People of the modern world these days often ask us a question, and they often criticize the religion with this question. This question would be, isn’t the Islamic law outdated now? It’s believed by some that a set of rules laid down some 1400 years ago can never be taken as universal because it simply cannot accommodate all the possible changes that this world has seen since then.
There are certain laws of Islam that the critics often lay a finger on. Let us try and discuss some of those laws and see how, and if they can fit into today’s world and whether the western allegations and reservations are justified. The issue of amputation in case of theft is often brought forward, being purported as barbaric. Islam calls for the thief’s hand being cut off in case of being proven guilty. Compared to the commonly practiced punishments of being jailed for a few years, this is definitely more severe. But let’s hear out what Islam has to say; the law also imposes a duty on those charged with governance to prove the guilt without doubt. It puts forward stringent conditions that have to be fulfilled without slack -making the imposition just. Lastly, the actual concept behind all the severe punishments is to give the wrongdoers such a deterrent that they would not think of breaking the law. Now, if the modern substitutes to Islamic punishments were able to provide that deterrent, the world would have been much cleaner from law breakers. The rules that Islam puts forward are severe, but they are the only way to ensure the safety of the innocent. For example, look at Saudi Arab -a country that practices the rule of amputation. Statistics show that theft rates are impressively low in Saudi Arab. The results are evident; we do not see half a population with just a single hand as feared by the west.
The rule of capital punishments based on the concept of an eye for an eye is also considered unfit for today’s world. The later is supported by saying that killing someone for a crime would be a crime in itself. And then one of the most discussed and volatile topic that catches attention is the punishment of fornication. Being punished with lashes is something people can’t digest usually. And a few incidents that the media created hype for in Pakistan and Afghanistan have certainly left a negative impression. Both the punishments in case of fornication i.e. being lashes and being stoned to death get a very unwelcome attitude in the modern world. The story of these two laws is similar to the one about theft, in fact, the conditions that need to be fulfilled before the death sentence is given or before someone is stoned to death for fornicating are even more severe that the one above. The Islamic law prescribes certain strict rules that need to be followed while deciding a person’s fate. It is not so simple to put someone to death; Islam is a religion for human beings too!
The motive behind the severity of these punishments as discussed is to set an example for the others. We also need to understand that the majority of laws that are criticized relate to major issues that hurt a society and individuals for life. Islam gives us a universal, perfect way of life with if followed correctly could be matchless in terms of security, trust and justice. But for all that prevails there have to be certain elements of deterrence strong enough to hold people back.
Islam is the perfect set of rules that can actually work and can actually provide the society an equilibrium that it needs. They can work, and I believe there is no need to change them. Those who believe otherwise might want to look into Islam in more detail as the Quran itself calls Islam the perfected religion in Surah Al-Maidah.
View the Original article
0 comments:
Post a Comment