Hudud


In traditional Islamic jurisprudence, Hudud, meaning "borders, boundaries, limits",
refers to punishments, for several specific crimes,
for which punishments have been determined by verses of Quran or hadith.
Hudud is one of three categories of crime and punishment in classical Islamic literature, the other two being Qisas –Diya, and Ta'zeer,. Hudud are crimes "against God", and cover the punishments given to those who exceed the "limits of God", associated with the Quran and in some cases inferred from hadith.
Hudud crimes cannot be pardoned by the victim or by the state, and the punishments must be carried out in public, but in traditional practice were rarely implemented because the evidentiary standards were so high. Offenders who escaped a hudud punishment could still receive a ta'zir sentence.
These punishments were applied through most of Islamic history, replaced in many parts of the Islamic world in the 19th century by European inspired models, and then restored in the late 20th/early 21st century, in several Muslim-majority states as a result of the Islamic revival and calls by Islamists for full implementation of Sharia.
In the 21st century, ''hudud'', including amputation of limbs, is part of the legal systems of Afghanistan, Brunei, Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and northern part of Nigeria.

Scriptural basis

Hudud offenses with prescribed punishments are mentioned in the Quran. The punishments for these offenses are drawn from both the Quran and the Sunnah. The Quran does not define the offenses precisely: their definitions were elaborated in fiqh.
Hududullah, or the "limits of God", is a phrase found several times in the Quran, but not as a label for a particular type of crime. The Quran warns Muslims of the sin of transgressing the limits, which should not even be approached. But nowhere does the phrase appear in the clear context of labeling certain crimes, though 4:14 is followed by discussion of sexual impropriety.

Quran

The Qur'an describes several crimes determined by scholars as hudud
and in some cases sets out punishments.

Theft (''sariqa'')

The hudud crime of theft is referred to in Quran verse 5:38:

Hirabah

The crime of waging war against Allah and His Messenger and spreading mischief in the land is traditionally thought to be referred to in verse 5:33, but while the verse gives punishments for the crime, it does not explain what it is, its "constituent elements, modes of crime and conditions". It is often defined by scholars as "robbery and civil disturbance against Islam" inside a Muslim state:

Zina

The crime of illicit consensual sex is referred to in several verses, including Quran 24:2: The Quran gives lashing as the punishment, not stoning; stoning being found in hadith.

Qadhf

The crime of "accusation of illicit sex against chaste women without four witnesses" has a hudud punishment based on several Quranic verses, including,.

Drinking alcohol

The crime of drinking alcohol is referred to in Quranic verse, :

Hadiths

In some cases Islamic scholars have used hadiths to establish hudud punishments, which are not mentioned in the Quran. Thus, stoning as punishment for zina is based on hadiths that narrate episodes where Muhammad and his successors prescribed it.
Sahih hadith are "sound" hadith. Hadith are the sayings, practices and traditions of Muhammad as observed by his companions, and compiled by scholars. Sahih hadith are considered by Sunni Muslims to be the most trusted source of Islamic law after the Quran. They extensively describe hudud crimes and punishments. The tendency to use existence of a shubha to avoid hudud punishments is based on a hadith that states "avert hadd punishment in case of shubha".

''Hudud'' offences and punishments

Difference in number

Sources differ as to how many Hudud crimes there are. According to at least one scholar there are just five hudud crimes in shariah -- Robbery, Theft, Adultery, False Accusation of Adultery, plus one more, drinking wine—added as a result of the consensus of the Companions of Muhammad. Article One of the Penal Code of the state of Qatar lists six hudud punishments, adding apostasy to those of Muhammad Shafi. Hajed A. Alotaibi in his book on Minor Crimes in Saudi Arabia, states that Hudud "generally" covers seven crimes, adding "rebellion" to the Qatar list of crimes.

Offenses

The offences subject to hudud punishment:
  • Theft. Punished with amputation of a hand.
  • Illicit sexual intercourse. Includes pre-marital sex and extra-marital sex. Although the punishment for zina mentioned in the Quran is lashing, not stoning, all schools of traditional jurisprudence agreed on the basis of hadith that the offense is to be punished by stoning if the offender is muhsan. Lashing is the penalty for offenders who are not muhsan, i.e. they do not meet all of the above criteria. The offenders must have acted of their own free will. Classification of homosexual intercourse as zina differs according to legal school. Some understandings tend to add homosexual relationships to these crimes, which are defined as an evil act in the Qur'an with an undefined response such as "punish/discipline them".
  • False accusation of zina. Punished by 80 lashes.
  • Drinking alcohol. Punished by 40 to 80 lashes, depending on the legal school. This is a Hadd crime "on the basis of a consensus " of the Companions of Muhammad.
  • Apostasy from Islam, i.e. leaving Islam for another religion or none at all, is regarded as one of hudud crimes liable to capital punishment in traditional Maliki, Hanbali and Shia jurisprudence, but not in Hanafi and Shafi'i fiqh, though these schools also regard apostasy as a grave crime whose punishment is death.
  • Banditry, highway robbery is a crime in Islam but one that jurists have differed on as to whether it is hiraba and a hudud crime. Although hiraba and the punishment for it is mentioned in the Quran, it is narrated that Muhammad applied retaliation, which is a method based on the Quran, for a similar situation, not what is stated in the relevant verse.T
  • Fasad,, rebellion against a lawful Islamic ruler / hirabah, qat' al-tariq or fasad.Verse Al-Ma'idah 33, describes the crime of hirabah. How it would should be understood is a matter of debate even today. The verse talks about the punishment of criminals by killing, hanging, having their hands and feet cut off on opposite sides, and being exiled from the earth, in response to an abstract crime such as "fighting against Allah and his messenger".

    Differences among schools

There are a number of differences in views between the different madhhabs with regard to the punishments appropriate in specific situations and the required process before they are carried out. There are also legal differences over the term limitation of pronouncing the punishment. Hanafite scholars assert that punishment for hadd crimes other than qadhf have to be implemented within a month; except for witnesses with a valid legal justifications for delayed testimony or in cases of self-confession.
Marja' following Shia jurisprudence generally believe that hudud punishments can be changed by appropriately qualified jurists.

Nonhudud crimes

Murder, injury and property damage are not hudud crimes in Islamic criminal jurisprudence, and are subsumed under other categories of Islamic penal law in Iran which are:
Because the stringent traditional restrictions on application of hudud punishments, they were rarely applied historically. Criminals who escaped hudud punishments could still be sanctioned under the system of tazir, which gave judges and high officials discretionary sentencing powers to punish crimes that did not fall under the categories of hudud and qisas. In practice, since early on in Islamic history, criminal cases were usually handled by ruler-administered courts or local police using procedures that were only loosely related to Sharia. During the 19th century, Sharia-based criminal laws were replaced by statutes inspired by European models nearly everywhere in the Islamic world, except some particularly conservative regions such as the Arabian peninsula.
File:Islam in practice. Flogging in Islam. The man seduced a woman. He got punished for it. Islamabad.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|Flogging of a man who seduced a woman in Islamabad, Pakistan

Post-colonial era

The Islamic revival of the late 20th century brought along calls by Islamist movements for full implementation of Sharia. Reinstatement of hudud punishments has had particular symbolic importance for these groups because of their Quranic origin, but in countries where hudud have been incorporated into the legal code under Islamist pressure, the punishments have often been used sparingly or not at all, depending on local political climate.
By 2013 about a dozen of the 50 or so Muslim-majority countries had made hudud applicable, with many countries disregarding traditional strict requirements. In 1979 Pakistan instituted the Hudood Ordinances. In July 1980 Iran stoned to death four offenders in Kerman. By the late 1980s, Mauritania and Sudan had "enacted laws to grant courts the power to hand down hadd penalties". During the 1990s Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, and northern Nigeria followed suit. In 1994 the Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, issued a decree "ordering that robbers and car thieves should lose their hands". Brunei adopted hudud laws in 2014.
Enforcement of hudud punishments has varied from country to country. In Pakistan and Libya, hudud punishments have not been applied at all because of strict evidentiary requirements. In Nigeria local courts have passed several stoning sentences for zina, all of which were overturned on appeal and left unenforced because of lack of sufficient evidence.
During the first two years when Sharia was made state law in Sudan, a hudud punishment for theft was inflicted on some criminals, and then discontinued though not repealed. Floggings for moral crimes have been carried out since the codification of Islamic law in Sudan in 1991.