Those who forbade burning with fire

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah al-Dawsi (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent us out in a force and said: "If you gain victory over so-and-so and so-and-so, burn those two men." Then, when the next day came, he (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a messenger to us, saying: "I had ordered you to burn these two men, and my view now is that it is not fitting for anyone besides Allah to punish with fire. So if you gain victory over the two of them, kill them."

Ikrimah (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) mentioned the people whom Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) had burned, and then said: If it had been me, I would never have burned those people in fire, because of the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): "Do not punish in the manner of Allah's punishment." And if it had been me, I would have killed them, because of the noble saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): "Whoever changes his religion, kill him."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not punish with fire, for none can punish with fire except the Lord of the Fire."

Al-Qasim bin Abd al-Rahman (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent out a force, and they went looking for a man, who climbed a tree, so they burned that tree with fire. When these people came back to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him (peace and blessings be upon him) of this, the face of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) changed and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I was not sent to punish in the manner of Allah's punishment. I was sent only to strike necks and to bind firmly."

Uthman bin Hayyan (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Sayyidah Umm al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with her) saw a person who had taken an ant or a flea and thrown it into the fire. She (may Allah be pleased with her) said: It is not fitting for anyone to punish with the punishment of Allah.

Mansur (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: They used to consider it disliked to burn a scorpion in fire, and they would say: It is an exemplary punishment (muthlah).

Hurayth (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Yahya bin Abbad Abu Hubayrah considered it disliked to burn a scorpion in fire.