❖ Ḥadd of the Highway Robber (Muḥārib): Qur’ānic Command, Definitions, and Opinions of the Companions
Written by: Imran Ayoob Lahori
◈ Qur’ānic Punishment for the Muḥārib
This ḥadd is among those punishments explicitly mentioned in the Qur’ān: execution, crucifixion, cutting off hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile.
Linguistic Definition:
The word muḥārib means one who fights. It is the active participle from حَارَبَ يُحَارِبُ (mufāʿalah).
References: المنجد: ص / 148 ، القاموس المحيط: ص / 69
Sharʿī Definition:
Anyone who instills terror in people by threatening them with murder or theft of wealth, whether inside or outside a city.
Reference: السيل الجرار: 370/4
◈ Qur’ānic Verse
إِنَّمَا جَزَاءُ الَّذِينَ يُحَارِبُونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَيَسْعَوْنَ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَسَادًا أَن يُقَتَّلُوا أَوْ يُصَلَّبُوا أَوْ تُقَطَّعَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَأَرْجُلُهُم مِّنْ خِلَافٍ أَوْ يُنفَوْا مِنَ الْأَرْضِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ لَهُمْ خِزْيٌ فِي الدُّنْيَا ۖ وَلَهُمْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ [المائدة: 33]
"Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive upon earth [to cause] corruption is none but that they be killed, or crucified, or that their hands and feet be cut off on opposite sides, or that they be exiled from the land. That is their disgrace in this world, and for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment."
◈ Prophetic Example
Anas (RA) narrated: A group from the tribe of ʿUkl came to the Prophet ﷺ, accepted Islam, but later killed the shepherd of the camels and drove the camels away. The Prophet ﷺ ordered them to be captured. Their hands and feet were cut off, their eyes gouged (as they had done to the shepherd), and they died in that state.
Abū Qilābah said:
هؤلاء قوم سرقوا وقتلوا وكفروا بعد إيمانهم وحاربوا الله ورسوله
"These were people who stole, murdered, disbelieved after belief, and fought against Allah and His Messenger."
References: بخاري: 6802–6805 ، مسلم: 1671 ، أبو داود: 4367 ، ترمذي: 1845 ، ابن ماجة: 2587
◈ Interpretations of the Verse of Muḥārabah
- Ibn ʿAbbās (RA): This verse was revealed concerning the polytheists.
References: حسن: صحيح أبو داود: 3275 ، 4372 ، نسائي: 101/7 ، نيل الأوطار: 610/4 - Ibn ʿUmar (RA): It was revealed concerning the ʿUraynīn (those who killed the Prophet’s shepherd).
References: حسن صحيح: صحيح أبو داود: 3674 ، 4369 ، نسائي: 100/7 - Al-Bukhārī (رحمه الله): Reported the statement of Abū Qilābah supporting Ibn ʿUmar’s view.
Reference: بخاري: بعد الحديث / 6805 - Mālik (RA), al-Shāfiʿī (RA), Abū Ḥanīfah (RA): The verse applies to those who leave the Muslim community and commit corruption and highway robbery.
Reference: فتح الباري: 378/15
◈ Preferred Opinion (الراجح)
The verse was revealed about the ʿUraynīn. This is the view of the majority.
Reference: فقه السنة: 564/2
However, the ruling is not limited to them alone. The principle is:
الاعتبار بعموم اللفظ لا بخصوص السبب
"Consideration is for the generality of the wording, not the specificity of the cause."
Thus, the ruling applies to all who commit such crimes.
Furthermore, those men of ʿUkl had pronounced the shahādah, and mere apostasy was not firmly proven. Even if assumed, the Qur’ān already legislates the killing of polytheists wherever found. Restricting this verse only to polytheists would nullify its benefit.
The Companions and their successors enforced this ḥadd strictly against all highway robbers and corrupters of the earth.
Reference: السيل الجرار: 369/4
