Home > The 40 Hadith of Nawawi > Hadith 17 of Nawawi
Hadith number 17 of the collection of the 40 hadiths of Imam an-Nawawi, in faithful English translation.
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Updated on 07 October 2026 at 4:51 AM
📖 20 min readThis hadith belongs to the collection of the 40 hadiths of Imam an-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him), the most studied hadith compilation in the world: foundations of faith, worship and character, all authentic narrations.
At-Tabarani reports from the hadith of Anas, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "When you judge, judge with equity; when you kill, kill well: Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, is Excellent and loves the excellent."
His words (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Allah has prescribed excellence in everything," and in the version of Abu Ishaq al-Fazari in the Book of Expeditions, from Khalid, from Abu Qilaba, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Allah has prescribed excellence in everything," or he said: "upon all creation," thus reported in mursal form, with the doubt "everything" or "all creation". Its apparent demands that He has prescribed excellence upon every creature: whether "everything" or "all creation" be the designated, and the designated is excellence. It was said: the meaning is that Allah prescribed excellence for everything or in everything, or prescribed excellence in the stewardship of everything: the designated would then be unmentioned, and only the beneficiary of excellence mentioned. And the wording of prescription demands obligation according to most of the jurists and theorists, against some of them.
And the usage of the word prescription in the Quran is known for what is certain obligation: either legally, as His words, "The prayer is prescribed upon the believers only at determined hours"; His words, "The fast is prescribed for you"; "Fighting is prescribed for you", or for what is an inevitable decree, as His words, "Allah has written: I will prevail, I and My messengers"; His words, "We have written in the Psalm after the remembrance that the earth, My righteous servants shall inherit"; His words, "Those, He has written faith into their hearts." And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said of the vigil of the month of Ramadan: "I feared it might be prescribed for you." And he said, "I was commanded the siwak to the point of having feared it be prescribed for me." And he said, "It is prescribed to the son of Adam his share of fornication: he will meet it inevitably." [The hadith is text upon excellence]: so this hadith is text upon the obligation of excellence. Allah the Most High commanded it: "Allah commands justice and excellence"; and said, "Do good: Allah loves the beneficent."
This command to excellence: at times for obligation, as excellence towards parents and kin to the measure of what makes piety and kinship therein, and excellence to the guest to the measure of hospitality, as mentioned previously. At times for recommendation: as voluntary alms and the like.
This hadith indicates the obligation of excellence in everything of the deeds. But the excellence of each thing according to it: excellence in the performance of the obligations, outward and inward, is performing them to the measure of their obligatory completeness, and that measure of excellence in them is obligatory. As for excelling by performing their recommendations: not obligatory. Excellence in leaving the prohibitions: ceasing from them, leaving their outward and inward, as the Most High says, "Leave the sin, outward and inward"; that measure of excellence in it is obligatory. As for excellence in patience upon trials: bringing patience according to it, without abjection nor impatience. The obligatory excellence in treating creatures and keeping their company: performing what Allah has imposed of the rights of all of that. The obligatory excellence in the stewardship of creatures and their governance: performing all the obligations of stewardship. And the surplus beyond the obligatory in all of that: excellence not obligatory. Excellence in the slaughtering of what it is permitted to kill of men and beasts: shedding the soul in the quickest manner, the easiest, the lightest, without added torture: that is pain without need.
This type is that mentioned by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in this hadith, and perhaps he mentioned it by way of example, or for the need of explaining it in that situation: "when you kill, kill well the killing; when you slaughter, slaughter well the slaughtering." The killing and the slaughtering with kasra: the manner. The meaning is: take care of the manner of slaughtering and the manner of killing. It indicates the obligation of hastening the shedding of the lawful souls to be shed in the easiest manner. Ibn Hazm cites the consensus of the obligation of excellence in slaughtering.
The easiest manner of killing a man is striking him with the sword upon the neck. Allah says of the disbelievers: "When you meet those who disbelieve: strike the necks"; and He says, "I will cast into the hearts of those who disbelieve terror: so strike above the necks and strike off every fingertip of them." It was said that He specified the place where striking would be easier upon the one killed: above the bones and below the brain. And Durayd ibn as-Simma recommended to his killer to kill him thus.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), sending a column fighting in the path of Allah, would say to them: "Do not mutilate, and do not kill a child." Abu Dawoud and Ibn Majah report from the hadith of Ibn Mas'oud, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "The most modest of killers: the people of faith in him." Ahmad and Abu Dawoud report from the hadith of 'Imran ibn Houssayn and Samoura ibn Joundoub that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade mutilation. Al-Boukhari reports from the hadith of 'Abdallah ibn Yazid, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): he forbade mutilation. Imam Ahmad reports from the hadith of Ya'la ibn Mourra, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Do not mutilate the servants of Allah." It is also reported from the hadith of a man of the Companions, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Whoever mutilates a being with a soul and then does not repent, Allah will mutilate him on the Day of Resurrection."
Know that permitted killing comes in two manners. The first: that it be retaliation; mutilation is not permitted therein to the claimant, but one kills as he killed. If he had mutilated the one killed: is he mutilated as he did, or is he killed only by the sword? Two well-known opinions of the scholars. One: one does to him as he did, the opinion of Abu Hanifa, ash-Chafi'i, Ahmad in the well-known view, Ishaq and others. In the two Sahihs, from Anas: a servant girl passed with ornaments at Medina, and a Jew struck her with a stone; she was carried to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) with her last breath. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: did such a one kill you? She raised her head; at the third: did such a one kill you? She lowered her head. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) called him, and had his head crushed between two stones.
In a version of the two: he was seized and confessed. In a version of Mouslim: a Jew killed a servant girl of the Ansar for her ornaments, threw her into a well, crushed her head with stones; he was seized, carried to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who ordered him stoned to death: stoned until death. The second view: no qoud but by the sword, the opinion of ath-Thawri, of Abu Hanifa (may Allah be pleased with him), and a narration of Ahmad. From Ahmad a third: one does to him as he did, except having burned him with fire or mutilated him: then killed by the sword, by the prohibition of mutilation and of burning with fire. Al-'Authram transmitted it from him. Reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "No qoud but by the sword." Ibn Majah reports it, its chain weak. Ahmad said: it is reported "no qoud but by the sword" but its chain is not good. And the hadith of Anas, the Jew killed by stones, is better chained and easier.
And if he is mutilated and then killed, as having his extremities cut and then killed: is one content with killing him, or does one do to him as he did, cutting his extremities then killing him? Two opinions. The first: one does to him as he did: Abu Hanifa, ash-Chafi'i, Ahmad in one of the two versions, Ishaq and others. The second: to be content with killing him: ath-Thawri, Ahmad in a version, Abu Youssouf and Muhammad. Malik said: if he did that to him in mutilation and torture, do to him as he did; otherwise, be content with killing him.
The second: that the killing be for disbelief: original disbelief or apostasy from Islam; most of the scholars: mutilation is disliked therein also, and he is killed therein by the sword.
Permission of mutilation by burning with fire and other is reported from some of the Ancients, as Khalid ibn al-Walid and others did. It is reported that Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) burned, and the fire came upon him. It is reported that 'Oumm Qirfa al-Fazariya apostasized at the time of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq: he ordered her braids tied to the tails of two colts, then cried out to the two: she was torn apart. And the chains of this story are severed. Ibn Sa'd mentions in his Tabaqat, without chain, that Zayd ibn Haritha killed her of those killers at the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and informed the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). It is authenticated that 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) burned the apostates, and Ibn 'Abbas blamed him for it. It was said: he did not burn them, but smoked them until death. And it is said: he killed them then burned them; that is not authenticated; it is reported from him that an apostate was brought and he ordered: he was crushed by the legs until death.
Ibn 'Aqil of our companions chose the permission of killing by mutilation for disbelief, especially if aggravated, carrying the prohibition of mutilation upon killing by retaliation. He argued the permission by the 'Ouraniyyin, reported in the two Sahihs from the hadith of Anas: people of 'Ourayna came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) at Medina and embraced Islam there; the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to them, "If you wish to go out to the she-camels of the sadaqa and drink of their milks and urines: do so." They did so, recovered, then attacked the herdsmen, killed them, apostasized from Islam, and drove away the beasts of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). That reached the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): he sent in their pursuit, they were brought, and he cut their hands and feet, put out their eyes, leaving them in the Harra until death. In a version: then cast into the sun until death. In a version: their eyes nailed and cast into the Harra asking for drink without being given any. In a version of at-Tirmidhi: he cut hands and feet in opposition. In a version of an-Nasai: and he crucified them.
The scholars diverged over the form of punishment of these: some say: whoever does as they did, apostasy and war and seizure of wealth, is done to as was done to these. Reported from some of them, among them Abu Qilaba, and a narration of Ahmad. Some say: rather it indicates the permission of mutilating whoever's crimes are aggravated in general, and the prohibition of mutilation is in retaliation: the opinion of Ibn 'Aqil of our companions. Some say: rather what was done to the 'Ouraniyyin was abrogated by the prohibition of mutilation. Some say: it was before the descent of the penalties and the verse of brigandage, then abrogated by it: the opinion of a group among them al-'Awza'i and Abu 'Obayd.
Some say: what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did to them was only by the verse of brigandage, and nothing of it was abrogated, and they said: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) only killed them and cut their hands for having taken the wealth; whoever takes wealth and kills: cut and crucified necessarily, killed for his murder, hand and opposite foot cut for his taking of wealth, crucified for the joining of the two crimes, murder and taking of wealth: the opinion of al-Hasan and a narration of Ahmad. And he nailed their eyes for their nailing of the eyes of the herdsmen, thus Mouslim reports it from the hadith of Anas. Ibn Chihab mentions that they killed the herdsman and mutilated him. Ibn Sa'd mentions that they cut his hand and foot and planted the thorn in his tongue and eyes until death, and so...
...then the cutting and the nailing of the eyes and the Thirst would be retaliation. That diverges from the one who says: the brigand having committed an offence requiring retaliation is satisfied before his killing, the madhab of Ahmad. But is one satisfied of it necessarily as of killing him, or in the form of retaliation falling away by the pardon of the guardian? Two narrations of him; but the narration of at-Tirmidhi of their cutting in opposition indicates their cutting for brigandage, unless they had cut the hand and foot of the herdsman in opposition. And Allah knows best.
It is reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he permitted burning with fire, then forbade it, as in the Sahih of al-Boukhari, from Abu Hourayra (may Allah be pleased with him): the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent us on an expedition saying: if you find such and such, naming two men of Quraych, burn them with fire. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said when we wanted to set out: "I had ordered such and such burned with fire, but the fire is punished with only by Allah: if you find them, kill them." Herein too, from Ibn 'Abbas, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Do not punish with the punishment of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic."
Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him), Abu Dawoud and an-Nasai report from the hadith of Ibn Mas'oud: we were with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), passing by an anthill that had been burned: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) grew angry and said, "It does not befit a human being to punish with the punishment of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic." Khalid burned a group in apostasy. The burning of whoever committed the deed of the people of Lout is reported from some of the Companions. It is reported that 'Ali suggested to Abu Bakr to kill him then burn him with fire, and Ishaq ibn Rahawayh judged it good: so as not to be torture by fire. In the Mousnad of Imam Ahmad: 'Ali, when Ibn Moulijam struck him, said, "Do to him as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) wished to do to a man who wanted to kill him: kill him then burn him." Most of the scholars: burning with fire is disliked, down to insects. Ibrahim an-Nakha'i said: burning the scorpion with fire is mutilation. And 'Oumm ad-Darda forbade burning the flea with fire. Ahmad said: fish is not grilled over living fire; and he said: the locust is lesser, having no blood.
It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he forbade tying beasts: confining the beast then shooting arrows and other at it until death. In the two Sahihs, from Anas: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade tying beasts. Herein too, from Ibn 'Omar: he passed near a people who had set up a hen to shoot at, and said: who did this? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has cursed whoever did that. Mouslim reports from the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), that he forbade taking any living being as target; the target is that at which arrows are shot. In the Mousnad of Imam Ahmad, from Abu Hourayra: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade the target, the beast being shot then eaten; rather slaughtered, then let them shoot if they wish.
In this sense, numerous hadiths. That is why the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) commanded the excellence of killing and of slaughtering, and commanded sharpening the blade and calming the beast, indicating that slaughtering with the sharpened instrument relieves the beast by hastening the shedding of its soul. Imam Ahmad and Ibn Majah report from the hadith of Ibn 'Omar: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) commanded sharpening the blade and hiding it from the beasts, and said, "When one of you slaughters: let him hasten." That is: hasten the slaughtering.
The command of gentleness to the beast at its slaughtering has come. Ibn Majah reports from the hadith of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) passed near a man dragging a ewe by her ear; the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Leave her ear, take her by her fore-neck," the fore-neck being the front of the neck. Al-Khallal and at-Tabarani report from the hadith of Ikrima, from Ibn 'Abbas: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) passed near a man resting his foot on the face of a ewe, sharpening his blade while she looked at him with her eyes; he said, "Could you not have done so before? Do you want her to die twice?" Reported from Ikrima in mursal form, by 'Abd ar-Razzaq and others, with the addition: "Had you not sharpened your blade before laying her down?" Imam Ahmad said: the beast is led to slaughter gently, and the blade hidden from her, the blade appearing only at the slaughtering.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) commanded the hiding of the blades. And he said, "What is hidden from the beast is not hidden from her: she knows her Lord and knows that she dies." And it is reported from Ibn Sib'at that he said: the beasts are fashioned for everything, except that they know their Lord and fear death. And has come the command of cutting the arteries at slaughter, as Abu Dawoud reports from the hadith of Ikrima, from Ibn 'Abbas, and Abu Hourayra, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): he forbade the devil's nicking, that slaughtered beast cutting the skin without severing the arteries. And Ibn Hibban reports it in his Sahih, and with him: Ikrima said: they would cut from it the little thing then leave it until death, without severing the arteries: forbidden.
'Abd ar-Razzaq reports in his book, from Muhammad ibn Rachid, from al-Wadhin ibn 'Atta: a butcher opened a gate upon a ewe to slaughter her; she escaped from him up to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him); he followed her, taking her and dragging her by her leg; the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to him, "Patience upon the order of Allah; and you, O butcher, lead her to death with a gentle conduct." And by his chain, from Ibn Sirin: 'Omar saw a man dragging a ewe by her leg to slaughter her, and said to him, "Woe to you, lead her to death with a fine conduct." Muhammad ibn Ziyad reports that Ibn 'Omar saw a butcher dragging a ewe and said, "Lead her to death with a fine conduct"; the butcher drew out his blade and said: I do not conduct her finely, I want to slaughter her at once. He said, "Conduct her finely."
In the Mousnad of Imam Ahmad, from Mou'awiya ibn Qurra, from his father, that a man said to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "O Messenger of Allah, I slaughter the sheep showing mercy to her"; the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "And the sheep, if you have pity on her: Allah has mercy on you." Moutarrif ibn 'Abdallah said: "Allah shows mercy by mercy even to the sparrow." And Nouf al-Bakali said: a man slaughtered a lamb before its mother, dulling his blade, and under a tree having a nest with a chick in it, the chick fell to the ground: he touched it in mercy and returned it to its place, and Allah restored his strength.
It is reported by another channel from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he forbade returning the mother to her young: general to the sons of Adam and others. In the Sunan of Abu Dawoud: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked about the young colt and said, "It is upright, and better to leave it until it be a first-born son of birthing, or a son of a female with two teeth, or that a widow be given you, or it be loaded in the path of Allah, than to slaughter it, its flesh stuck to its down, and replace your vessel, and return your she-camel to her young." The meaning: the young of the she-camel slaughtered small at its birth: its blood wasted without profit, and its owner wronged by the interruption of his she-camel's milk, and his vessel replaced, the bucket with which the she-camel is milked, and the she-camel returned to her young lost to her.