postponing the performance of had (prescribed punishment)

in some islamic narrations (ahadith) it is prohibited to postpone the performance of had (prescribed punishment). by analyzing the content of these narrations, this article concludes that they are not specifically related to hodoud in its idiomatic sense, i.e. prescribed punishments as opposed to ta’zir(discretionary punishment). indeed all punishments must be certain and performed in a reasonable and appropriate time following the conviction, whether they are had or ta’zir. similarly, the expediencies requiring or necessitating the postponement of punishments must be taken into account as far as certainty of the punishment is observed. these expediencies are not limited to those explicitly mentioned in the narrations. what matters is that the postponement should not be a failure in the performance of punishment or not result in its cancellation. therefore, there is no significant difference in the quality of the execution of had and ta’zir. the article also sheds a light on the order of execution of the punishments when the offender is convicted of different crimes.