Islamic Law

Want to know about Islamic legislation?

Try this from Pakistan:

Some parts of the Hudood Ordinance that are under debate are these:

Zina:

A man and a woman are said to commit zina if they willfully have sexual intercourse without being validly married to each other.

Zina liable to hadd:

1. Zina is zina liable to hadd if-

A: it is committed by a man who is an adult and is not insane with a woman to whom he is not, and does not suspect himself to be married; or
B: it is committed by a woman who is an adult and is not insane with a man to whom she is not, and does not suspect herself to be, married.

2. Whoever is guilty of zina liable to hadd shall, subject to the provisions of this Ordinance,

A: if he or she is a muhsan, be stoned to death at a public place; or
B: if he or she is not muhsan, be punished, at a public place; with whipping numbering one hundred stripes.

3. No punishment under sub-section shall be executed until it has been confirmed by the Court to whom an appeal from the order of conviction lies; and if the punishment be of whipping; until it is confirmed and executed, the convict shall be dealt with in the same manner as if sentenced to simple imprisonment.

Zina bil Jabr:

1. A person is said to commit zina-bil-jabr if he or she has sexual intercourse with a woman or man, as the case may be, to whom he or she is not validly married, if he or she is a muhsan (*), be stoned to death at a public place;

A: if he or she is not muhsan, be punished with whipping numbering one hundred stripes, B: at a public place, and with such other punishment, including the sentence of death, as the Court may deem fit having regard to the circumstances of the case.

Proof of zina or zina-bil-jabr liable to hadd:

Proof of zina-bil-jabr liable to hadd shall be in one of the following forms, namely

A: the accused makes before a Court of competent jurisdiction a confession of the commission of the offence; or
B: at least four Muslim adult male witnesses, about whom the Court is satisfied, having regard to the requirements of tazkiyah al-shuhood, that they are truthful persons and abstain from major sins (kabair), give evidence as eye-witnesses of the act of penetration necessary to the offence:

Provided that, if the accused is a non-Muslim, the eye-witnesses may be non-Muslims.

One criticism is that Zina bir Raza should not be consider a crime. Also the Law of cutting of hands for stealing, whiplashes and stoning to death is too harsh of a punishment for such crimes. The concern has also been raised that because of the laws mostly women are suffering and are being put in jails.

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(*)
"muhsan" means a sane and adult Muslim who either has had no sexual intercourse or has had such intercourse only with his or her lawfully wedded spouse.


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UPDATE

Musharraf retreats on rape law
By Zahid Hussain

Islamic protests mean a setback for women's rights

PLANS to reform controversial Islamic laws dealing with rape and adultery, which have attracted condemnation in the West, have been watered down by Pakistan’s Government in a compromise with fundamentalist mullahs.

Hundreds of women have been jailed under the laws which made a rape victim liable to prosecution for adultery if she failed to produce four male witnesses. Known as the Hudood Ordinance, the laws were introduced in 1979 by the then military ruler, General Zia ul-Haq as part of his programme to Islamise the country. They made it almost impossible to prosecute rapists.

Pakistani and international rights groups had long demanded repeal of the laws which criminalised all extra-marital sex. A woman who fails to prove that she was raped could then be charged with adultery under the same legislation.

President Musharraf’s government had proposed to put before the National Assembly yesterday a Bill to replace the controversial laws with a new Protection of Women Bill which placed the crime of rape within the country’s secular penal code. The move was supported by the liberal opposition Pakistan People’s Party and women’s rights groups, but has now been delayed.