Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2626
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ بْنُ أَبِي السَّفَرِ، - وَاسْمُهُ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْهَمْدَانِيُّ الْكُوفِيُّ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا حَجَّاجُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، عَنْ يُونُسَ بْنِ أَبِي إِسْحَاقَ، عَنْ أَبِي إِسْحَاقَ الْهَمْدَانِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي جُحَيْفَةَ، عَنْ عَلِيٍّ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " مَنْ أَصَابَ حَدًّا فَعُجِّلَ عُقُوبَتُهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا فَاللَّهُ أَعْدَلُ مِنْ أَنْ يُثَنِّيَ عَلَى عَبْدِهِ الْعُقُوبَةَ فِي الآخِرَةِ وَمَنْ أَصَابَ حَدًّا فَسَتَرَهُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَفَا عَنْهُ فَاللَّهُ أَكْرَمُ مِنْ أَنْ يَعُودَ فِي شَيْءٍ قَدْ عَفَا عَنْهُ " . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى وَهَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ صَحِيحٌ . وَهَذَا قَوْلُ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ لاَ نَعْلَمُ أَحَدًا كَفَّرَ أَحَدًا بِالزِّنَا أَوِ السَّرِقَةِ وَشُرْبِ الْخَمْرِ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
‘Ali ibn Abi Talib reported that the Prophet said: ‘Whoever commits an offense carrying a prescribed punishment, and its punishment is hastened for him in this world, Allah is too just to impose that punishment on His servant a second time in the Hereafter. Whoever commits such an offense, then Allah conceals it and forgives him, Allah is too generous to return to something He has already forgiven.’ Abu ‘Isa said: ‘This hadith is hasan gharīb sahih. This is the position of the scholars; we do not know of anyone who declared a person an unbeliever for adultery, theft, or drinking wine.’ Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn Abi al-Safar’s name was Ahmad ibn ‘Abdullah al-Hamdani al-Kufi.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source states the juristic conclusion explicitly: these major sins do not by themselves entail declaring someone an unbeliever. Here حد refers to an offense with a prescribed punishment; the distinction is retained.