The issue of HUDOOD Dr.

Muhammad Farooq Khan

Project Director/Vice Chancellor, Islamic University Swat NWFP Pakistan Cell: 0092-345-9330155 Email:dmfkhan@gmail.com

The world Hadh has been mentioned in the Holy Quran fourteen times. This world has been used in rules of wedlock, divorce, inheritance, Itikaf, and for the abiding of all the regulations and restriction of the Holy Quran. The Holy Quran has never specified it for punishments. Rather this word has not been used even once in the verses regarding punishments. In Sahih Ahadis, this word has also been use for punishments. But the important point is that this word has been use for every punishment which a state inflicts upon its citizens for violation of any law. In Ahadis, the word Had has also been used for punishments which have not been prescribed in the Holy Quran. The use of this word in Ahadis also reveals that it has been used as a simple word and not as a specific term.

In the nine basic books of Ahadis, the word TAAZIR is absent. It means that during the era of the Holy Prophet and the pious Caliphs, every kind of punishment was called Had.

So it means that when Muslim country makes for itself a Penal Code and incorporate the rules of the Holy Quran, the punishment for its violation may be called Had or Taazir or any other word, whether it relates to the violation of rules about Nikah, Talaaq, inheritance or Zina or Qazaf. During the days of Sahabah (companions of the Holy Prophet), no difference has ever been made between the words of Had or Taazir. This differentiation was made by the Muslim Jurists of later times. We do not have any record of differentiation between these two words during the first one hundred and fifty years of Islam.

A very important disadvantage of the division made by Fuqaha is that when a person who is ignorant of the above details, sees the word Had in the Holy Quran or an Hadees, he becomes totally confused.

It means that there is no need to make some special legislation in the name of Hudood. A normal Penal Code, incorporating all Islamic injunctions is all that is required. As far as evidence in a court of law is concerned, there is only one crime for which the Holy Quran has made a specific evidence law. That is a crime of Zina. For this crime the Holy Quran has specified that if this crime is committed with such shameless and immodest way that there are four eye witnesses for it, then we should be brought before a court of law. Other wise it should not be brought before a court. Except for this crime, Islam has not restricted us about the evidence of any other crime. Every crime can be proved in a court of Islam as it is proved in any other court, whether it is eye witness, circumstantial evidence, finger prints, chemical examination or any thing. Similarly there is no difference between the evidence of a man and a woman. The word Zina automatically means that this crime has been committed with the consent of both partners. So in my opinion there is nothing like ZINA BIL RAZA. The word ZINA BIL JABAR is also a misnomer. It is RAPE. The Urdu word for it is ISMAT DARY. Because in this act one person is the perpetrator and tyrant, while the other person is a victim and oppressed. In chapter Al-Noor, the punishment and the law of evidence for ZINA has been prescribed, while in chapter Al-Maida, the punishment for FASSAD FIL ARZ has been prescribed. Rape is also a part of Fassad Fil Arz. One of the punishments for Fassad Fil Arz is exemplary capital punishment. RAJAM is one of the forms of this punishment. It is not obligatory for a Muslim state to retain this punishment. A Muslim state can give any alternative exemplary punishment. It can make a detailed legislation on the basis of verse 33,34 of chapter Al-maida 4.