Hudud ( Arabic حدود, also transliterated hadud, hudood; plural for hadh, حد, limit, or restriction) is the word often used in Islamic social and legal literature for the bounds of acceptable behaviour and the punishments for serious crimes.

In legal terms (Islamic law being usually referred to as Sharia, شريعة) the term is used to describe laws that define a level of crime classification. Crimes classified under Hudud are the most severe of crimes and carry severe punishments. The punishment prescribed for murder is beheading; for theft, the amputation of the right hand; for blasphemy, stoning, and for drunkenness, severe flagellation. These punishments can be better understood in the context of the time they were introduced: the society in Arabia where Islam was first established was almost entirely lawless and blood feuds, which carried on for generations, were a widespread result of disputes. The method with which Islam brought these disputes to an end was straightforward retaliation (qisas) against the guilty parties. This may explain the name of these punishments - hadh - limitation feuds. The Qur'an and hadith instruct that hudud punishments be used sparingly and only when the offender had been accused by four eyewitnesses of spotless moral character or has confessed to the crime.

There are minor differences in views between the four major Sunni madhhabs about sentencing and specifications for these laws. It is often argued that, since Sharia is God's law and states certain punishments for each crime, they are immutable. However, with liberal movements in Islam expressing concerns about hadith validity, a major component of how Islamic law is created, questions have arisen about administering certain punishments. Incompatibilities with human rights in the way Islamic law is practised in many countries has led Tariq Ramadan to call for an international moratorium on the punishments of Hudud laws until greater scholarly consensus can be reached. It has also been argued, that the Hudud portion of Sharia is incompatible with humanist understanding of human rights.

References

• Muhammad Ata Alsid Sidahmad, The Hudud: the seven specific crimes in Islamic criminal law and their mandatory punishments. ISBN 9839303007
• Chris Horrie C. and Chippindale P. What Is Islam? Virgin Books, 2003. ISBN 0753508273

See also

• Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization
• Tazir
• Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam

External links

• Islamic Law: Myths and Realities
• The penal law of Islam: Basic principle
• Tariq Ramadan discusses his call for a moratorium on Hadud
• Thousands of Pakistani women face charges under Islamic laws

Islamic law

Hadd-Strafe | Hudud