Carry out justice and show mercy when possible.

This hadith is about carrying out the hadd punishment which is a type of Islamic law that prescribes certain punishments for certain crimes. In this particular case, it was about a slave woman who gave birth to an illegitimate child and the Prophet Muhammad instructed Ali bin Abi Talib to carry out the hadd punishment of flogging once her postpartum bleeding stopped. He also instructed him to do so for those whom his right hands possess. This teaches us that justice should be served in all cases and no one should be exempt from it regardless of their social status or position in society. It also teaches us that mercy should be shown when possible as seen by how he delayed carrying out the punishment until after her postpartum bleeding stopped so she could recover from childbirth first before being punished for her crime.