What about the harsh shariah punishments in Islam? (2022-09-21) #

0:00:03 people in the west are often horrified
0:00:05 by the idea of sharia law
0:00:08 particularly the harsh punishments that
0:00:11 are mandated for certain offences
0:00:14 and i think there's often a
0:00:15 misunderstanding uh in the west about
0:00:17 these punishments and to explain why i
0:00:20 just want to share a few words from uh
0:00:22 this book by guy eaton a celebrated
0:00:25 english muslim uh convert and writer
0:00:29 and diplomat the book's called islam and
0:00:31 the destiny of man and he briefly
0:00:34 addresses this misunderstanding in ways
0:00:36 that are quite helpful i think and on
0:00:39 page 185
0:00:41 he writes as follows
0:00:44 the harsh punishments imposed under
0:00:47 islamic law
0:00:49 though less harsh than those prevailing
0:00:51 in europe until comparatively recently
0:00:54 are the expression of principles which
0:00:57 cannot be changed to suit our
0:00:59 convenience
0:01:01 what matters however is not that the
0:01:04 punishment should be inflicted whenever
0:01:06 appropriate but the principle should
0:01:09 remain
0:01:10 intact the prophet told his people quote
0:01:14 to avert penalties by doubts
0:01:18 and any strategy which averts the
0:01:21 penalty without impugning the law is
0:01:24 legitimate
0:01:26 the tale is told of a lawyer in haroon's
0:01:29 time who rose to wealth and eminence
0:01:32 after devising a subtle legal argument
0:01:36 which saved the caliph from having to
0:01:38 charge his own son with adultery
0:01:42 the westerner might say that this
0:01:44 cunning lawyer earned himself a fortune
0:01:47 by twisting the law to suit his master
0:01:51 the muslim on the other hand approves
0:01:54 his conduct in that he found a way for
0:01:57 the caliph to show mercy
0:02:00 without offending against the majesty of
0:02:02 the law
0:02:05 the severity of the punishment for
0:02:07 adultery marks the gravity of this
0:02:10 offence against a society based on the
0:02:14 integrity of the family and its delicate
0:02:17 web of relationships
0:02:20 the existence of the penalty makes the
0:02:22 necessary point
0:02:24 but his application is made almost
0:02:27 impossible
0:02:28 except in cases of voluntary confession
0:02:32 by the proviso
0:02:34 that for
0:02:35 unimpeachable witnesses must have
0:02:38 observed the act in detail
0:02:40 and must submit to being flogged for
0:02:43 perjury if the case is still not proved
0:02:48 flogging is specified as the penalty for
0:02:51 a number of offenses but the law does
0:02:54 not specify what instrument is to be
0:02:57 used and in the early days of islam it
0:03:00 was often nothing more damaging than a
0:03:03 light sandal or the hem of a garment
0:03:07 this was still technically a flogging
0:03:10 the point was made and the law was
0:03:13 upheld
0:03:15 a thief may have his hand cut off
0:03:18 but not if he stole from genuine need or
0:03:22 because his family was hungry
0:03:24 or if he stole the property of the state
0:03:28 it's a little footnote here in guyan's
0:03:30 book and he writes unlike contemporary
0:03:33 advocates of nationalization the muslim
0:03:36 jurists of ancient times maintained with
0:03:39 perfect logic
0:03:40 that the pub that public property is
0:03:43 indeed public and therefore quite
0:03:46 different to private property
0:03:48 each citizen is part owner or whatever
0:03:52 belongs to the state and a man cannot
0:03:54 steal from himself
0:03:58 perjury even in a civil case is an
0:04:01 offense of the utmost gravity since it
0:04:04 is an offence against the law itself
0:04:08 and forensic skill
0:04:10 employed in an unjust cause is condemned
0:04:16 you bring disputes to me said the
0:04:18 prophet but it may be that some of you
0:04:21 are better able to put their case than
0:04:24 others
0:04:25 i have to decide on the evidence before
0:04:28 me
0:04:29 if i happen to expropriate the right of
0:04:32 anyone in favor of his brother
0:04:35 let not the latter take it for in that
0:04:38 case i have given him a piece of
0:04:41 hellfire
0:04:42 end quote
0:04:45 the position of a judge like that of a
0:04:48 ruler is unenviable
0:04:51 we are told by the chroniclers about a
0:04:53 certain pietist in abbasid times who
0:04:57 stormed into the caliph's uh audience
0:05:00 chamber and denounced him to his face
0:05:03 for tyranny and injustice
0:05:06 the best jihad the prophet once said is
0:05:09 a true word in the presence of a tyrant
0:05:13 the man had gone by the time the caliph
0:05:16 could devise a punishment sufficiently
0:05:19 cruel to meet his case
0:05:22 this was that he should be appointed a
0:05:25 judge
0:05:26 and an edict issue to the effect that no
0:05:29 judgment of his should be overruled by
0:05:33 any court of appeal
0:05:36 soldiers were sent to bring him back for
0:05:38 condemnation but he was never found
0:05:43 in islam the rigor of sharia law is
0:05:46 always overshadowed by the law of mercy
0:05:51 but never to the extent of undermining
0:05:54 the abiding principles which are its
0:05:57 basis
0:05:59 a certain man in medina came to the
0:06:01 prophet to confess as sin
0:06:03 and received whatever punishment was due
0:06:06 to him
0:06:07 for it was according to a hadith
0:06:10 better to blush in this world than in
0:06:13 the hereafter
0:06:15 he was asked if he could free a slave
0:06:18 but he could not he was asked if he
0:06:21 could fast two months
0:06:23 but he replied that he could not
0:06:26 finally he was asked if he would provide
0:06:28 food for the poor
0:06:31 when he replied that he could not he was
0:06:33 told to wait while the prophet
0:06:35 considered the matter
0:06:38 at this point someone came in with a
0:06:40 large basket of dates as a gift for the
0:06:44 prophet
0:06:45 who then presented them to the waiting
0:06:47 man and instructed him to give them as
0:06:50 sadaka that is as a gift to the needy
0:06:54 am i to give them to someone poorer than
0:06:57 myself messenger of allah ask the man
0:07:01 i swear by allah there is no poorer
0:07:04 family the mine between the two lava
0:07:06 plains of medina
0:07:09 the prophet laughed
0:07:10 until it is said his eye teeth were
0:07:13 visible and told the sinner
0:07:16 then give them to your family to eat
0:07:22 and the quote there really so i think
0:07:23 that's a fascinating a much more
0:07:25 holistic and truer insight into the
0:07:29 nature of sharia law and the hadood
0:07:30 punishments in their true setting
0:07:33 where mercy tempers
0:07:35 the rigor the harshness of the
0:07:37 punishments and if you want to read more
0:07:39 about this subject in this chapter i do
0:07:41 recommend you
0:07:43 read islam and the destiny of man one of
0:07:45 the the greatest books i think in the
0:07:47 english language on the subject of islam
0:07:50 written by a westerner who was a muslim
0:07:53 for 50 years actually at the time of his
0:07:56 death
0:07:57 several years ago
0:07:58 until next time