Criminal Law (Hudud)

Hudud (singular: hadd) are the fixed punishments prescribed in the Quran and Sunnah for specific offences. The word hadd means a limit or boundary, reflecting the notion that these punishments represent the boundaries set by Allah and enforced by the state. The hudud offences in classical Islamic law are: theft (sariqah), highway robbery (hirabah), unlawful sexual intercourse (zina), false accusation of zina (qadhf), drinking intoxicants (shurb al-khamr), apostasy (riddah), and rebellion (baghy). The purpose of the hudud is primarily deterrence and social protection, not revenge.

Important Principles: The Sunnah instructs that hudud should be averted by doubt (al-shubuhaat): the Prophet said: "Repel the hudud by doubts (shubuhaat); if there is a way out for the accused, release him, for it is better for the ruler to err in pardoning than in punishment” (Tirmidhi). This means the standard of proof for hudud is extremely high — doubts benefit the defendant and a conviction requires near-certain evidence.

Theft (Sariqah): The punishment for theft is the cutting of the right hand. However, this applies only when strict conditions are met: the item stolen must reach the minimum threshold (nisab) — one-quarter of a gold dinar or more in value; it must have been taken from a secure place (hirz); the thief must have no right to the property and no connection to it; and there must be no doubt or compulsion. The immense difficulty of establishing these conditions meant that hand-cutting was rare even in early Islamic history, and scholars like Ibn Qayyim emphasized that poverty and necessity are major mitigating factors.

Zina (Unlawful Sexual Intercourse): The punishment for an unmarried person (ghair muhsan) is one hundred lashes. For a married or previously married person (muhsan), the Sunnah prescribes stoning (rajm). The standard of proof for zina is four eyewitnesses to the act itself — a nearly impossible bar — or a confession repeated four times with full awareness of the consequences. The purpose of these conditions is deliberate difficulty of enforcement, emphasizing that the punishment is a deterrent rather than a routine application.

Qadhf (False Accusation of Zina): Falsely accusing a chaste person of zina carries the punishment of eighty lashes, loss of testimony, and being labelled a fasiq (transgressor), unless the accuser produces four witnesses or the accused confirms the accusation by li'an (mutual oath procedure for spouses).

Ta'zir: Beyond the hudud are ta'zir punishments — discretionary penalties for all other offences, left to the judge's determination based on the circumstances and the interests of society. These may range from reprimand and fines to imprisonment and, in extreme cases, death for certain grave crimes where scholars permit it. Most day-to-day criminal enforcement in Islamic jurisprudence falls under ta'zir.