The manifest view is that it is a sincere repentance, and after that, the manifest view is that it is a precaution against the infliction of the hadd punishment upon him. Furthermore, accepting his repentance and dropping the hadd punishment from him before he is captured serves as an incentive for his repentance and for turning away from his warfare and corruption; therefore, it was fitting that the punishment be dropped from him. As for after [being captured], there is no need to incentivize him, for he is already incapable of further corruption and warfare.

Section: If the muharib (highway robber) commits an act that necessitates a hadd punishment that is not specific to the act of highway robbery—such as adultery, false accusation (qadhf), drinking wine, or theft—the Qadi mentioned that it is dropped by repentance because these are hadd punishments of Allah the Almighty, and therefore they are dropped by repentance, just like the hadd punishment for highway robbery, except for the hadd of false accusation, for it is not dropped because it is a human right, and also because there is an incentive for repentance in dropping them. It is also possible that they are not dropped because they are not specific to the act of highway robbery, so they are in his regard as they are in the regard of someone else. If he committed a hadd offense before the act of highway robbery, then committed highway robbery and repented before he was captured, the first hadd punishment is not dropped, because repentance only removes the sin for which one has repented and not others.

Section: If someone who is subject to a hadd punishment, and is not a muharib, repents and rectifies his conduct, there are two narrations regarding this. The first is that the punishment is dropped from him, due to the saying of Allah the Almighty: {And the two who commit it among you, punish them both. If they repent and rectify, then leave them alone}. He mentioned the hadd of the thief, then said: {Whoever repents after his wrongdoing and rectifies, then indeed Allah will turn to him in forgiveness}. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The one who repents from a sin is like one who has no sin." And the one who has no sin has no hadd punishment upon him. Regarding Ma'iz, when he was told of his flight, he said: "Why did you not leave him so that he might repent and Allah would accept his repentance?" And because it is a purely Allah-ordained right, it is dropped by repentance, like the hadd of the muharib. The second narration is that it is not dropped, which is the view of Malik and Abu Hanifah,