people and removal of hardship from them is one of the cardinal objectives of Shariah. Hence it is not permissible for a mufti, judge or jurist to opt for a harsh verdict in cases where an easier alternative can be found.
Compiled From:
"Shariah Law - An Introduction" - Mohammad Hashim Kamali, pp, 292-294