The Islamic Judicial and Punishment System have been the subject of much attack by the West.

To counteract this, the article gives an overview of the Judicial and Punishment System and exposes the corruption of the West.

The basis of the Judicial System is set in the principle that 'the application of the Islamic Judgement on any issue is obligatory'. It is responsible for:
1) settling disputes among people.
2) preventing that which harms the rights of society.
3) resolving the disputes that arise between the people and those of authority i.e. the Khaleef or a Wali.

The formation of courts and a judicial procedure have existed since the birth of Islam and are entrenched in the main sources of Islamic Law i.e. the Qur’an, the Sunnah, Consensus (Ijma’) and Divine Analogy (Qiyas).
The formation of the Judicial body is established with the appointment of a Chief Judge who is responsible for the appointments and discipline of other judges.

There are three types of judges in Islam. They are:
1) The judge, Qadi Amm, who settles the disputes among the people in transactions and punishments.
2) The Muhtasib who judges upon violations of the community’s rights.
3) The judge of the Court for the Unjust Act (Mahkamat ul-Madhalim) who settles disputes between people (this includes non-Muslims since they are citizens) and the officials of the state.

All the judges must be qualified with being Muslim, mature, free, sane, just and a legal jurist being aware of how to apply rules on the situation. Judges of the Court for the Unjust Acts must additionally be qualified with being male and a Mujtahid i.e. capable of making Ijtihad. Obviously, for many people including Muslims, this condition seems only to confirm that Islam is sexist. But this corrupted and false accusation has been addressed in the leaflet,’The Social System’.

The Qadi Madhalim has the authority to dismiss any ruler, governor and official, including the Khaleef and was well established in the period of the Prophet (saw) and the Khulafaa’Rashidun. Allah’s Messenger (saw) appointed Abdullah Ibnu Nawfal as judge over Medina and made Rashid Ibnu Abdallah head of the Judicial system and the complaints tribunals (Ref: Ibnu Ishaq vol.4, and Imam Shafi’s 'the Easy Jurisprudence').

As for the courts, they comprise of only one judge who has the authority to pronounce judgement. Other judges are allowed to accompany him but only as advisors or assistants. Moreover. there is no jury. This is so because the judgement is referred to the Islamic Sources and not to the minds of humans as in the West. Neither, within Islamic courts is there a Court of Appeal since court proceedings are only undertaken when the evidence is proven to be 100% definite. Any doubt to the evidence then the whole case is thrown out. After proof of the evidence, the judgement is considered the Law of Allah on the issue and cannot be revoked.

THE PUNISHMENT SYSTEM (Nizaam’al ukubaat)

The following are principles of the Punishment System:
1) The Muslim is accountable for every action that he/she has performed and for every crime there exists a punishment that is enforced by the State. Such a principle is important because it not merely protects the society, but taking the punishment for such crimes through a court of Shari’ah removes its punishment in the Afterlife. It acts as Kaffarah and is the means to repent and seek forgiveness. Muslims need to remember that Allah (swt) knows and will account all your actions. Therefore, it is better to get the punishment in this life and sincerely repent than to face the punishment in the Afterlife. This is because the punishment in the Afterlife is so much more severe i.e. Hellfire.

Many of the Muslims during the time of Mohammed (saw) confessed to their crimes that are severely punishable because they didn’t want to have it count against them on the Day of Judgement. It is narrated by Abu Daud when referring to a man who confessed to an illegal sexual act, and was ordered to be stoned to death, Mohammed (saw) said:”He is more agreeable than the fragrance of musk in the eyes of Allah.”

In another hadith, also narrated in Abu Daud: “A woman of Ghamid came to the prophet (saw) and said; “ I have committed a punishable sexual act. He (saw) replied,”Go back.” She then returned, and on the next day came to Him (saw) again and said,”Perhaps you want to send me back as you did to Ma’iz bin Malik. I swear by Allah (swt) I am pregnant. He (saw) said to her,”Go back.” She then returned to Him (saw) next day. He (saw) said, “Go back until you give birth to the child.” She left. When she gave birth to the child she brought the child to him (saw), and said,”Here he is! I have given birth to it.” He (saw) said,”Go back and suckle him until you wean him.” When she had weaned him, she brought the boy to Him (saw) with something in his hand which he was eating. The boy was then given to a certain man of the Muslims and He (saw) commanded regarding her. So a pit was dug for her, and He (saw) gave orders about her and she was stoned to death. Khalid was one of those who were throwing stones at her. He threw a stone at her. When a drop of her blood fell on his cheek, he abused her. Mohammed (saw) said to him, “Gently Khalid. By Him in whose Hand my soul is, she has repented to such an extent that if one who wrongfully takes an extra were to repent to a like extent, he would be forgiven.” Then giving command regarding her, He (saw) prayed over her and she was buried.”

2) The principle of the Punishment System is to, “prevent the punishment as much as possible”, since the severity of the punishments serve the primary role of a deterrent. Any shred of evidence that is doubtful or circumstantial will prevent any punishment. Indeed it is narrated in the Sirat (life) of Mohammed (saw) how He (saw) would exert himself to avert the punishment when individuals asked for the punishment to be implemented upon them. It is narrated that Mohammed (saw) said that: “to free someone criminal is better than to punish someone innocent.” A’isha (ra) narrated: “Ward off punishments as much as you can. If you find any way out for a Muslim then set him free. If the Imam makes a mistake in granting forgiveness it is better for him than that he should commit a mistake in imposing punishment."

Contrast this to the West. Their basic philosophy is to find any shred of evidence to punish someone or to convict someone and then search for any evidence to prove it. Look to the Birmingham Six, the Guilford Four, who were all proven to be innocent after years in prison. Now, the West have become so paranoid about the rise of Islam that even having a beard or wearing a jilbab and khimar is considered as evidence to prove that someone is a terrorist and needs to be imprisoned !

3) Islam came to secure and protect five issues and these apply also to the Al-Dhimma (non-Muslim citizens), for Mohammed (saw) said, “Whoever harms a Dhimmi, it is as if he harms me.” Also because within the Islamic State, all citizens carry equal status and no one is allowed to discriminate against the other. The five issues are:

a) Belief: The secular nature of the West has made Religion the continual subject of attack. The Western media and its so called intellectuals have spent so much time attacking not only Islam but also dishonouring our past prophets such as Isa (as) i.e. Jesus. Th is prohibited.
Concerning the non-Muslims, the meaning of the Qur’anic verse; “there is no compulsion in religion” (tmq 2:256), means that non-Muslims cannot be forced to become Muslim and their right to practice their religion is protected.

The Islamic Belief is the pillar of the Deen and like any precious jewel, it is protected. Therefore anyone who wants to leave Islam after accepting it and being advised, is subject to the penalty of death as is anyone who slanders the Belief of Islam. It seems peculiar that the West find this intolerable, e.g. Salman Rushdie and more recently, Taslima Nasreen from Bangladesh, when they themselves use their belief i.e. freedom to kill and destroy other people and nations for benefit.

b) Honour: In Islam women are an honour and must be protected from all harm, slander, and degrading actions. By contrast the West sees women as merely objects of desire and uses the woman’s body as an economic commodity to sell. Therefore, Islam protects the woman by punishing those who even backbite against her. Moreover, Islam protects the dignity of the woman by punishing those who are not properly covered in the public life (refer to the Social System leaflet) and those who commit offences such as adultery and fornication.

c) Mind: the use of alcoholic drinks and any other substances that befog the mind are forbidden in Islam. Contrast this to the people in the West who live on alcohol and are now trying to legitimise drugs. The social problems that have resulted from this are well known as the social and moral fabric of society is being destroyed

d) Property: unlike the Western government and various banks and building societies that steal your money in a very civilised way e.g mortgages and insurance, Islam protects the wealth of all its citizens by securing a harsh punishment i.e. cutting the hands of the thief. This punishment has been the subject of the greatest attack by the West as being barbaric and backward. But this attack is not only baseless but serves to expose the hatred and distortion of the West. Infact cutting the hands of the thief has several strict conditions, eg. it requires two witnesses, property has to be taken from a secure place, if you steal because you are needy there is no punishment, if you steal less than certain amount (nisab) there is no cutting. These and the other conditions reduce the liklihood of the punishment ever being carried out.

e) Life: Mohammed (saw) said that; “the blood of a Muslim is worth more than the Ka’ba and all its surroundings.” Therefore the punishment for murder is death with the right of family of the deceased to forgive and recieve blood money.

These securites that Islam protects are the very things which any human being wants to secure. Look to any person, he/she wants security for the life, for the money, the honour etc.. and there is not one society in the world that offers this. Indeed, in the West these securities are often exploited and abused. It's impossible to get any peace of mind with a mortgage and/or loan looming over your head, with crime so high particularly rape and theft and a system that offers no comprehensive solution to these problems.

The punishment system is divided into four categories:
i) Hudood. this punishment is “the Right of Allah (swt) and no one can forgive”. It covers six areas;
a) Fornication (100 lashes), adultery (stoning to death) and the actions of the people of Lut (as) i.e. homosexuality.
b) (Al-Qazf) Slandering, dishonouring, spreading lies and rumours (80 lashes).
c) Stealing (cutting the hands).
d) Alcohol and that which befogs the mind (80 lashes).
e) (Al-Baggi), transgression between two groups of Mus lims and by the people against the state e.g. the people of Al- Murtadeen at the time of Khaleef Abu Bakr (ra) over the issue of the payment of Zakat., (Hiraba) Highway Robbery.
f) (Al-Murtad) the Muslim who changes his/her belief i.e. commits apostasy (death).

ii) Al-Jynayaat: “the right of the person and he/she can forgive.” This category covers mainly the issue of killing, whether unlawful or accidental and the right of the individual or family to forgive and demand blood money (diya). Example:
a) bloodmoney from the one who kills with intention is the equivalent of 100 camels 40 of which have to be pregnant.
b) bloodmoney from the one who kills but unintentionally i.e. manslaughter, is the equivalent of 100 camels.

The hadith narrated by Imam an-Nisai mentions that every part of the body has blood money, for example, the bloodmoney for the eyes is the equivalent of 50 camels.

iii) Al-Ta’azir: this is considered “the right of the community”. It covers those issues which affect the society in every day life like, shouting in the streets and throwing rubbish onto the street . The state adopts the punishment for the crime.

iv) Al-Mukhalafat: this is the “right of the state”, and it covers the issues which the state enacts such as breaking the speed limit, parking in no parking areas etc... Again, the state will adopt the punishment for the crime.

In conclusion the very basis of the judicial and punishment system lies in the obligation (fard) to pronounce the judgement and to carry out the punishment. But without the Islamic State no individual is allowed to execute any of the punishments. All these obligations need to be applied and enacted, otherwise the Ummah will remain sinful even she (the Ummah) prayed, performed Hajj, gave Zakat etc.. To remove the sin off their neck all the Muslims are obliged (fard) to work towards the establishment of the Islamic state according to the method of Mohammed (saw), which will apply the Law of Allah (swt).

Islamic Revival Homepage

http://islampages.cjb.net

http://pzq.cjb.net

site designed and maintained by Sultanah X