About this blog

In recent times a plethora of misconceptions, misrepresentation and myths have been forged about Islam
and Muslims. Many western influentials from politicians, policymakers to judges have taken it upon
themselves to undermine the Islamic beliefs, values and rules so to make it palatable to their
egotistic minds and the secular liberal thoughts.

This blog is dedicated:-

1. To argue the point for Islam in its belief and systems and to refute the misconceptions.
2. To expose the weakness and contradictions of all forms of secularism.

20 Jul 2009

Justice in Islam

Human beings are limited in knowledge and are fallible. They are prone to error and subject to prejudice. Islam does not leave the legislation of justice to the whims and fancies of human beings as is the case in the West. Instead the permission to make laws is only for Allah (swt) the creator of mankind and the One Who knows human beings the best. Who do you think is best qualified for this task? Allah (swt) says,

"The rule is to none but Allah." [Surah Al An’am (6): Ayah 57]

Thus you can rest assured that in an Islamic court, factors such as the judge being friends with the accused, or having had a bad day, have no bearing on the severity of the punishment he chooses to administer.

If you are a victim of crime and are poor while your opponent is wealthy, this will have no effect whatsoever on the verdict of the court. While you are allowed to appoint a representative to speak on your behalf, there are no vast sums of money at stake. The objective of the courts is solely to establish justice, not to make money. Therefore, it does not matter who presents your case, or how persuasively he speaks, but it is up to the judge to ascertain the facts and evaluate them.

In Islam, only definite evidence of guilt is sufficient for the administration of a sentence. Accordingly, there is no concept of a jury, whose members may disagree between themselves on the verdict, purely on the basis of their own personal discretion.

Circumstantial evidence, which is inconclusive and subject to different interpretations is not enough. All evidence is presented to a judge who is expert in jurisprudence, and he imposes punishment according to laws from Islam. Thus only those proven to be criminals are punished. Criminals for whom no conclusive verdict is possible will not escape the punishment on the Day of Judgement.

Given the above framework of the two Judicial systems, let us compare the treatment of common crimes that we are most worried about in this society.

1. Mugging: You have probably suffered this at least once in your life, or know someone who has suffered it.

British Legal System : The sentence is discretionary, depending on the crime, but is commonly punished by community service.

Islamic Judicial System : Once guilt is ascertained, the judge will consider the severity of the crime and perform ijtihad (i.e. extracting the rule from the Qur’an and the Sunnah). This may range from public humiliation to death, if the mugging led to death.

2. Burglary: Burglary is extremely common in Britain. No doubt, you are afraid that your house may have been burgled if you are away for any period of time.

British Legal System : The sentence is discretionary, depending on the crime, but is commonly punished with imprisonment.

Islamic Judicial System : Burglars will have their hand cut off, provided they fulfil the seven conditions for this punishment. They are not permitted to have it surgically replaced.

3. Rape: There is a rape in Britain on average every 2.5 hours. Many more go unreported, and in most cases the perpetrator is known to the victim.

British Legal System : The sentence is discretionary, but the punishment ranges from a fine to life imprisonment. Commonly, the period of imprisonment is below 10 years.

Islamic Judicial System : The punishment can be death, depending on the circumstances.

4. Drugs Abuse: This is extremely common amongst all ages, particularly the youth. It is often seen as a harmless habit. Perhaps you are worried about a child or relative. If not, you probably should be.

British Legal System : The punishment depends on the nature of the drug, and the quantity possessed. Alcohol is legal. For ‘soft’ drugs like marijuana, offenders are usually just cautioned, but ‘hard’ drug abusers (like cocaine, heroin) may be imprisoned.

Islamic Judicial System : Offenders are publicly flogged 80 lashes.

5. Fornication & Adultery: With the emphasis in our society placed on relationships and sexual freedom, you would be justified in fearing for the conduct of young or indeed older Muslims who are subject to its influence.

British legal System : Both of these are legal, whether done between members of the opposite sex or the same sex. In fact, if you were to criticise these you would be blamed for intolerance and discrimination.

Islamic Judicial System : Fornication is punished by flogging 100 lashes. Adultery is punished by public execution.

The objective behind the administration of justice in Islam is to act as a deterrent, to reform offenders and to secure society. As you can see, the nature of sentences in the Islamic Judicial System ensure that these objectives are achieved. History bears witness to this - only about 200 hands are recorded to have been cut in the entire history of the Islamic State!

In the West, however, up to 70% of convicted prisoners re-offend once they are released, and the rates of crime are hardly indicative of a successful deterrent.

One of the fundamental problems in the West is the complete contradiction of the ideology that is pushed upon the people. On the one hand, they are told that freedom is the basic right of the individual. This, however, is an open license to commit crime. When this is combined with the concept of democracy, the contradiction becomes apparent. For democracy is a system of making laws - devices to restrict freedom. The result of this conceptual mish-mash is chaos!

The justice which the Islamic State’s Judicial System proffers will offer you peace of mind, security and confidence that your rights will not be abused. After the checks and balances of personal taqwa and the effect of public opinion, the last level of regulation - the Islamic Judicial System guarantees that the world will be free from the exploitation and corruption of man-made law, and the rising tide of crime that complements it.

[Extracted from the article ‘The Islamic Judicial System’ by Nidham ul Islam Website]
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What they said...

“Islam represented the greatest military power on earth…It was the foremost economic power in the world…It had achieved the highest level so far in human history, in the arts and sciences of civilization...Islam in contrast created a world civilization, poly-ethnic, multiracial, international, one might even say intercontinental.”





[Bernard Lewis, Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Orientalist and Historian, 2001]





"There was once a civilization that was the greatest in the world. It was able to create a continental super-state that stretched from ocean to ocean, and from northern climes to tropics and deserts…the civilization I'm talking about was the Islamic world from the year 800 to 1600… Although we are often unaware of our indebtedness to this other civilization, its gifts are very much a part of our heritage"





[Carly Fiorina, ex-CEO of Hewlett-Packard, 2001]





"For the first three centuries of its existence (circ. A.D 650-1000) the realm of Islam was the most civilized and progressive portion of the world. Studded with splendid cities, gracious mosques and quiet universities where the wisdom of the ancient world was preserved and appreciated, the Moslem world offered a striking contrast to the Christian West, then sunk in the night of the Dark Ages."





[Lothrop Stoddard, Ph.D (Harvard), American political theorist and historian, 1932]





"Medieval Islam was technologically advanced and open to innovation. It achieved far higher literacy rates than in contemporary Europe;it assimilated the legacy of classical Greek civilization to such a degree that many classical books are now known to us only through Arabic copies. It invented windmills ,trigonometry, lateen sails and made major advances in metallurgy, mechanical and chemical engineering and irrigation methods. In the middle-ages the flow of technology was overwhelmingly from Islam to Europe rather from Europe to Islam. Only after the 1500's did the net direction of flow begin to reverse."





[Jared Diamond, UCLA sociologist and Author, 1997]



"No other society has such a record of success in uniting in an equality of status, of opportunity and endeavour so many and so varied races of mankind. The great Muslim communities of Africa, India and Indonesia, perhaps also the small community in Japan, show that Islam has still the power to reconcile apparently irreconcilable elements of race and tradition. If ever the opposition of the great societies of the East and west is to be replaced by cooperation, the mediation of Islam is an indispensable condition."





[Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen Gibb, Professor at Harvard University, 1932]





“The Muhammadan Law which is binding on all -- from the crowned head to the meanest subject is a law interwoven with a system of the wisest, the most learned and the most enlightened jurisprudence that ever existed in the world.”





[Edmund Burke, British Statesman and Philosopher, 1789]





"The Exile here is not like in our homeland. The Turks hold respectable Jews in esteem. Here and in Alexandria, Egypt, Jews are the chief officers and administrators of the customs, and the king’s revenues. No injuries are perpetuated against them in all the empire. Only this year, in consequence of the extraordinary expenditure caused by the war against Shah Tahmsap al-Sufi, were the Jews required to make advances of loans to the princes."





[David dei Rossi, Jewish Traveller 17CE, quoted by Norman A. Stillman, The Jews of Arab Lands]





"The notable religious tolerance towards Christians and Jew under Muslim rule had given way to the uncompromising zealotry of Spanish Inquisition. Jews and Muslims thus fled Spain with large numbers of Jews immigrating to the Ottoman Empire which was known for its tolerance to the Jews."





[Graham Fuller, Author and former CIA, 1995]





“If there is much misunderstanding in the West about the nature of Islam, there is also much ignorance about the debt our own culture and civilization owe to the Islamic world. It is a failure, which stems, I think, from the straightjacket of history, which we have inherited. The medieval Islamic world, from central Asia to the shores of the Atlantic, was a world where scholars and men of learning flourished. But because we have tended to see Islam as the enemy of the West, as an alien culture, society, and systems of beliefs, we have tended to ignore or erase its great relevance to our own history”





[Charles Philip Arthur George, HRH The Prince of Wales, 1993]





"...Not being subject to the Sharia, Jews and Christians were free to go to their own religious authorities for adjudication of disputes; but in many cases they went instead to the [Muslim] Qadi"





[Richard W. Bulliet, Professor of History and Author, 2004]





"Here in the land of the Turks we have nothing to complain of. We possess great fortunes; much gold and silver are in our hands. We are not oppressed by heavy taxes and our commerce is free and unhindered. Rich are the fruits of the earth. Everything is cheap and each one of us lives in freedom. Here a Jew is not compelled to wear a yellow star as a badge of shame as is the case in Germany where even wealth and great fortune is a curse for a Jew because he therewith arouses jealousy among the Christians and they devise all kinds of slander against him to rob him of his gold. Arise my brethren, gird up your loins, collect up your forces and come to us."





[In his book 'Constantinople', Philip Mansel quotes a rabbi in Turkey writing to his brethren in Europe where they were facing increasing persecution after 1453]





"Praise be to the beneficent God for his mercy towards me! Kings of the earth, to whom his [the Caliph’s] magnificence and power are known, bring gifts to him, conciliating his favour by costly presents, such as the king of the Germans, the king of the Gebalim, the king of Constantinople, and others. All their gifts pass through my hands, and I am charged with making gifts in return. (Let my lips express praise to the God in heaven who so far extends his loving kindness towards me without any merit of my own, but in the fullness of his mercies.) I always ask the ambassadors of these monarchs about our brethren the Jews, the remnant of the captivity, whether they have heard anything concerning the deliverance of those who have pined in bondage and had found no rest."





[Hasdai Ibn Shaprut (915-990 CE) Jewish physician, chief minister of Islamic Caliphate in Cordova, 'The Jewish Caravan']





"In Baghdad there are about forty thousand Jews, and they dwell in security, prosperity, and honour under the great Caliph [al-Mustanjid, 1160-70 CE], and amongst them are great sages, the Heads of the Academies engaged in the study of the Law…’"





[Benjamin of Tudela, Rabbi in Baghdad in the year 1168 CE, 'The Jew in the Medieval World']





"Those Eastern thinkers of the ninth century laid down, on the basis of their theology, the principle of the Rights of Man, in those very terms, comprehending the rights of individual liberty, and of inviolability of person and property; described the supreme power in Islam, or Califate, as based on a contract, implying conditions of capacity and performance, and subject to cancellation if the conditions under the contract were not fulfilled; elaborated a Law of War of which the humane, chivalrous prescriptions would have put to the blush certain belligerents in the Great War; expounded a doctrine of toleration of non-Moslem creeds so liberal that our West had to wait a thousand years before seeing equivalent principles adopted.





[Leon Ostorog, French Jurist]





"The debt of our science to that of the Arabs does not consist in startling discoveries or revolutionary theories; science owes a great deal more to Arab culture, it owes its existence"





[Robert Briffault, Novelist and Historian, 1928]





"The only effective link between the old and the new science is afforded by the Arabs. The dark ages come as an utter gap in the scientific history of Europe, and for more than a thousand years there was not a scientific man of note except in Arabia"





[Oliver Joseph Lodge, Writer and Professor of Physics, 1893]





“Thus, when Muslims crossed the straits of Gibraltar from North Africa in 711 and invaded the Iberian Peninsula, Jews welcomed them as liberators from Christian Persecution.”





[Zion Zohar, Jewish scholar at Florida International University, 2005]







“Throughout much of the period in question, Arabic served as the global language of scholarship, and learned men of all stripes could travel widely and hold serious and nuanced discussions in this lingua franca. Medieval Western scholars who wanted access to the latest findings also needed to master the Arabic Tongue or work from translations by those who had done so.”





[Jonathan Lyons, Author, Writer and Lecturer, 2009]