What is the meaning of Allah Almighty's saying: "Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive upon earth [to cause] corruption is none but that they be killed or crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides or that they be exiled from the land. That is for them disgrace in this world; and for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment"?

The verse 33 of Surah Al-Ma'idah explains the punishment for the "muharibin" (highwaymen) who emerge to take money, kill, or terrorize, relying on force. The Malikis added assault on honor. Scholars differed on the application of the punishments mentioned in the verse – "that they be killed or crucified or their hands and feet cut off from opposite sides or they be exiled from the land" – whether they are sequential or discretionary.

The majority held that they are sequential, while Imam Malik and others held that they are discretionary, meaning the Imam chooses the appropriate punishment. The punishments include: killing, crucifixion (hanging), cutting off hands and feet from opposite sides (the right hand with the left foot, and so on), and exile from the land, which was interpreted as banishment, or being sought after until they leave the abode of Islam, or imprisonment.