CAPITAL PUNISHMENT AN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE

Ash-Shaikh H. Abdul Nazar

It is true that crimes cannot be done away with completely. However, it has been proved in the Muslim nations that they can be mitigated by implementing the Qur’anic laws thoroughly.

It is the prophecy of Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) that increasing of murders to the extent the murderer will not know why he murdered and the slain will not know why he was slain, is one of the signs of nearing of the doomsday. The murders that occur every minute every nook and cranny make us wonder if the doomsday is round the corner. It was only a few days after the brutality that the learned High Court Judge Sarath Ambepitiya fell prey to the underworld elements, that the newspapers, on 24.11.2004, reported another heartbreaking killing of two infants by their own beloved father.

On this very day i.e. 24.11.2004, a particular Tamil daily had reported a news that the Human Rights Commission was up in arms over the President’s decision to reintroduce the capital punishment in the wake of the assassination of Late Sarath Ambepitiya. This is the translation of a particular line of the news item:

“Reimplementation of the capital punishment is against the human rights and human right laws.”

“O you who believe! Qisaas (Even retaliation in offences of murder or grievous hurts) has been prescribed for you in the case of murdered people; the freeman for the freeman, the slave for the slave and the female for the female. However, if one is somewhat forgiven by his brother, the recourse (of the latter) is to pursue the former (for blood money) with fairness and the obligation (of the former) is to pay (it) to the latter in a nice way. That is a relief from your Lord and a mercy. So, whoever transgresses after that will have a painful punishment. There is life for you in Qisaas, O people of understanding! So that you may refrain (from killing).” (Chapter : 02 – Verses : 178 - 179)

This should not be interpreted as the killer should be murdered in the way he murdered his fellow human being nor the murderer should, necessarily, be killed for the crime he committed. What is expected here is that the heirs of the slain have the right to have the killer sentenced to death by the court and punished accordingly and it should be limited to the one who committed the crime.

It is noteworthy that humanity is pointed out in the above verses. The heir of the murdered, who has the full right to take revenge on the killer, is shown as a brother not a foe of the murderer. Causes for slaying vary. It may be a pre-planned one. It may be caused by sudden anger. It may occur by accident. Therefore, Islam shows Muslims that the culprit could be pardoned subject to the recovery of an appropriate compensation.

Only the death penalty could be the remedy for the nasty mysterious killings that we, Sri Lankans, experience in our day-to-day life. The elements that threaten the tranquil life of the people ought to be weeded out. Imposing of the capital punishment will, undoubtedly, ensure the safety of the people and safeguard the human rights. That is why the Holy Qur’an says: “There is life for you in Qisaas (even retaliation in offences of murder or grievous hurts).”

The Muslim world sticks to the Islamic law undermining the harsh criticism of the rest of the world that divine punishments such as cutting off head and hand and stoning to death are barbaric. Punishing the culprits in public is a clear warning to others that they, too, will happen to receive such treatment if they were to do wrong things. Putting the perpetrators behind bars for years after sentencing them to death and allowing them to breathe the air of independence again by freeing them before they complete their prescribed jail term, to mark any special occasion, by the decree of the head of state will not, in any way, help to eradicate felonies.

Crimes are very less in countries where the Islamic penal code is in force, in comparison with other countries. It is my concrete belief and humble suggestion that if our blessed motherland and all other countries, really, want the life of the people to be saved, then they should adopt the Islamic mode of punishment. Otherwise, the law of the jungle will last forever and the whole nation will turn to be a Wild West.

Ash-Shaikh H. Abdul Nazar
General Secretary, All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama
05.12.2004