Why Ibn Ubayy Was Not Flogged

Now Ḥassān ibn Thābit and Misṭaḥ and Ḥamnah were flogged, but not ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy, even though it was ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy who was the one doing the most in the effort of spreading this rumour. So how come he wasn't punished? Ibn al-Qayyim says — he gives four answers, four possibilities.^*

Number one: because the punishment is a kaffārah for the sin in dunyā. It is a compensation for the sin in dunyā, so a person who is punished for the sin in dunyā will not be punished for it in the Ākhirah. And since he is an evil man, he doesn't deserve that, so Allah reserved his punishment until the Ākhirah.

The second possibility is that probably he was only spreading the rumours and talking about it, and doing it in a way he couldn't be held responsible for. So he was doing it in a clever way; he was covering his tracks.

The third possibility is that this punishment is only established through witnesses or through personal admission, and since he didn't admit it, and since he was mentioning it in front of munāfiqīn and they didn't come forward and witness against him, there was no evidence in court.

The fourth possibility is that he wasn't punished for a greater maṣlaḥah: it is to bring his people closer to Islam and to avoid causing a fitnah. It should be noted of this particular possibility that it is difficult for it to be a valid possibility, because if the evidence is established then the punishment can't be overruled. If the evidence is clear and firm, then a person must be punished. One can't say, "Well, because of a certain maṣlaḥah, he won't be punished." And then Ibn al-Qayyim says, "And it could be all of the above."