HAVING UNDERSTOOD WHAT Shariah is, it now becomes easier for the reader to understand some of the prescribed punishments in Shariah. Critics of Islam speak about death by stoning, beheading, flogging, amputation of limbs, and other punishments, for crimes that are otherwise very insignificant in nature. The reality is that none of these punishments can be meted out in a corrupt society, as the extremists have wrong-headedly done. Further, many of these punishments such as death by stoning for adultery do not even have any basis whatsoever in the Holy Quran. The extremists tend to follow the self-styled stern opinions of some of the medieval scholars, on many occasions, to mete out their arbitrary punishments that have no grounds in the Holy Quran or the practice of Prophet Muhammadsa.
This short treatise is not the place for a lengthy note on each of these punishments. However, in order to shed some light on this issue, let us take the example of the punishment for theft in Islam. The Holy Quran says:
And as for the man who steals and the woman who steals, cut off their hands in retribution of their offence as an exemplary punishment from Allah. And Allah is Mighty, Wise.201
To fully understand the purport of this verse, the Islamic philosophy of punishment has to first be examined, in the context of Islamic moral teachings. As we have shown earlier, Islam endeavours to form a society that practices high moral values in everyday life. That is exactly what Prophet Muhammadsa did.
In fact, Prophet Muhammadsa took unimaginable pains to create such a society. He, along with his followers, sacrificed everything in this pursuit, as is expressed by the following verses:
So haply thou wilt grieve thyself to death for sorrow after them if they believe not in this discourse.202
Surely, a Messenger has come unto you from among yourselves; grievous to him is that you should fall into trouble; he is ardently desirous of your welfare; and to the believers he is compassionate, merciful.203
This resulted in the creation of a society practising high moral values in the early days of Islam. Once a society rises to such moral and ethical heights, and crimes of this nature become rare and is looked upon as completely against the norm that is keeping the social equilibrium, that is the scenario when some of these harsh punishments can be meted out in certain cases. Without the fulfillment of this condition in a society, as described above, if such punishments are given effect to, there would be much injustice and it cannot be attributed to the teachings of Islam. Islam condemns such injustices. For instance, if a person steals because hunger compels him, no such punishment is to be meted out to him.204
It was in the context of having created such a society that Prophet Muhammadsa is reported to have said:
The world is a prison for the believer and a paradise for the disbeliever.205
This is not a reference to a prison made out of coercion. On the contrary, this is a metaphorical “prison” of self-restraint and piety that is self-imposed by a devout Muslim on his or her own self, to keep away from all immoral, illegal, and unethical acts. If a society of such individuals has not been created, then the above punishment can not, and must not, be meted out. At the same time, it would be extremely rare to find individuals deserving of such a harsh punishment in such a society.
We see examples of this from the time of Prophet Muhammadsa. During his time, more often than not those people who received such harsh punishments themselves came forward and told him that they have committed such crimes and asked for the punishment in this world so as to absolve themselves in this world and to be forgiven in the Hereafter.206
In this ideally reformed society, not only would it be next to impossible to find individuals who deserve these punishments, but crime itself would almost disappear from such society. Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadrh once remarked on the specific issue of cutting off of hands of those who steal by saying that the philosophy of law is to protect the innocent. If a law fails to protect the innocent for the sake of showing mercy to the criminal, it must be considered inadequate for the need of the society. In contrast, if a law appears to be barbaric but the harsh punishments meted out are so few and far between with the ultimate result that the public at large are saved from daily harassments of criminals, then this law is much more beneficial. These things have to considered before the Islamic point of view is well-understood.
On top of that, Islam upholds a high standard for testimony against crime as Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadrh says:
…the system of evidence as proposed by Islam, is so strict and so deeply bonded with the sense of morality that a witness is required to hold certain moral values. In any immoral society…where witnesses can be bought or influenced…where the moral standard unfortunately to our detriment is very low, Islamic laws cannot be implemented. It is wrong to implement any law in the name of Islam before preparing that atmosphere. It would be like trying to plant a tree of cherry in the heart of the desert. The atmosphere in the desert is not promotive to the growth of cherries…So, Islam not only speaks of laws. It’s a religion. So, it speaks of the preparation for the implementation of laws as well. This is why according to Islam the Prophets first attend to the moral values of the country. They transform the society, raise the standard to a high degree. Then to maintain that standard and to safeguard its values, some stern measures are taken which are very seldom applied in reality. But the society in bargain is much happier and safe.207