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 T THHEEFF A  A CCEEOOFFMMEER R CC Y  Y  IINNIISSLL A  A MMIICCLL A  A  W W
 
By Dr Abu Zayd
 American Open University 
Reviewed by Muhammad Alshareef 
 
 All rights reserved ®2005
www.StudentofIslam.com 
 
 2
he mantra that Islamic law has no place in modern societies is repeated by modern pundits in subtle, and sometimes, not-so-subtle ways. It is arecurrent theme in the media, frequently interpolated with certain shocking images for maximal effect. Often the images used- including floggings,beheadings and stonings- are taken out-of-context and sometimes from differenttimes, but never matter. The victims almost always are, of course, veiled women. The intended end result is a popular notion that the Islamic penal code is harsh,barbaric and a tool for the suppression of people. All of this is strengthened by attempts by contemporary Muslim individuals to reinterpret Islamic law in theabsence of the Sunnah and the understanding of our traditional scholars.Common to these efforts is a gross ignorance of the complexity, details and aimsof the Shari‘ah. An objective and penetrating study of the topic would clearly reveal that Islamic law has a benevolent and enlightened side that is too oftenignored. It is high time for Muslims to step forward and reclaim the noble role of the Shari‘ah in the enlightenment and progress of human society.Before embarking on an examination of the details of the Islamic penal code, twopoints stand out most strikingly.
Punishments Are a Small Portion of Islamic Law 
First, Islamic law is
not 
equivalent to the hudood punishments. If Islamic law refers to the totality of the Shari‘ah, then legal punishments, which may bereferred to hence as the penal code, represent only a tiny fraction of the bulk of the Shari‘ah. All punishments under Islamic law (referred to in Arabic as
‘uqoobaat 
تﺎﺑﻮﻘﻋ
 ) fall into three basic categories:1. Hudood punishments
دوُﺪُ ﺣ
 2. Qisas
 
صﺎَ ﺼِ ﻗ
 3. Ta’zeer punishments
1
 
ﺮﻳِﺰﻌَ ﺗ
  The Hudood punishments are those specific crimes whose punishments havebeen prescribed by Allah in the Qur’an or the Sunnah of His Messenger
T
. Theirimplementation, therefore, is due as a right owed to Allah, and no one has theauthority to alter them. They are six in number according to the majority of thescholars:1. Theft ( 
 
 ﺔﻗﺮﺳ
 
sariqah 
 )2. Armed robbery ( 
 
 ﺔﺑاﺮﺣ
 
hirabah 
 )3. Illicit sexual intercourse ( 
ﻰﻧز
 
zina 
 )4. Slander ( 
فﺬﻗ
 
qazhf 
 )5. Consuming intoxicants ( 
ﺮﻤﺨﻟا
 
بﺮﺷ
 
shurb al-khamr 
 )
1
Pg 10. Vol 5. Al-Jazeeri,
 Kitab al-Fiqh ‘Ala al-Madhahib al-Arba‘ah.
 
T
 
 3
6. Apostacy ( 
ةّدر
 
riddah 
 ). The inclusion of the last two are subject to some debate, but that does notconcern us here. Qisas is the Islamic code dealing with murder. It is
not 
equivalentto the death penalty. Murder is a crime whose punishment is an exclusive right of the victim’s next-of-kin. The accused can be pardoned, be made to pay blood-money ( 
 ﺔﻳد
 
diyah 
 ) as monetary compensation, or be executed. Interestingly, Islamactually encourages the first option of pardoning. All other offenses, which obviously represent the vast majority of crimesencountered in society, fall into the final category of Ta’zeer punishments. Theseare discretionary punishments whose details and implementation have not beenclearly spelled out in the Shari‘ah, and are left to the rulers and societies to work out.It is clear, therefore, that punishments form only a small component of Islamiclaw, and are fixed only for a very limited number of offenses. The constantassociation of Islamic law with stoning for adultery and amputation for thefts inthe modern media is a deliberate effort to misrepresent the true nature of Islamiclaw. The Shari‘ah is not a vindictive, vengeful penal system focused onpunishment. On the contrary, it is a comprehensive ethical code that emphasizesthe universal values of peace, compassion and forgiveness and seeks to build anideal society based on its noble ideals. The fact that out of the vast array of crimesknown to man, only six- and according to some scholars, four- have beenidentified by the Shari‘ah for fixed punishments is testimony to this fact. The restof the crimes, which include even murder, are open to arbitration and evenpardon by the victims. Where else, can the family of a murdered individual grantclemency and forgive the killer? In contrast, some Western penal systems inmodern nations carry a mandatory death penalty for murder.It is for this reason that the law of Qisas is mentioned by Allah as giving life tothe ummah.
 
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 “Verily there is life in the [law of] qisas for you, O people who understand, so thatyou may attain piety.”
2
 
 Avoiding Punishments Preferred
 The second point worthy of notice is that Islamic law has certain mechanisms inplace to actually prevent the implementation of legal punishments. How many people are aware that the Messenger of Allah
T
stated the following?:
2
Holy Qur’an. Al-Baqarah 179.
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