Anaya Nolan
Islamic criminal law, also known as Sharia, is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and Hadith. Islamic law does not have a distinct corpus of criminal law, but it does divide crimes into three categories: Hudud (crimes against God), Qisas (crimes against an individual or family), and Tazir (crimes whose punishment is not specified in the Quran and Hadith). In the modern era, sharia-based criminal laws were replaced by statutes inspired by European models, but several countries have recently reintroduced elements of Islamic penal law.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Basis of Islamic penal law | Sharia, or Sharī'ah, a body of religious law based on Islamic scriptures, particularly the Quran and Hadith |
| Types of crimes | Hudud (crimes against God), Qisas (crimes against an individual or family), Tazir (crimes with unspecified punishments), Siyasah (crimes against the government) |
| Hudud punishments | Public lashing, stoning to death, amputation of hands, crucifixion |
| Offenses incurring hudud punishments | Unlawful sexual intercourse, unfounded accusations of unlawful sexual intercourse, consuming intoxicants, highway robbery, some forms of theft |
| Tazir crimes | Punishments include fines, imprisonment, exile, or complete forgiveness |
| Qisas punishments | Retaliation, or equal treatment inflicted on the offender by the victim or the victim's family |
| Jurisdiction | Historically, Islamic law has been used alongside customary law and has been elaborated and developed over the centuries by legal opinions issued by qualified jurists and various economic, penal, and administrative laws issued by Muslim rulers |
| Modern interpretations | Approaches vary widely, with fundamentalists advocating for strict implementation and modernists arguing for adaptations to align with human rights and contemporary issues |
| Neo-ijtihad | A modernist interpretation of Islamic scriptures without adherence to traditional jurisprudence, influenced by Egyptian Islamic scholar Muhammad 'Abduh |
| Country-specific examples | Iran's Islamic Penal Code includes articles detailing the scope of application of penal laws, regulations, and punishments for various offenses |
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What You'll Learn
Islamic criminal law
Hudud are crimes "against God", with punishments fixed in the Quran and the Hadiths. These include zina (unlawful sexual intercourse), unfounded accusations of zina, consuming intoxicants, highway robbery, and some forms of theft. Punishments for Hudud crimes range from public lashing to stoning, amputation, and crucifixion. These crimes are prosecuted by the state and cannot be pardoned.
Qisas are crimes against an individual or family, punishable by equal retaliation as prescribed in the Quran and the Hadiths. Offenses against another person, from homicide to assault, are considered civil injuries rather than crimes as they are prosecuted by the victim or the victim's family, who have the right to opt for compensation or blood money (diyah) instead of retaliation.
Tazir crimes are those not specified in the Quran and the Hadiths, and their punishment is left to the discretion of the ruler or Qadi (judge). Tazir crimes can include any actions considered sinful or destructive of public order, but not punishable as Hudud or Qisas under Sharia. Some include Siyasah, or crimes against the government, as a fourth category, while others consider this part of either Hadd or Tazir crimes.
In practice, criminal cases in Islamic history were often handled by ruler-administered courts or local police using procedures loosely related to Sharia. In modern times, Sharia-based criminal laws were replaced by statutes inspired by European models, although some countries have recently reintroduced elements of Islamic penal law due to the influence of Islamist movements.
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Offences against God and man
Islamic criminal law, also known as Sharia law, divides crimes into three categories: crimes against God, crimes against an individual or family, and crimes whose punishment is not specified in religious texts. Some include a fourth category, crimes against the government, though this is often considered a part of the third category.
Crimes against God, or Hudud, are seen to violate God's hudud, or 'boundaries'. These crimes include zina (unlawful sexual intercourse), unfounded accusations of zina, consuming intoxicants, highway robbery, and some forms of theft. The punishment for these crimes is specified by the Quran and, in some cases, the Sunnah. The punishments for Hudud crimes range from public lashing to publicly stoning to death, amputation of hands, and crucifixion. These punishments are intended to be harsh to deter people from committing these crimes and convey their gravity. However, the requirements for implementing these punishments are often very high, and they are rarely carried out in practice. Hudud crimes cannot be pardoned by the victim or the state, and the punishments must be carried out in public.
Crimes against an individual or family, or Qisas, are punishable by retaliation, with the offender being subject to the same treatment as the victim. This type of offence is regarded as a civil injury rather than a crime, as only the victim or their family has the right to prosecute and opt for compensation or blood money (diyah) instead of retaliation.
The third category, Tazir, includes crimes whose punishment is not specified in the Quran or the Hadiths and is left to the discretion of the ruler or judge. Tazir crimes can be punished with relatively light penalties such as fines, imprisonment, or exile, and they can even be completely forgiven by the administration or judge.
In early Islamic history, criminal cases were often handled by ruler-administered courts or local police using procedures loosely related to Sharia. In the 19th century, Sharia-based criminal laws were replaced by statutes inspired by European models in most parts of the Islamic world. However, in recent decades, several countries have reintroduced elements of Islamic penal law into their legal codes due to the growing influence of Islamist movements.
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Hudud, Qisas, Tazir, Siyasah
Islamic law, also known as Sharia, divides crimes into three categories: Hudud, Qisas, and Tazir. Some jurists also add a fourth category, Siyasah. These categories are based on the nature of the offense and the prescribed punishment.
Hudud, or crimes "against God," include offenses such as zina (unlawful sexual intercourse), unfounded accusations of zina, consuming intoxicants, highway robbery, and some forms of theft. The punishments for Hudud crimes are specified by the Quran and, in some cases, by the Sunnah or Hadiths. They range from public lashing to stoning, amputation, and crucifixion. These punishments cannot be pardoned and must be carried out in public.
Qisas, on the other hand, refers to crimes against an individual or family, where the punishment is equal retaliation as mentioned in the Quran and Hadiths. This includes murder, bodily injury, and assault. In Qisas, the offender is subjected to the same treatment as the victim, such as "an eye for an eye."
Tazir crimes are those whose punishment is not specified in the Quran or Hadiths and is left to the discretion of the ruler or Qadi (judge). Tazir punishments can vary from fines to imprisonment or exile and can even be forgiven by the administration or judge.
Siyasah, the fourth category recognized by some jurists, refers to crimes against the government. These offenses may be considered part of either Hadd (Hudud) or Tazir crimes, depending on the interpretation.
While Islamic criminal jurisprudence has its roots in the Quran and Hadiths, the application of these laws has varied throughout history. In early Islamic history, criminal cases were often handled by ruler-administered courts or local police with loose connections to Sharia. More recently, several countries have reintroduced elements of Islamic penal law under the influence of Islamist movements.
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Sharia and its interpretation
Sharia, or Shariah, is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, especially the Quran and hadith. In Islamic terminology, Sharia refers to immutable, intangible divine law. Fiqh, on the other hand, refers to its interpretations by Islamic scholars.
Sharia law has been elaborated and developed over the centuries by legal opinions issued by qualified jurists, reflecting the tendencies of different schools, and integrated with various economic, penal, and administrative laws issued by Muslim rulers. It has been implemented for centuries by judges in the courts until the recent adoption of secularism in Islamic societies.
Islamic criminal law, or fiqh al-jinayat, is criminal law in accordance with Sharia. Islamic law does not have a distinct corpus of "criminal law". Instead, it divides crimes into three different categories: Hudud, Qisas, and Tazir. Some include Siyasah as a fourth category, while others consider it part of Hadd or Tazir crimes.
Hudud refers to crimes "against God", with punishments specified by the Quran and, in some cases, by the Sunnah or Hadith. These laws prescribe fixed punishments for between five and seven types of crimes, depending on the school of thought. Offenses incurring hudud punishments include zina (unlawful sexual intercourse), unfounded accusations of zina, consuming intoxicants, highway robbery, and some forms of theft. Punishments range from public lashing to stoning to death, amputation of hands, and crucifixion.
Qisas refers to crimes against an individual or family, with punishments of equal retaliation specified by the Quran and Hadiths. Offenses against another person, such as homicide or assault, are considered civil injuries rather than crimes. Only the victim or their family has the right to prosecute and opt for compensation or blood money (diyah) instead of retaliation.
Tazir crimes are those whose punishment is not specified in the Quran or Hadiths and is left to the discretion of the ruler or Qadi (judge). Tazir penalties, outside the scope of Qisas and Hudud laws, can include fines, imprisonment, or exile, and may be completely forgiven by the administration or judge.
In the 21st century, approaches to Sharia vary widely, with fundamentalists advocating for the complete implementation of "pure Sharia" and modernists arguing for its adaptation to align with human rights and contemporary issues. While some Muslim-majority countries have retained traditional laws, others have widely replaced Sharia-based criminal laws with statutes inspired by European models.
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Modernist interpretations
Islamic modernism is a movement that emerged in the middle of the 19th century in an attempt to reconcile the Islamic faith with modern values such as democracy, civil rights, rationality, equality, and progress. It is often described as "the first Muslim ideological response to the Western cultural challenge". Islamic modernists advocate for a critical re-examination of classical conceptions and methods of jurisprudence, and a new approach to Islamic theology and Quranic exegesis (Tafsir).
Modernists interpret the scriptures by making a distinction between basic commands that pertain to religion, and contingent social and political rules that were given for a specific time and place and are therefore liable to amendment according to changing circumstances. They emphasise the need for rationality and science as the measuring stick for a continuous reinterpretation of the scriptures. In the political sphere, they generally favour a constitutional form of government, regarding it as a guarantee of civil rights and freedoms and a check on the state's drift towards Westernization.
Islamic modernists also employ ijtihad, or rational deliberation, in their legal practice. This involves critical independent reasoning in all domains of thought and may even extend to non-jurists. They apply these reinterpretations particularly to cases where a literal interpretation of Quranic verses or hadith conflicts with modern views, such as polygyny, hadd (penal) punishments (e.g. chopping off hands, administering lashes), treatment of unbelievers, waging of jihad, and banning of usury or interest on loans (riba).
Some specific non-literal interpretations include the idea that angels are not beings created from light but are instead 'properties' of things or conceptualizations of the divine moral support that encourages mankind in their endeavours. Jinn are also interpreted as not being beings with free will created from fire, but rather as "projections of evil desires".
Islamic modernism has faced opposition from orthodox, fundamentalist, puritan, and traditionalist Muslims who view it as bid'ah, or heresy, due to its association with Westernization and Western education. However, some orthodox/traditionalist Muslims and scholars agree that updating Islamic law based on the Qur'an and the Sunnah would not violate the principles of fiqh.
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Frequently asked questions
Islamic criminal law is criminal law in accordance with Sharia. Islamic law divides crimes into three different categories depending on the offence – Hudud (crimes "against God"), Qisas (crimes against an individual or family) and Tazir (crimes whose punishment is not specified in the Quran and the Hadiths).
Hudud crimes are those that violate God's 'hudud' or 'boundaries'. These include zina (unlawful sexual intercourse), unfounded accusations of zina, consuming intoxicants, highway robbery and some forms of theft. Punishments for these crimes range from public lashing to stoning to death.
Qisas crimes are those against an individual or family, punishable by retaliation or qiṣāṣ. This means the offender is subject to the same treatment as the victim. Offences against another person are regarded as civil injuries, and only the victim or their family has the right to prosecute.
Tazir crimes are those whose punishment is not specified in the Quran and the Hadiths, and is left to the discretion of the ruler or Qadi (judge). Tazir crimes can be punished by fines, imprisonment or exile, and can be completely forgiven by the administration or the judge.
In early Islamic history, criminal cases were handled by ruler-administered courts or local police using procedures loosely related to Sharia. In modern times, sharia-based criminal laws were replaced by statutes inspired by European models. However, several countries have recently reintroduced elements of Islamic penal law due to the growing influence of Islamist movements.
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