Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 30806 — Discretionary punishment (ta'zir)

Imran said that al-Sha'bi was asked about four men who testified against a man that he was not the son of so-and-so, while four other men testified that he was indeed the son of so-and-so: what is the ruling on them? He said: "I would remove the punishment from them, because they are four, and I would believe the others."