The world today presents a horrific scenario of crime, violence, killing and a determined
attempt to destroy the very pillars of social order which sustain peace, tolerance, harmony
and human dignity. The lives of millions around the world have been ruined and they are
going through an unbearable syndrome of traumatic suffering and ruthless devastation.
The evil deployment of modern technology has given rise to a global institution of a
criminal order which is the most critical challenge of the world today.
The world is dearly searching for ways to combat, control and check the raging storm of
crime, and that makes it all the more pertinent to present this subject, the Philosophy of
Punishments in Islam.
The translation of the verse of the Holy Quran which I have just recited is:
“These are the limits set by Allah, so approach them not. Thus, does Allah make His
commandments clear to men so that they may become secure against evil.” (2:188)
According to Muslim perception, Islam is not only a religion but also a civilization and
social order based upon revealed principles. Islam stands out distinctly among the
religions of the world in that its punishment and retribution laws are applied under
exclusive rules and regulations, dealing with matters related to obligations to Allah and
obligations to human kind.
Under no circumstances has man the right to punish anyone for non-compliance with the
obligations to Allah. So as a result of this distinction, Islam totally liberated man’s
obligations to worship from human intervention and interference.
God Almighty considers to be His right to punish as He so wishes the offenders who
associate something with Him, apostasy, blasphemy, opposing Him and His Messenger,
maligning Him and His Messenger and obstructing His Messenger in his prayer and in
his mission. Because of the severity and perfidy of these offences, God Almighty does
not transfer the right of dispensing justice to such offenders to anyone - not even to His
most beloved of Prophets. Instead, He tells the Holy Prophet, ‘forgive them and turn
away from them’.
It is because God Almighty considers the offences to be so grave that no punishment in
this world can do justice to the severity of the offences. God Almighty has prepared an
abasing punishment for such people in the Hereafter as God Almighty says in the Holy
Quran:
“On the Day of Resurrection, He will disgrace them; they will enter the gates of Hell to
abide therein. Evil, indeed is the abode of the proud.” (16:28,30)
Before I embark upon the philosophy of punishments in Islam within the domain of
human intervention, it may be useful to briefly state the contemporary thought on this
subject. Theories of punishment can be divided into two general philosophies: utilitarian
and retributive. The utilitarian theory of punishment seeks to punish offenders to
discourage, or “deter”, future wrongdoing. The retributive theory seeks to punish
offenders because they deserve to be punished.
Under the deterrent philosophy, punishment should prevent other people from
committing criminal acts. The punishment serves as an example to the rest of the society,
and it puts others on notice that criminal behaviour will not be tolerated and will be
punished.
The other major rationale for punishment is denunciation. Under the denunciation
theory, punishment should be an expression of societal condemnation.
For our guidance, Allah Almighty has revealed in the Holy Quran a complete code of
life - a law to govern all dimensions of human life. This in Islam is known as
‘Sharia’.
For the sources of ‘Sharia‘, we then have the Holy Quran, which is the very word of
God. Supplementary to it, we have Hadith, which are traditions of the Holy Prophet
of Islam - the records of his actions and his sayings, from which we must derive help
in arriving at legal decisions. If, in the unlikely event, there is nothing either in the
Holy Quran or in the Hadith to answer the particular question before us, we have to
follow the dictates of reason in accordance with certain definitive principles.
Explaining this, the H.M.G.A says:
“In the Holy Quran the directives about civil, criminal and revenue matters fall into
two categories. One category of those directives is aimed at detailing punishment for
specific crimes. The second category is of directives which lay down procedures to
be followed in time of court trial for other offences, so that the offence and
punishment fit each other in the best possible manner. In such directives, rigid
punishment is not mentioned for a specific offence. The Holy Quran lays down
guiding rules according to which later interpreters of law are to carry out
administration of law whenever new situations arise and for that, the Holy Quran
provides a guiding principle:
‘And the recompense of an injury is an injury the like thereof.’ (42:41)
(Kitabul Bariyya, page 87)
With an understanding of the nature and source of Islamic law, we should know the
definition of crimes and their categories under Islamic law.
The Holy Quran provides specific punishments for only four offences, that is,
adultery, slandering, murder and theft.
These offences appear to have been selected to indicate that life, family institution,
property, honour and social order have to be protected.
Hadrat Abu Hurrairah (ra) narrates that the Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) said, three things of a Muslim are unlawful for another Muslim-
his blood, his honour and his wealth.
The Muslim legislators and jurists have defined crime as going against or beyond the
commands and prohibitions laid down in the Holy Quran. In other words, crossing
the ‘hadd’ which is Arabic for the limits or the bounds fixed by God. All such
crimes, since they are violations of the rules made by God Almighty, are considered
crimes against religion.
A cursory glance is enough to realise the horrific, extensive and extremely profound
impact these crimes have upon society and as a result of not taking appropriate
measures to check and prevent them, society is ruined and destroyed.
In fact, these are the four crimes which have dominated society and are responsible
for most of the suffering and misery that is witnessed in the world today.
In Islamic law, offences are divided into two major groups: Firstly, crimes for which
‘Hadd’ punishments ordained by God are given.
Secondly, other crimes such as homicide, assault and damage to property etcetera,
punishments for which include retaliation, expiation and disciplinary action.
However, Islam also provides guidelines on how to determine criminal liability. For
example, all acts are judged by their motives and intentions. (Bukhari).
The Holy Quran uses the word ‘kasab’ for commission of crime, which implies a
deliberate effort. If there is no intention to violate or exceed the limits then there is no
criminal liability and the act is pardonable.
Any act carried out in ignorance and without adequate knowledge deserves pardon.
God Almighty says in The Holy Quran:
“Verily, Allah accepts the repentance of only those who do evil in ignorance and then
repent soon after. These are they to whom Allah turns with mercy; and Allah is AllKnowing, Wise.” (4 :18)
Hadrat Ayesha (ra) narrates that the Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) said: Try as far as possible to save a Muslim from punishment. If there can be a way
to save him, then think of settling the matter. For the Imam to make a mistake in
forgiving and acquitting is better than making a mistake in giving punishment (Tirmidhi
Abwab AlHudood).
God Almighty has also stated that nobody shall be punished for the act of another and
punishments laid out in Islam are proportionate to the crime.
In The Holy Quran God says:
“ Whoso does a good deed shall have ten times as much; but he who does an evil deed,
shall have only a like reward; and they shall not be wronged.” (6:161)
Hadrat Ibn Abbas (ra) narrates that the Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) said: stop the enforcement of ‘hudood’ (limits) because of doubts. That is, do
not make haste in issuing a ‘hadd’ punishment to anyone. Rather, if there is a possibility
of doubt, make it a base for pardon.
That makes it abundantly clear that punishments in Islam are not for revenge, but
reformation, and must not exceed the extent of the offence.
To prevent crime, Islam aims at eliminating the conditions that produce it.
It seeks to remove the very root-cause of all crime by working a complete moral
reformation in man. It blocks all approaches to crime. The phrase used in the Holy
Qur’an is, do not go near the evil; do not go near the limits of Allah.
Thus Islam’s highest priority is building and sustaining a virtuous society with excellent
morals, and that indeed is the philosophy of punishments in Islam.
Chastity as moral virtue holds a very high place in the code of Islamic laws that govern
relations between sexes. Islam views with extreme disapprobation the slightest breach of
these laws. It is Islam’s very great sensitiveness about chastity that is reflected in the
punishment prescribed for adultery or fornication.
God Almighty says in The Holy Quran:
“And go not nigh unto adultery; surely, it is a manifest indecency and evil way.” (17:33)
The unimaginable suffering and malignancy that arises out of the disorder and tumult
from the act of adultery makes a long catalogue. The unrestrained and wrong means of
reproduction causes immense trauma and unrest with both social and psychological
disarray, which is not generally the case as a result of other crimes. Today, in the world,
the ruin of families on a large scale, the weakening of family connections, and the
growing lack of loyalty and trust in relationships; the growing pandemic of divorces and
the sense of being rejected; moreover the spread of horrific venereal diseases such as
AIDS, can be blamed on this one offence of adultery.
Islam regards adultery as one of the most heinous of all social crimes and looks upon
chastity of a man or a woman as one of his or her most precious possessions. For the
establishment of the kingdom of God, Islam strongly condemns this most deadly of all
social crimes which if not checked and suppressed, can bring about total disintegration
and destruction of society. The Holy Quran seeks to close all those avenues through
which this evil can find its way among a people and severely punishes the act of adultery
and condemns the guilty parties as social pariahs.
As far as the nature of punishment is concerned the Holy Quran says:
‘The adulteress and the adulterer (or the fornicatoress and the fornicator), flog each
one of them with a hundred stripes.’ (24:3)
Flogging and not stoning to death is therefore the punishment prescribed by Islam for
adultery or fornication. Nowhere in the Holy Quran has stoning to death been laid
down as punishment of adultery and for that matter for any other crime, however
serious. The misconception seems to be due to a few cases recorded in the hadith
when married persons guilty of adultery were stoned to death by the order of the
Holy Prophet. One of these few cases was that of a Jew and a Jewess who were
stoned to death in accordance with the Mosaic law. (Bukhari).
It was invariably the Holy Prophet’s (peace be upon him) practice that he abided by
the law of the Torah in deciding cases until a new Commandment was revealed to
him.
It is mentioned in St. John Chapter 8, V:4-5 of the Bible and I quote:
‘they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now
Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be
stoned’.
The misconception has persisted among certain schools of Muslim religious thought
that flogging is punishment for unmarried persons only and that punishments for
married adulterer and adulteress is stoning to death.
In principle and sensibly in accordance with this directive, Jesus (Peace be upon him)
must be followed faithfully to this day. It is however, another matter that it is not
adhered to. In the light of this explanation, we witness an interesting scenario in this
age, where the Jewish and Christian States, against their religious teachings, do not
stone the adulterers to death, but some Muslim States in contrast to the teaching of
the Holy Quran, impose the punishment of stoning to death for adultery.
There is another outstanding difference between the punishments imposed by Islam
and by other religions. It is that the harsher the punishment imposed by Islam, in the
same tone, it imposes vigorous preventive measures to be taken to save people from
committing that offence and at the same time very strict rules for the conviction of an
offender so that no innocent is convicted. In the case of adultery, the strict condition
of four witnesses who actually watched the act is to ensure that there is absolutely
not an iota of doubt in the allegation.
Moreover, the integrity and the credibility of the witnesses is of utmost importance,
not only that the witnesses have a track record of being truthful but they should have
a reputation of being civilized and respectable. All these measures are to guarantee
that no one innocent of crime is victimized. Not only that, the Islamic laws pertaining
to witnesses are so tough that there is no example of it in any other witness rules and
regulations in the world.
Hadrat Ayesha (ra) narrates that the Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) said: the witness of a man or a woman who is guilty of breach of trust is
invalid and also that of the man and the woman who have received ‘hadd’
punishment and also the one who is malicious and who has been a false witness on
record and the one who is dependent upon those for whom he is standing as a witness
and a person who could be alleged to be a relative or an heir of the one he is giving
witness for. (Tirmidhi Kital Ashahadat).
What a wonderful teaching for safeguarding the honour of the innocent and
protecting the integrity and purity of the society in stark contradiction to the so-called
Islamic States where witnesses and justice are a commercial commodity.
The other social evil, second to adultery in heinousness, which eats into the vitals of
human society, is the slandering of innocent people. Islam also views with extreme
disfavour this social evil which has become so common in the so-called civilized modern
society, and severely punishes the accusers.
God Almighty says:
‘And those who calumniate chaste women but bring not four witnesses - flog them with
eighty stripes and never admit their evidence thereafter, and it is they that are
transgressors.’ (24:5)
Here, the Holy Quran mentions three forms of punishment in an ascending order which
are to be meted out to a slanderer.
Firstly, the physical punishment of scourging. Then, disgrace of being branded as a
perjurer and a liar which invalidates his or her evidence, and the spiritual stigma of being
adjudged as a transgressor.
In case the accuser cannot produce the necessary evidence in support of his charge, the
charge would be considered as false and the accuser would render himself liable to the
prescribed punishment. Whatever the facts of the case, the woman with whom adultery is
alleged to have been committed will be held innocent as long as the required evidence is
not produced. The law, in fact, is intended to suppress with a strong hand the offence of
slandering and scandal-mongering. The commandment contained in the Holy Quran
covers both men and women without any distinction.
The third offence set out in the Holy Quran is murder. Allah says;
‘O ye who believe, equittable retaliation in the matter of the slain is prescribed for you.
The free man for the free man, and the slave for the slave and the female for the female.
But if one is granted any remission by one’s brother, then pursuing the matter for the
realisation of the blood money shall be done with fairness and the murderer shall pay him
the blood money in a handsome manner. This is an alleviation from your Lord and a
mercy and whoso transgresses thereafter, for him there shall be a grievous punishment.’(2:179).
The verse makes no distinction between different classes of persons in connection with
the law of retaliation. The punishment applies to all offenders who might be guilty of
murder, no matter of what rank or station in life or of what religion. Any person,
irrespective of his cast or creed and irrespective of his station, must be put to death for the
murder of any other person unless pardoned by the relatives of the victim and unless the
pardon has the sanction of the authorities.
This verse comprises a very important principle of civil law, that is, equality of man and
necessity of awarding proportionate punishment to all offenders without distinction.
Unless an offender is forgiven by the relatives of his victim under circumstances that are
expected to lead to improvement and betterment of conditions, punishment for the slain
as prescribed is obligatory. The authorities responsible for law and order are bound to
punish the offender according to the requirements of law, having no right to pardon him
of their own accord. On the other hand, the heirs of the murdered person are not entitled
to take the law into their own hands and inflict the punishment on the guilty person
themselves.
So Islam simultaneously retains the punishment of death for murder but in some cases
without depriving anyone of their right an exceptional form of punishment has also been
created. This exceptional form is also based on profound wisdom; It is possible that the
heirs of the murdered victim may be entirely dependant upon the person murdered for
their subsistence. In such a situation capital punishment cannot fulfil a practical basic
need of the family’s welfare. Thus, for making provision of claiming ransom in lieu of
capital punishment, Islam offers a practical choice to the grieved family.
Basically, Islam structures a society which is founded on the spirit of true fraternity
where the blood of a Muslim is unlawful upon another Muslim.
What a beautiful teaching imbued with the love of Allah and humanity condoning purity
of heart and mind and emphasising the fact that in Islam punishment is a forceful positive
power of rectification and reformation for the sustenance of a pure God loving society.
The fourth offence that is mentioned is stealing.
The punishment prescribed for theft may again to some appear to be too severe.
However, as I just mentioned, punishment if it is to be deterrent and effect change, has to
be exemplary. God Almighty says in the Holy Quran:
“And as for the man who steals and the woman who steals, cut off their hands in
retribution of their offence as an exemplary punishment from Allah. And Allah is
Mighty, Wise.” (5 :39)
It is better to be severe to one and save a thousand than to be indulgent to all and ruin
many. He certainly is a good surgeon who does not hesitate to amputate a rotten limb to
save the whole body.
However, to understand the philosophy of this punishment, it would be helpful to
comprehend the background of the society which Islam envisages to establish. A
knowledge of the financial guarantee which an Islamic economic system provides to
every citizen of the country is also necessary.
As far as the structure of society is concerned, Islam builds it on simple living, truth,
righteousness and abstinence from absurdities of life and senseless customs. Islam
establishes a society which is pure of such frolics and has the least causes which could be
held responsible to tempt someone to steal. These are the aspects of the society which
irrespective of religion or belief are to be observed by every subject of an Islamic State.
As far as Muslims are concerned, there is emphasis on worship and purity of heart and
sight, and the moral teaching provides details regarding obligations to humans.
In the light of all that, if the residents of a country are truly Muslims, the thought of stealing
should be unimaginable. However, it is sad that in the real situation, such a scenario is difficult to present
The Muslim States have sadly become the hubs and breeding grounds of evil crime, fraud
and falsehood, leave alone theft and robbery.
In these circumstances, there can be no better punishment than the one imposed by Islam,
that is, the punishment of cutting the hands. Such a punishment becomes a warning
indicator and a deterrent for others.
Moreover, this punishment has a very powerful effective force for the prevention of
stealing.
In the early history of Islam, there were extreme rare cases of cutting the hands because
the punishment prescribed was deterrent and was put in force; Consequently, there were
hardly any thieves. But when one was caught, he was dealt with scrupulously and the
punishment enforced rigidly. The Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) strictly forbade allowance of any concession or favour in the matter of ‘hadd’
punishments without any distinction.
We are told in a hadith, narrated by Hadrat Ayesha (ra), that a woman from a noble
family once committed theft. The Quraish were very embarrassed and disturbed by the
incident. They sent Osama bin Zaid to the Holy Prophet to seek forgiveness for the
woman. Hudur (Peace be upon him) was deeply offended and said, ‘How dare you
intercede in the matter of limits fixed by Allah?’ Hudur stood up and addressed: ‘People
before you were destroyed because when a prominent and influential person committed
theft he was not apprehended and when an ordinary person committed theft he was given
the severest punishment! By God, if the daughter of Muhammad (Peace be upon him)
committed theft, I shall cut her hands and not allow any concession at all!’ (Muslim Kitab
AlHudood Ba’ab Qata Assariq)
For the punishment of cutting the hands of a thief, Islam has also laid down limits on
conditions such as that the stolen goods should not be edible on which the sustenance of
life depends or pilfering or lifting. For such offences some other form of befitting
punishment is meted out.
The philosophy of punishments in Islam indicates that Islam provides punishment only as
a last resort and the purpose behind is reform brought about through a blending of human
values and justice tempered with mercy. Encouraging forgiveness where it is likely to
reform and improve things, providing severe punishment where there is clear disregard
and exceeding the limit of law.
H.M.G.A says:
“Again there is apprehension that justice and mercy cannot both coexist in the entity of
God because justice demands punishment while mercy calls for forgiveness. This is a trap
in which the short sighted Christians are caught because of lack of judgement. They do
not realise that God’s justice is a kind of mercy! It is entirely for the good of human
beings. For instance, if God Almighty issues an order about a murderer from the point of
view of His justice that such a criminal should die, it does not benefit God in any way. He
issues such an order so that mankind should not put an end to itself by killing one
another.
So it is God’s mercy towards mankind. God has promulgated such ‘human rights’ for
social peace to prevail and that one group of humans must not oppress another group and
create turmoil in the world. So all the rights and punishments which are there concerning
property, life and reputation are in fact mercy towards mankind.” (Kitabul Bariyya, page
73).
It would be proper to conclude this presentation drawing attention that the four crimes
which the Holy Quran has chosen and imposed ‘Hadd’ that is limits, on them are the ones
which at present are the cause of unremitting and consuming anxiety for humanity
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