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حَدَّثَنَا عَبَّادُ بْنُ مُوسَى الْخُتَّلِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ الْمَدَنِيُّ، عَنْ إِسْرَائِيلَ، عَنْ عُثْمَانَ الشَّحَّامِ، عَنْ عِكْرِمَةَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ، أَنَّ أَعْمَى، كَانَتْ لَهُ أُمُّ وَلَدٍ تَشْتُمُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَتَقَعُ فِيهِ فَيَنْهَاهَا فَلاَ تَنْتَهِي وَيَزْجُرُهَا فَلاَ تَنْزَجِرُ - قَالَ - فَلَمَّا كَانَتْ ذَاتَ لَيْلَةٍ جَعَلَتْ تَقَعُ فِي النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَتَشْتِمُهُ فَأَخَذَ الْمِغْوَلَ فَوَضَعَهُ فِي بَطْنِهَا وَاتَّكَأَ عَلَيْهَا فَقَتَلَهَا فَوَقَعَ بَيْنَ رِجْلَيْهَا طِفْلٌ فَلَطَخَتْ مَا هُنَاكَ بِالدَّمِ فَلَمَّا أَصْبَحَ ذُكِرَ ذَلِكَ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَجَمَعَ النَّاسَ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ أَنْشُدُ اللَّهَ رَجُلاً فَعَلَ مَا فَعَلَ لِي عَلَيْهِ حَقٌّ إِلاَّ قَامَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَقَامَ الأَعْمَى يَتَخَطَّى النَّاسَ وَهُوَ يَتَزَلْزَلُ حَتَّى قَعَدَ بَيْنَ يَدَىِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَنَا صَاحِبُهَا كَانَتْ تَشْتِمُكَ وَتَقَعُ فِيكَ فَأَنْهَاهَا فَلاَ تَنْتَهِي وَأَزْجُرُهَا فَلاَ تَنْزَجِرُ وَلِي مِنْهَا ابْنَانِ مِثْلُ اللُّؤْلُؤَتَيْنِ وَكَانَتْ بِي رَفِيقَةً فَلَمَّا كَانَتِ الْبَارِحَةَ جَعَلَتْ تَشْتِمُكَ وَتَقَعُ فِيكَ فَأَخَذْتُ الْمِغْوَلَ فَوَضَعْتُهُ فِي بَطْنِهَا وَاتَّكَأْتُ عَلَيْهَا حَتَّى قَتَلْتُهَا ‏.‏ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ أَلاَ اشْهَدُوا أَنَّ دَمَهَا هَدَرٌ ‏"‏ ‏.‏
Translation
Narrated AbuBakr

AbuBarzah said: I was with AbuBakr. He became angry at a man and uttered hot words. I said: Do you permit me, Caliph of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), that I cut off his neck? These words of mine removed his anger; he stood and went in. He then sent for me and said: What did you say just now? I said: (I had said:) Permit me that I cut off his neck. He said: Would you do it if I ordered you? I said: Yes. He said: No, I swear by Allah, this is not allowed for any man after Muhammad (ﷺ).

Abu Dawud said: This is Yazid's version. Ahmad bin Hanbal said: That is, Abu Bakr has no powers to slay a man except for three reasons which the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had mentioned: disbelief after belief, fornication after marriage, or killing a man without (murdering) any man by him. The Prophet (ﷺ) had powers to kill.

Comment

Hadith Context & Significance

This narration from Sunan Abi Dawud 4363 demonstrates the profound constitutional principle established by Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding the limitation of executive authority in Islamic governance.

Abu Bakr, despite being the Caliph and successor to Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), explicitly acknowledged that the discretionary power to execute individuals without specific legal grounds ended with the Prophet's death.

Legal Analysis of Capital Punishment

As clarified by Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, the three capital offenses requiring execution are: apostasy after embracing Islam, adultery after marriage (for the muhsan), and unlawful murder.

These hudud (prescribed punishments) cannot be expanded arbitrarily by temporal rulers, emphasizing that Islamic law operates within fixed divine parameters rather than arbitrary human discretion.

Governance Principles

Abu Bakr's statement establishes that caliphal authority is bound by sharia limitations, distinguishing between the legislative role of prophethood and the executive role of caliphate.

This incident from Kitab Al-Hudud demonstrates early Islamic constitutionalism, where even the highest political authority acknowledges legal constraints on power.

Moral & Spiritual Dimensions

Abu Bakr's initial anger and subsequent reflection model ideal Islamic leadership - capable of human emotion but governed by divine principles and self-correction.

The exchange teaches that positions of authority require greater restraint and adherence to legal due process, especially regarding matters of life and death.