A monetary fine to curb crimes

Question

Question: Since conditions have deteriorated and crimes are of many kinds, may a monetary punishment (a fine) be applied to curb them instead of bodily punishment (beating), or not? Since beating involves serious disputes and dangers, an effort is therefore made to reform society by imposing a monetary punishment (a fine). Moreover, among the later scholars there is a fatwa of Mawlana ‘Abd al-Hayy ﵀ in favour of its permissibility, and there is the view of Imam Abu Yusuf ﵀ on monetary punishment.

Answer

‘Allama Ibn Nujaym, after defining ta‘zir and listing its kinds, writes: [ar]ولم يذكر محمد التعزير بأخذ المال، وقد قيل: روي عن أبي يوسف أن التعزير من السلطان بأخذ المال جائز، كذا في الظهيرة. وفي الخلاصة: سمعت عن ثقة أن التعزير بأخذ المال إن رأى القاضي ذلك والوالي جاز، ومن جملة ذلك رجل لا يحضر الجماعة يجوز تعزيره بأخذ المال.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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