´It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:` “Ward off the legal punishments as much as you can.”
Hadith Referenceسنن ابن ماجه / كتاب الحدود / 2545
Hadith Gradingالألبانی:ضعيف | زبیر علی زئی:ضعيف, إسناده ضعيف, إبراهيم بن الفضل:متروك, وله شواهد ضعيفة عند الترمذي (1424) وغيره, انوار الصحيفه، صفحه نمبر 471
Hadith Takhrij«تفرد بہ ابن ماجہ ، ( تحفة الأشراف : 12945 ، ومصباح الزجاجة : 902 ) ( ضعیف ) » ( سند میں ابراہیم بن الفضل المخزومی ضعیف راوی ہیں ، ملاحظہ ہو : الإروا ء : 2356 )
Benefits and Issues: The aforementioned narration has been declared weak by our esteemed researcher as well as other scholars; however, some scholars have explained the meaning of this hadith to be that the prescribed punishment (hadd) should only be implemented when the crime is established in such a manner that no room for doubt or suspicion remains.
When the crime of adultery (zina) was committed by Hazrat Ma'iz al-Aslami, he came to the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and confessed. Accordingly, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "Perhaps you only kissed, or touched, or looked (with desire)."
When he explicitly confessed to the mistake for which the punishment is stoning (rajm), then the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) prescribed the punishment of stoning for him. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hudud, Chapter: Should the Imam say to the confessor, 'Perhaps you only touched or squeezed?', Hadith: 2864)
Source: Commentary on Sunan Ibn Mājah by Mawlānā ‘Atā’ullāh Sājid, Page: 2545
Abu Hurairah (RAA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Avert the infliction of the prescribed punishment as long as you find a way out (i.e. to avoid their infliction). Related by Ibn Majah with a weak chain of narrators. At-Tirmidhi and Al-Hakim transmitted on the authority of 'Aishah (RAA) with the wording, 'Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "Avert infliction of the prescribed punishment on the Muslims as much as you can." It is also a weak hadith. Al-Baihaqi transmitted on the authority of 'Ali (RAA) that he said, 'Avert the prescribed punishment by rejecting doubtful evidence.'