A man was once brought to Hazrat Ali (A) who was to be punished under the religious law for committing a certain crime, but as he had several wounds on his body, Hazrat Ali (A) said that he should be spared for some time till he recovered from those wounds. when his wounds healed, Hazrat Ali(a) ordered for his total punishment. (Wafi, vol. 9, p. 45).
It has been reported by Imam Jafar Sadiq (A) that a man was suffering from dropsy was presented before the Holy Prophet (SA). He was accused of adultery. The Holy Prophet (SA) asked the woman involved in the case as to whether she had agreed to the crime to which she replied that she became aware of the fact when he had attacked her and overpowered her. Thereafter, the Holy Prophet (SA) asked the man as to whether he admitted his crime, to which he replied in the affirmative, but he was not a married man. The Holy Prophet (SA), therefore, sent for a branch of the palm tree.
Then, He (S) caught hold of a hundred thin straws from that branch and beat the man therewith. From both the above reports, if taken jointly, it would be clear that a Muslim judge has the discretion of awarding either of the two punishments in such cases, i.e., he may award the punishment there and then as was done by the Holy Prophet (SA) or he may wait till the person recovers from illness. In case the one and the only way adopted by the Holy Prophet (SA) is followed by the judges in all such cases the fear of punishment would vanish from the minds of the peopleHowever, the judge must decide each case on individual merits and award the required punishment accordingly. In case there is no hope of the survival of the person from that disease as was surely in the case decided by the Holy Prophet (SA), he may follow the Holy Prophet (SA) in his Judgment, but in case there is hope of survival of the accused from a certain disease or wounds as in the case decided by Hazrat Ali (A) wherein there was a certainty that the accused would servive his wounds which were expected to heal sooner or later, the judge may follow the latter with discretion which is allowed to him in such cases. (Note by Allama Jazairi; Abu Turab, (Urdu) vol. 2, p.88).