upon whom the punishment is due: "He is sane and healthy." This is the opinion of Abu Hanifah, Malik, and al-Shafi'i, based on the hadith of Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, regarding the woman who was in a state of recent postpartum bleeding, and what we mentioned of the meaning. As for the hadith of Umar regarding the lashing of Qudamah, it is possible that it was a minor illness that did not prevent the carrying out of the punishment completely. This is why it was not reported that he lightened the whip for him; rather, he selected a medium-sized whip for him, like the one used to strike a healthy person. Furthermore, the action of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is given precedence over the action of Umar, with the added fact that it was the choice and action of Ali. The same ruling applies to delaying it due to excessive heat or cold.

The second type is a sick person from whom recovery is not hoped for. In this case, the punishment is to be carried out upon him immediately and not delayed, using a whip with which there is no fear of destruction, such as a small cane or a palm stalk. If there is a fear of harm from that, a bundle of one hundred palm stalks is gathered, and he is struck with it a single time. This is the opinion of al-Shafi'i. Malik rejected this and said: Allah the Almighty said: "Flog each one of them with a hundred stripes" (35), and this is a single strike. Our evidence is what Abu Umamah ibn Sahl ibn Hunayf narrated from some of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), that a man among them became ill until he became emaciated. A woman entered upon him and he was attracted to her, so he had intercourse with her. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked about his case, and he ordered that they should take one hundred palm stalks and strike him a single time. Reported by Abu Dawud and al-Nasa'i (37). Ibn al-Mundhir said: There is some criticism regarding its chain of narration (isnad). Furthermore, it is inevitable that either the punishment is carried out in the manner we mentioned, or it is not carried out at all, or he is struck fully in a way that is not permissible to abandon entirely because it contradicts the Book and the Sunnah, and it is not permissible to lash him fully because it would lead to his destruction; thus, what we mentioned is necessitated. Regarding their statement, "This is a single strike," we say: It is permissible for that to stand in the place of a hundred during a state of valid excuse, as Allah the Almighty said regarding Ayyub: "And take in your hand a bundle and strike with it and do not break your oath" (38). This is more appropriate than abandoning his punishment entirely or killing him by that which does not necessitate killing.