Enforcement of Ḥudūd and Taʿzīr in the Mosque According to Aḥādīth
Excerpt from: Aḥkām al-Masājid by Shaykh Muḥammad Munīr Qamar
❖ The Ruling
- Decisions and judgments may be made inside the mosque.
- Minor punishments (taʿzīr) may also be carried out inside, provided they do not harm the sanctity of the mosque.
- However, for major punishments (ḥudūd) such as stoning (rajm), the guilty must be taken outside.
✔ Prophetic Example
When Māʿiz al-Aslamī رضي الله عنه confessed to adultery, after verification, the Prophet ﷺ said:
((اذهبوا به فارجموه))
“Take him away and stone him.”
— Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, with Fatḥ al-Bārī 13/156
Jābir رضي الله عنه said:
((كنت فيمن رجمه بالمصلى))
“I was among those who stoned him near the Eid ground.”
— Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 12/121, 129–130; 13/156
This shows that execution of ḥadd punishments was performed outside the mosque.
Imām al-Bukhārī even titled a chapter:
باب من حكم فى المسجد حتى إذا أتى على أحد أمر أن يخرج من المسجد فيقام
“Ruling in the mosque, but when the time of carrying out the punishment came, the guilty was ordered to be taken outside.”
✔ Practice of the Companions
- ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه said regarding a man:
((اخرجاه من المسجد ثم أضرباه))
“Take him out of the mosque and then carry out the punishment.”
— Fatḥ al-Bārī 13/156–157 - ʿAlī رضي الله عنه similarly ordered that a man be taken outside for the implementation of ḥadd.
✔ Opinions of the Scholars
- Ḥanafīs, Imām al-Shāfiʿī, Imām Aḥmad, and Isḥāq ibn Rāhūyah:
Ḥadd punishments should not be carried out inside mosques. - Imām al-Shaʿbī and Ibn Abī Laylā:
Permitted it inside. - Imām Mālik:
Minor punishments (a few lashes) may be done in the mosque, but major ones must be outside. - Ibn Baṭṭāl:
The stronger opinion is that punishments be carried out outside.
✔ Supporting Aḥādīth
- Ḥakīm ibn Ḥizām رضي الله عنه narrates:
((لا تقام الحدود في المساجد ولا يستقاد فيها))
“Ḥadd punishments and qiṣāṣ (retaliation) are not carried out in mosques.”
— Abū Dāwūd, Dāraqutnī, Aḥmad, Ibn Abī Shaybah, Ḥākim; graded ḥasan by al-Albānī in al-Irwāʾ 7/361 - Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما narrates:
((لا تقام الحدود في المساجد))
“Ḥadd punishments are not to be carried out in mosques.”
— Tirmidhī, Ibn Mājah, al-Dāramī; Irwāʾ 7/271–272 - Reports from Abū al-Dardāʾ, Wāthilah, Abū Umāmah, and Ibn ʿUmar also prohibit carrying out punishments inside mosques, though some chains are weak, they strengthen each other.
✿ Conclusion
- Judicial matters and small corrective measures can occur in mosques.
- Ḥudūd (stoning, lashing, executions, etc.) should be carried out outside the mosque to preserve its sanctity.
- The strongest position, supported by the Prophet ﷺ, his Companions, and leading scholars, is that mosques must be kept free from the execution of punishments.
