Hudud
Encyclopedia
Hudud is the word often used in Islam
ic literature for the bounds of acceptable behaviour and the punishments for serious crimes. In Islamic law or Sharia
, hudud usually refers to the class of punishments that are fixed for certain crimes that are considered to be "claims of God." They include theft
, fornication
, consumption of alcohol, and apostasy
.
:
Hudud offenses are defined as "claims of God," and therefore the sovereign was held to have a responsibility to punish them. All other offenses were defined as "claims of [His] servants," and responsibility for prosecution rested on the victim. This includes murder, which was treated as a private dispute between the murderer and the victim's heirs. The heirs are given the right to forgive the murderer, or demand compensation (see Diyya
) or demand execution of the murderer (see Qisas
).
Hudud offenses include:
In traditional Islamic legal systems, there were very exacting standards of proof that had to be met if hudud punishments were to be implemented.
There are minor differences in views between the four major Sunni
madhhab
s about sentencing and specifications for these laws. It is often argued that, since Sharia is God's law and states certain punishments for each crime, they are immutable. However, with liberal movements in Islam expressing concerns about hadith validity, a major component of how Islamic law is created, questions have arisen about administering certain punishments. Incompatibilities with human rights
in the way Islamic law is practised in many countries has led Tariq Ramadan
to call for an international moratorium on the punishments of hudud laws until greater scholarly consensus can be reached.
It has also been argued that the Hudud portion of Sharia is incompatible with humanist
or Western understanding of human rights. For example a Washington Times editorial called Pakistan's Hudood ordinance
:
In brief, the punishments include:
The hudud punishment for theft was carried out on several hundred individuals, including Christians, during the first two years when Shari`a was made state law in Sudan
between 1983 and 1985 and then was withdrawn from application but not from the law. Flogging for morals charges have been carried out since the codification of Islamic law in Sudan in 1991 without withdrawal from application. Although there were sentences of stoning for adultery during this period, none has been carried out.
However, while these standards of proof made hudud punishments very difficult to apply in practice, an offender could still be sentenced to corporal punishment at the discretion of the judge (see tazir
), if he or she was found guilty but the standards of proof required for hudud punishments could not be met.
under Islamic law is stoning (Rajm
). It is not mentioned in the Qur'an but "derives its authority from hadith literature references which are imputed by many," according to Kemal A. Faruki. There are certain standards for proof that must be met in Islamic law
for this punishment to apply. In the Shafii, Hanbali, Hanafi and the Shia law schools the stoning is imposed for the married adulterer and his partner only if the crime is proven, either by four male adults eyewitnessing the actual sexual intercourse at the same time or by self-confession. In the Maliki school of law, however, evidence of pregnancy also constitutes sufficient proof. Scholars such as Fazel Lankarani and Ayatollah Sanei
hold that stoning penalty is imposed only if the adulterer has had sexual access to his or her mate. Ayatollah Shirazi states that the proof for adultery is very hard to establish, because no one commits adultery in public unless they are irreverent. For the establishment of adultery, four witnesses "must have seen the act in its most intimate details, i.e. the penetration (like “a stick disappearing in a kohl container,” as the fiqh books specify). However they may be charged with indecency and immoral behavior. If their testimonies do not satisfy the requirements, they can be sentenced to eighty lashes for unfounded accusation of fornication."
Commenting on the verse regarding theft in the Quran, Yusuf Ali says that most Islamic jurists believe that "petty thefts are exempt from this punishment" and that "only one hand should be cut off for the first theft." Maududi also agrees that petty theft is exempt, although he admits that jurists disagree as to the exact dividing line. In Shi'a law, the penalty for the first theft is interpreted as the severing of the four fingers of the right hand based on hadith authentic to them, and this penalty will be applied only if the thief is adult, sane, has stolen from a secure place, was not under compulsion or misery, and does not repent before the crime is proved, among other conditions.
explains that some Muslims justify these punishments in general terms because they punish crimes that are "against God and a threat to the moral fabric of the Muslim community." He observes that Islamic law provides strict regulations regarding evidence in cases involving these crimes, and that false accusations are seriously punished. Esposito also observes that Muslim reformers have argued that "these punishment were appropriate within the historical and social contexts in which they originated but are inappropriate today and that the underlying religious principles and values need to find new expression in modernizing societies."
William Montgomery Watt
believes that "such penalties may have been suitable for the age in which Muhammad lived. However, as societies have since progressed and become more peaceful and ordered, they are not suitable any longer." Gerhard Endress, professor of Islamic Studies at Ruhr University, states that at the time of advent of Islam, several social reforms happened in which a new system of marriage and family, including legal restrictions such as restriction of the practice of polygamy, was built up. Endress says that "it was only by this provision (backed up by severe punishment for adultery), that the family, the core of any sedentary society could be placed on a firm footing."
See above section on adultery for an examination of the requirement of proof of same.
Commenting on the verses related to amputation of the limbs of thieves, Maududi writes that "here and at other places the Qur'an merely declares that sodomy is such a heinous sin... that it is the duty of the Islamic State to eradicate this crime and... punish those who are guilty of it."
There is a movement among some modern liberal Muslims to "re-interpret Islamic verses about ancient punishments," in the words of Professor Ali A. Mazrui. He states that the punishments laid down fourteen centuries ago "had to be truly severe enough to be a deterrent" in their day, but "since then God has taught us more about crime, its causes, the methods of its investigation, the limits of guilt, and the much wider range of possible punishments."
Sharia and Islamism in Sudan: Conflict, law and social transformation, Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, 2011. London: I.B. Tauris.
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic literature for the bounds of acceptable behaviour and the punishments for serious crimes. In Islamic law or Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
, hudud usually refers to the class of punishments that are fixed for certain crimes that are considered to be "claims of God." They include theft
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
, fornication
Fornication
Fornication typically refers to consensual sexual intercourse between two people not married to each other. For many people, the term carries a moral or religious association, but the significance of sexual acts to which the term is applied varies between religions, societies and cultures. The...
, consumption of alcohol, and apostasy
Apostasy
Apostasy , 'a defection or revolt', from ἀπό, apo, 'away, apart', στάσις, stasis, 'stand, 'standing') is the formal disaffiliation from or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. One who commits apostasy is known as an apostate. These terms have a pejorative implication in everyday...
.
Overview
Hudood is one of four categories of punishment in Islamic Penal LawIslamic criminal jurisprudence
Islamic criminal law is criminal law in accordance with Islamic law. Strictly speaking, Islamic law does not have a distinct corpus of "criminal law," as sharia courts do not have prosecutors, and all matters, even criminal ones, are in principle handled as disputes between individuals...
:
- QisasQisasQisas is an Islamic term meaning "retaliation," and follows the principle of an eye for an eye, or lex talionis, first set forth by Hammurabi, and subsequently included in the Old Testament and later legal codes...
- meaning retaliation, and following the biblical principle of "an eye for an eye." - DiyyaDiyyaDiyya is compensation paid to the heirs of a victim. In Arabic, the word means both blood money and ransom.-Islamic and Arab tradition:The Qur'an specifies the principle of Qisas Diyya (plural: Diyyat; ) is compensation paid to the heirs of a victim. In Arabic, the word means both blood money and...
- compensation paid to the heirs of a victim. In Arabic the word means both blood money and ransom. - Hudud - fixed punishments
- TazirTazirIn Islamic Law, tazir refers to punishment, usually corporal, that can be administered at the discretion of the judge, called a Qadi, Kadi, as opposed to the hudud...
- punishment, usually corporal, administered at the discretion of the judge
Hudud offenses are defined as "claims of God," and therefore the sovereign was held to have a responsibility to punish them. All other offenses were defined as "claims of [His] servants," and responsibility for prosecution rested on the victim. This includes murder, which was treated as a private dispute between the murderer and the victim's heirs. The heirs are given the right to forgive the murderer, or demand compensation (see Diyya
Diyya
Diyya is compensation paid to the heirs of a victim. In Arabic, the word means both blood money and ransom.-Islamic and Arab tradition:The Qur'an specifies the principle of Qisas Diyya (plural: Diyyat; ) is compensation paid to the heirs of a victim. In Arabic, the word means both blood money and...
) or demand execution of the murderer (see Qisas
Qisas
Qisas is an Islamic term meaning "retaliation," and follows the principle of an eye for an eye, or lex talionis, first set forth by Hammurabi, and subsequently included in the Old Testament and later legal codes...
).
Hudud offenses include:
- TheftTheftIn common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
(sariqa, السرقة) - Highway robbery (qat' al-tariq, قطع الطريق)
- Illegal sexual intercourseZina (Arabic)Zinā or Zināʾ is generally defined by Islamic Law as unlawful sexual intercourse, i.e. intercourse between a man and a woman who are not married to one another or in a state of lawful concubinage based on ownership...
(zina', الزناء) - False accusation of zina' (qadhf, القذف)
- Drinking alcohol (shurb al-khamr, شرب الخمر)
- ApostasyApostasy in IslamApostasy in Islam is commonly defined in Islam as the rejection in word or deed of one's former religion by a person who was previously a follower of Islam...
(irtidād or ridda, ارتداد) includes blasphemyIslam and blasphemyBlasphemy in Islam is any irreverent behavior toward holy personages, religious artifacts, customs, and beliefs that Muslims revere. The Quran and the hadith do not speak about blasphemy. Jurists created the offence, and they made it part of Sharia. Where Sharia pertains, the penalties for...
. (Unlike the five offenses listed above, not all jurists consider apostasy to be a hudud offense.)
In traditional Islamic legal systems, there were very exacting standards of proof that had to be met if hudud punishments were to be implemented.
There are minor differences in views between the four major Sunni
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
madhhab
Madhhab
is a Muslim school of law or fiqh . In the first 150 years of Islam, there were many such "schools". In fact, several of the Sahābah, or contemporary "companions" of Muhammad, are credited with founding their own...
s about sentencing and specifications for these laws. It is often argued that, since Sharia is God's law and states certain punishments for each crime, they are immutable. However, with liberal movements in Islam expressing concerns about hadith validity, a major component of how Islamic law is created, questions have arisen about administering certain punishments. Incompatibilities with human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
in the way Islamic law is practised in many countries has led Tariq Ramadan
Tariq Ramadan
Tariq Ramadan is a Swiss academic, poet and writer. He is also a Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies in the Faculty of Oriental Studies at Oxford University...
to call for an international moratorium on the punishments of hudud laws until greater scholarly consensus can be reached.
It has also been argued that the Hudud portion of Sharia is incompatible with humanist
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
or Western understanding of human rights. For example a Washington Times editorial called Pakistan's Hudood ordinance
Hudood Ordinance
The Hudood Ordinance was a law in Pakistan that was enacted in 1979 as part of then-military ruler Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization and replaced or revised in 2006 by the Women's Protection Bill....
:
- a set of laws passed in 1979 in response to pressure from hardline Islamic political groups that odiously punished rapeRapeRape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
victims while making it difficult to convict the perpetrators. http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20061116-090021-3966r.htm
Punishments
The punishments vary according to the offender: non-Muslims generally receive harsher punishments than Muslims, slaves receive harsher punishments than free people, and in the case of zina', married people receive harsher punishments than unmarried.In brief, the punishments include:
- Capital punishmentCapital punishmentCapital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
s - by sword/crucifixionCrucifixionCrucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
(for highway robbery with homicide), by stoningStoningStoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
(for zina' when the offenders are mature, married Muslims) - AmputationAmputationAmputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for...
of hands or feet (for theft and highway robbery without homicide) - Flogging with a varying number of strokes (for drinking, zina' when the offenders are unmarried or not Muslims, and false accusations of zina')
The hudud punishment for theft was carried out on several hundred individuals, including Christians, during the first two years when Shari`a was made state law in Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
between 1983 and 1985 and then was withdrawn from application but not from the law. Flogging for morals charges have been carried out since the codification of Islamic law in Sudan in 1991 without withdrawal from application. Although there were sentences of stoning for adultery during this period, none has been carried out.
Requirements for conviction
Only eye-witness testimony and confession were admitted. For eye-witness testimony, the number of witnesses required was doubled from Islamic law's usual standard of two to four. Only free, adult Muslim men are eligible to testify in hudud cases. (In non-hudud cases the testimony of women, non-Muslims and slaves could be admitted in certain circumstances). A confession had to be repeated four times, the confessing person had to be in a healthy state of mind, and he or she could retract the confession at any point before punishment.However, while these standards of proof made hudud punishments very difficult to apply in practice, an offender could still be sentenced to corporal punishment at the discretion of the judge (see tazir
Tazir
In Islamic Law, tazir refers to punishment, usually corporal, that can be administered at the discretion of the judge, called a Qadi, Kadi, as opposed to the hudud...
), if he or she was found guilty but the standards of proof required for hudud punishments could not be met.
Adultery
The punishment of adulterersAdultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
under Islamic law is stoning (Rajm
Rajm
Rajm is an Arabic word that means "stoning". It is commonly used to refer to the Hudud punishment wherein an organized group throws stones at a convicted individual until that person dies. Traditionally it is called for in cases of adultery where the criteria for conviction are met...
). It is not mentioned in the Qur'an but "derives its authority from hadith literature references which are imputed by many," according to Kemal A. Faruki. There are certain standards for proof that must be met in Islamic law
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
for this punishment to apply. In the Shafii, Hanbali, Hanafi and the Shia law schools the stoning is imposed for the married adulterer and his partner only if the crime is proven, either by four male adults eyewitnessing the actual sexual intercourse at the same time or by self-confession. In the Maliki school of law, however, evidence of pregnancy also constitutes sufficient proof. Scholars such as Fazel Lankarani and Ayatollah Sanei
Ayatollah Yousef Sanei
Grand Ayatollah Yousef Sanei is an Iranian scholar, renowned theologian and Islamic philosopher. He is admired by many and condemned by others for his radical calls for reforms and also serves as a Grand Marja of Shia Islam.-Biography:...
hold that stoning penalty is imposed only if the adulterer has had sexual access to his or her mate. Ayatollah Shirazi states that the proof for adultery is very hard to establish, because no one commits adultery in public unless they are irreverent. For the establishment of adultery, four witnesses "must have seen the act in its most intimate details, i.e. the penetration (like “a stick disappearing in a kohl container,” as the fiqh books specify). However they may be charged with indecency and immoral behavior. If their testimonies do not satisfy the requirements, they can be sentenced to eighty lashes for unfounded accusation of fornication."
Theft
Malik, the originator of the Maliki judicial school of thought, recorded in The Muwatta of many detailed circumstances under which the punishment of hand cutting should, and should not, be carried out.Commenting on the verse regarding theft in the Quran, Yusuf Ali says that most Islamic jurists believe that "petty thefts are exempt from this punishment" and that "only one hand should be cut off for the first theft." Maududi also agrees that petty theft is exempt, although he admits that jurists disagree as to the exact dividing line. In Shi'a law, the penalty for the first theft is interpreted as the severing of the four fingers of the right hand based on hadith authentic to them, and this penalty will be applied only if the thief is adult, sane, has stolen from a secure place, was not under compulsion or misery, and does not repent before the crime is proved, among other conditions.
Explanations for punishments
John EspositoJohn Esposito
John Louis Esposito is a professor of International Affairs and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University...
explains that some Muslims justify these punishments in general terms because they punish crimes that are "against God and a threat to the moral fabric of the Muslim community." He observes that Islamic law provides strict regulations regarding evidence in cases involving these crimes, and that false accusations are seriously punished. Esposito also observes that Muslim reformers have argued that "these punishment were appropriate within the historical and social contexts in which they originated but are inappropriate today and that the underlying religious principles and values need to find new expression in modernizing societies."
William Montgomery Watt
William Montgomery Watt
William Montgomery Watt was a Scottish historian, an Emeritus Professor in Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh...
believes that "such penalties may have been suitable for the age in which Muhammad lived. However, as societies have since progressed and become more peaceful and ordered, they are not suitable any longer." Gerhard Endress, professor of Islamic Studies at Ruhr University, states that at the time of advent of Islam, several social reforms happened in which a new system of marriage and family, including legal restrictions such as restriction of the practice of polygamy, was built up. Endress says that "it was only by this provision (backed up by severe punishment for adultery), that the family, the core of any sedentary society could be placed on a firm footing."
See above section on adultery for an examination of the requirement of proof of same.
Commenting on the verses related to amputation of the limbs of thieves, Maududi writes that "here and at other places the Qur'an merely declares that sodomy is such a heinous sin... that it is the duty of the Islamic State to eradicate this crime and... punish those who are guilty of it."
There is a movement among some modern liberal Muslims to "re-interpret Islamic verses about ancient punishments," in the words of Professor Ali A. Mazrui. He states that the punishments laid down fourteen centuries ago "had to be truly severe enough to be a deterrent" in their day, but "since then God has taught us more about crime, its causes, the methods of its investigation, the limits of guilt, and the much wider range of possible punishments."
See also
- Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in IslamCairo Declaration on Human Rights in IslamThe Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam is a declaration of the member states of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference adopted in Cairo in 1990, which provides an overview on the Islamic perspective on human rights, and affirms Islamic Shari'ah as its sole source...
- TazirTazirIn Islamic Law, tazir refers to punishment, usually corporal, that can be administered at the discretion of the judge, called a Qadi, Kadi, as opposed to the hudud...
- Zia-ul-Haq's IslamizationZia-ul-Haq's IslamizationOn December 2, 1978, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq delivered a nationwide address on the occasion of the first day of the Hijra calendar. He did this in order to usher in an Islamic system to Pakistan...
- Hudood OrdinanceHudood OrdinanceThe Hudood Ordinance was a law in Pakistan that was enacted in 1979 as part of then-military ruler Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization and replaced or revised in 2006 by the Women's Protection Bill....
Further reading
- Muhammad Ata Alsid Sidahmad, The Hudud: the seven specific crimes in Islamic criminal law and their mandatory punishments. ISBN 983-9303-00-7
- Chris Horrie C. and Chippindale P. What Is Islam? Virgin Books, 2003. ISBN 0-7535-0827-3
External links
- Lies & Distortions by the Media about Hudood Ordinance (of Pakistan)
- An Islamic legal analysis of the rape laws in Pakistan
- Rape and Hudood Ordinance: Perversions of Justice in the Name of Islam by Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq
- Islamic Law: Myths and Realities
- Thousands of Pakistani women face charges under Islamic laws
- Women's rights in Pakistan - November 17, 2006 editorial in the Washington Times
- critics (blog)
- Q & A on the Hudud and Qisas Enactment, HakamHakamHakam may refer to:*Al-Hakam in Arabic الحكم means the wise man, referring to the old Arab arbitrators that predated qadis.*Hakam or The National Human Rights Society, a Malaysian human rights organization*Hakham, a wise man, in Judaism*Hakam, Yemen...
Sharia and Islamism in Sudan: Conflict, law and social transformation, Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, 2011. London: I.B. Tauris.