‘Ali ibn Abi Tālib (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I would not blame myself for the death of any person when inflicting a prescribed corporal punishment on him, with the exception of the one who drinks alcohols, for if he were to die (when being punished), I would pay blood money to his family, because no punishment has been fixed by the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) for him
Authentic hadithعن علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه قال: «ما كنتُ لأقيمَ حَدّاً على أحد فيموت، فأجدَ في نَفسِي، إلا صاحب الخمر، فإنه لو مات وَدَيْتُهُ، وذلك أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لم يَسُنَّهُ».
‘Ali ibn Abi Tālib (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I would not blame myself for the death of any person when inflicting a prescribed corporal punishment on him, with the exception of the one who drinks alcohols, for if he were to die (when being punished), I would pay blood money to his family, because no punishment has been fixed by the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) for him.
Explanation
In this Hadīth, ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) stated that he would not feel sorry for a person who dies because of receiving a prescribed corporal punishment applied against him, except the one who drinks alcohols. If such a person died when being punished, ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) would pay blood money to his family from the Muslim Treasury, since his penalty exceeded the deserved corporal punishment for drinking alcohols, which is the least prescribed punishment as to size and severity. Based on the Hadīth, no fixed punishment has been set by the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) for drinking alcohols. That being the case, it is considered a discretionary punishment and there is no liability if it led to the death of the penalized person. What was stated here by ‘Ali,(may Allah be pleased with him) is a precautionary procedure, regarding which other Companions disagreed with him.
Source · Narrated by Bukhari
From the Hadith Encyclopedia (hadeethenc.com).