Penal Laws [‘Uqubat or Punishments]

Criminal Intentional Injury

The third division of the Islamic Law is ‘uqubat or punishments for intentional injury to the following:

The extent of punishment for the above-mentioned crimes extends from administering a warning, or the infliction of a fine, or bodily punishment by means of stripes, to imprisonment, deportation, cutting off of hands, feet, and lastly putting to death.

Guilt is proved when a man acts intentionally to cause injury to another man. If a man is hurt, but the doer never intends to injure him, he is not held responsible for the injury. For example, when a man keeps a dog in his house and a stranger without warning or permission enters it, and is bitten by the dog, its owner is not responsible for the consequences. But when a man leaves his horse on the public road and the horse kicks a passer-by and hurts him, the owner is punished for the same. In the case of murder which is called qisas [in Arabic] or retaliation, though the murderer must be put to death, the Islamic Law does not insist on such punishment. On the other hand, it recommends the relatives of the murdered to accept compensation.

Punishment by way of qisas, or the like of a similar injury, is not permitted in doubtful cases. For example, when a man causes fracture in the bone of another, he cannot be punished by inflicting on him the same kind of injury. Thus, the doctrine of qisas is limited to certain specified cases. The Islamic Law, however, punishes, in milder manner, the guilty in cases of such nature by administering admonition or scorn, by imposing imprisonment, whipping and finally by taking the life of the criminal. It depends upon the natrue of the offence and the circumstances, under which the offence has been committed, the intention of the person and his age. All these are left to the consideration of the qadi [magistrate whose discretion of judgment is depended upon].

His guide in these matters is the Qu’ran, the sunnah. [Traditions and acts of the Prophet] and the legal codes as arranged by eminent scholars learned in the law. Levity may be shown in the infliction of punishment, but once it is pronounced there can be no levity in regard to its being carried out. For instance, the magistrate may show leniency in ordering twenty stripes, instead of fifty, but the twenty ordered stripes must be real hard blows. As the Qu’ran orders: “And let not pity detain you in the matter of! God’s commandments.”      

 

Crime of Murder

Murder

A murderer must either be put to death by order of the magistrate or if the relations of the murdered man or woman are willing in certain cases to forgive the murderer and forego their claim, the guilty party may be made to pay compensations as ordered by the court with mutual consent of the relatives of the murdered man and the murdered. This is prescribed in the Qu’ran, verses [2:178-179], which may be rendered as follows:

“O, you beleive retaliation is prescribed for you in the matter of the slain, the free for the free, and the slave for the slave and the female for the female, but if any remission is made to anyone by his [injured] brother, then prosecution [for the blood wit] should be made according to usage, and payment should be made to him in a good manner; this [ordinance] is an alleviation from your Lord and a mercy”.

“And there is life for you in the law of retaliation, O men of understanding, that you may guard yourselves.”

The meaning is that preservation of life is dependent upon making the law of retaliation work; generally speaking, life cannot be safe unless those who are guilty of homicide are liable to be sentenced to capital punishment.

Qatl [In Arabic], I.E. Homicide

Homicide is classified into the following:

According to Islamic Law, the man who kills is alone held responsible for his guilt. It excludes his relatives from retaliation by the relatives of the murdered man, as was the custom among the pre-Islamic Arabs.