Hadud and Tazeer

[mehwish islam]

I want to know about Hadud and Tazeer?should I've to learn Quranic verses related to each topic?

[Zoyee]

Crimes in Islam

Crimes under Islamic Law can be broken down into 3 major categories. Each will be discussed in greater detail with some common law analogies. The three major crime categories in Islamic Law are:

1. Hadd [plural Hudud] Crimes (most serious).
2. Tazir Crimes (least serious).
3. Qesas Crimes (revenge crimes restitution).

Hadd crimes are the most serious under Islamic Law, and Tazir crimes are the least serious. Common Law has no comparable form of Qesas crimes. Punishments are prescribed in the Qur’an and are often harsh with the emphasis on Corporal and capital punishment. Theft is punished by imprisonment or amputation of hands or feet, depending on the number of times it is committed.

Hadd Crimes

Hadd crimes are those which are punishable by a pre-established punishment found in the Qur’an. These most serious of all crimes are found by an exact reference in the Qur’an to a specific act and a specific punishment for that act. There is no reducing the punishment for a Hadd crime. Hadd crimes have no minimum or maximum punishments attached to them.The punishment system is comparable to the determinate (dadgenili) sentence imposed by some judges in the United States. If you commit a crime, you know what your punishment will be.No judge can change or reduce the punishment for these serious crimes. The Hadd crimes are:

1. Murder;
2. Apostasy from Islam (Making war upon Allah and His messengers)
3. Theft;
4. Adultery
5. Defamation (ciliswameba) (False accusation of adultery or fornication)
6. Robbery
7. Alcohol-drinking (any intoxicants)

The first four Hadd crimes have a specific punishment in the Qur’an. The last three crimes are mentioned but no specific punishment is found. Some more liberal Islamic judges do not consider apostasy from Islam or wine drinking as Hadd crimes. The more liberal Islamic nations treat these crimes as Tazir or a lesser crime.

Hadd crimes have fixed punishments because they are set by God and are found in the Qur’an. Hadd crimes are crimes against God's law and Tazir crimes are crimes against society. The Islamic judge must look at a higher level of proof and reasons why the person committed the crime. A judge can only impose the Hadd punishment when a person confesses to the crime or there are enough witnesses to the crime. The usual number of witnesses is two, but in the case of adultery four witnesses are required. Islamic law has a very high level of proof for the most serious crimes and punishments. When there is doubt about the guilt of a Had crime, the judge must treat the crime as a lesser Tazir crime. If there is no confession to a crime or not enough witnesses to the crime, Islamic law requires the Hadd crime to be punished as a Tazir crime.

Tazir Crimes

Modern Islamic Society has changed greatly from the time of the Prophet. Contemporary Shar'iah Law is now in written form and is statutory in nature. Islamic concepts of justice argue that a person should know what the crime is and its possible punishment. For example, Egypt has a parliamentary process which has a formal penal code written and based upon the principles of Islamic Law, but Saudi Arabia allows the judge to set the Tazir crimes and punishments. Modern Islamic Law recognizes many differences between these two nations. It also allows for much greater flexibility (mokniloba) in how it punishes an offender. The major myth of many people is that judges in Islamic nations have fixed punishments for all crimes. In reality the judges have much greater flexibility than judges under common law.
Tazir crimes are less serious than the Hadd crimes found in the Qur’an. Tazir crimes can and do have comparable "minor felony equivalents." These "minor felonies" are not found in the Qur’an so the Islamic judges are free to punish the offender in almost any fashion.
Mohammed Salam Madkoar, who was the head of Islamic Law at the University of Cairo, makes the following observation (Ministry of the Interior, 1976, p.104):

“Tazir punishments vary according to the circumstances".

They change from time to time and from place to place. They vary according to the gravity of the crime and the extent of the criminal disposition of the criminal himself. Tazir crimes are acts which are punished because the offender disobeys God's law and word. Tazir crimes can be punished if they harm the societal interest. Shar'iah Law places an emphasis on the societal or public interest. The assumption of the punishment is that a greater "evil” will be prevented in the future if you punish this offender now.” Historically Tazir crimes were not written down or codified. This gave each ruler great flexibility in what punishments the judge was able to dispense. The judge under Islamic Law is not bound by precedents, rules, or prior decisions as in common law. Judges are totallyfree to choose from any number of punishments that they think will help an individual offender. The only guiding principle for judges under Shar'iah Law is that they must answer to Allah and to the greater community of Muslims. Some of the more common punishments for Tazir crimes are counselling, fines, public or private censure (gakicxva), family and clan pressure and support, seizure of property, confinement in the home or place of detention, and flogging (gajoxva).In some Islamic nations, Tazir crimes are set by legislative parliament. Each nation is free to establish its own criminal code and there is a great disparity in punishment of some of these crimes. Some of the more common Tazir crimes are: bribery (meqrtameoba), selling tainted or defective products, treason (galati), usury (mevaxsheoba), and selling obscene pictures. The consumption of alcohol in Egypt is punished much differently than in Iran or Saudi Arabia because they have far different civil laws. Islamic law has much greater flexibility than the Western media portrays. Each judge is free to punish based upon local norms, customs, and informal rules. Each judge is free to fix the punishment that will deter (sheakavebs) others from crime and will help to rehabilitate an offender.

http://www.saint-claire.org/resource...AND%20FIQH.pdf

Regards,