Definition of Crime According to Islamic Law and Islamic Legislative Sources (From Effect of Islamic Legislation on Crime Prevention in Saudi Arabia - Proceedings, P 35-88, 1976 - See NCJ-87248)

• NCJ Number: 87249
• Author(s): M Jubeir III
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 53 pages
• Sale Source: Saudi Arabia Ministry of Interior
• Language: English

Annotation

This paper defines crime in general according to Islamic legislation, describes general categories of crime along with specific offenses and their consequences for the victims and society, and discusses the sources of Islamic criminal law.

Abstract

Crime under Islamic law consists of any disobedience to God's commandments which is punishable in this world through the legislator. One general category of crime consists of those offenses revealed in the Holy Quran with specified punishments that cannot be modified or altered. Offenses in this category include apostasy, attempted coup d'etat, adultery, defamation (false accusations against another), theft, highway robbery, and alcohol drinking. Some of the fixed punishments are hand amputation for theft, flogging and stoning to death of an adulteress, and for highway robbery, execution, exile from the land, or the amputation of a hand and foot from opposite sides of the body. The second category of crime consists of offenses punishable by retaliation or blood money. While punishments for offenses in this category are set in the Quran, the victim or the victim's caretaker may pardon the offender. In such a case, the offender may pay 'blood money' and be liable to punishment. Crimes in this category include premeditated murder, semipremeditated murder, murder by error, and a premeditated offense against human life short of murder. The third category of crime consists of crimes punishable by Tazir, crimes not specifically indicated in the Holy Quran or in the Prophet's Sunnah; however, they are punishable because they represent acts of disobedience to God's commandments and lead to wrongdoing. Sources of Islamic law are the Holy Book (Quran), the Sunnah (prophetic reports), the Consensus of Opinion (Ijma'), the Analogy (Kias), Equity (Istihsan), Textually Unspecified Interests of the Public (Muslaha Mursala), Avoidance of Harm (Sad Al-Dharai), Compatibility of Means and Ends (Istishab), and Checking what is permissible and prohibited. Seven references are listed, and comments by symposium participants are provided.