In defense of the codification of the Islamic Law of Hudud into the law of Pakistan

Abstract

Islamic Law has three types of punishments for criminal offences: fixed punishment, which is called Hudud; retaliation, which is called Qisas; and discretionary punishment, which is called Tazir. Hudud, fixed, punishments, are predetermined by Al-Mighty Allah and his last Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم in the Holy Quran and in the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم . Hudud punishments are used mainly for five crimes: adultery, false accusation of adultery, theft, drinking liquor, and apostasy. The fifth President of Pakistan, General Muhammad Zia-ul-haq, introduced Hudud codified laws in Pakistan in 1979 for four of the criminal offences: adultery, false accusation of adultery, drinking Khamr, and theft. No law was promulgated for the offence of apostasy; rather, one ordinance was introduced on the regulation of whipping, which was later repealed by the Pakistani parliament in 1996.

Secular groups advocate for the complete abrogation of Hudud law from the judicial system of Pakistan in the name of the protection of women, but the basic purpose of these groups is to spread licentious behavior in a Muslim society. Hudud law actually protects men and women from false accusations of adultery; it also protects them from unlawful fornication and from drinking Khamr, which leads to adultery and other harmful offences. During the rule of the tenth President Pervez Musharaf, in 2006, the Pakistani government repealed many provisions of the Zina and Qazf ordinances through the Protection of Women Act. But the Government of Pakistan did not change anything in the theft and drinking Khamr Ordinances, which is a clearcut indication that the amendments to the Zina and Qazf Ordinances were made to portray a liberal image of Pakistan while making the Zina and correlated acts easier in Pakistan.

It is true that the Law of Hudud needs procedural changes. But that does not mean that we should abrogate the whole Law of Hudud and its punishments, fixed by Al-Mighty Allah and his last Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, from the judicial system of Pakistan. The author recommends that rather than making different ordinances of Hudud, a Hudud chapter should be added to the existing Pakistan Penal Code of 1860 to get rid of the procedural difficulties. If a survey were to be conducted today in Pakistan, the majority would vote in favor of implementing Hudud Law in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Law is made to control the behavior of a society. If the majority of the population is happy with a law, one group of people cannot be given the right to snatch the voice of the general public and impose their verdict on the majority of the people.