Are Islamic punishments just or harsh?

Just

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by Mouhcine Azizoun

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The Islamic punishments are not harsh. As the saying goes, you have to be cruel in order to be kind. And that's what Islamic punishments are about. They were established for certain reasons. Adultery punishment in Islam, for example, was made to protect the family and especially the children. If we look at what is happening around the world, we would find that some kids do not even know who their fathers are. And sometimes mothers themselves do not know who fathered their babies. For a reality check, all one has to do is to visit websites whereby women get consultations about their legal cases. In such websites, you often find women asking what to do if they do not know the fathers of their babies. Growing up not even knowing who your father is will certainly turn you into a total sociopath. Those who give consultations in jails know very well that the bulk of prisoners do not know their fathers. And that was the culprit that has torn their lives apart. The Islamic punishment as far as adultery is concerned, was established to strangle such a dangerous situation at birth, protect the unity of the family and enhance society in the process. For this reason, such a punishment should not be considered harsh. What is harsh, though, is to turn a blind eye on such a deleterious thing. What is harsh, is to let kids born out of the wedlock suffer alone without giving them a pittance of sympathy. What is harsh is not making an effort to nip adultery in the bud and stop such a disease from spreading and affecting the society.

If you still think that Islamic punishments are harsh, let us think about gangrene. Does anyone want to amputate his limbs? Obviously, No one wants to do that. When gangrene sets in, you have to cut the decayed place be it an arm or a leg. You do not have a myriad of choices. You either amputate the place or wait till it affects the whole body. What would be your choice? Palpably, your choice is to cut the place and to be protected. Gangrene is adultery, the tool that amputates is the Islamic punishment, and the body is the society.

To crown everything, Islamic punishments are restricted. In the case of adultery, there must be witnesses who have, not just suspected, but seen the act. In the case of stealing, there are certain rules. Most people think that in the Islamic teaching, they would cut your hand over a buck or two, which is not the case. During a certain period of Umar the Great or Umar ibn al-Khattb, this punishment was not done or rather it was suspended because a lot of people were stealing to feed their families because of a severe drought. From this, we can say that in Islam people make sure that the rights, even the ones of the adulterer and the robber, are protected. Islam is about justice, and therefore everything must be done justly. A question may pop up: what is the use of the punishments if they are highly restricted. We can find the answer to this question is the following story:

An adulterer came to the prophet of Islam Muhammad and admitted the sin himself. The prophet turned his face away. Then the adulterer kept asking for the punishment. The prophet turned his face to the other side for another time. The adulterer insisted. After that, Muhammad asked his companions to check whether the person was drunk or not. Afterwards, the prophet had no choice except to carry the punishment because the person wanted that.

Those who say that Islamic punishments are harsh are in a blissful ignorance of the rules and the prerequisite of such punishments. As I previously stated, they think that Muslims go around amputating robbers' hands and stoning people to death. And they often mistake Islamic punishments with tribalism. Not everything Muslims do is Islamic. There are some people who do things in the name of Islam, and there people who do things and later others blame Islam for that. People often think that what Muslims do is in Islam. This is obviously not true. One cannot expect Muslims to be perfect. We do not live in a utopia. We live in a dystopia. Muslims make mistakes just as anyone else. We must not blame Islam for everything they do. If people go out calling for the death of someone it does not mean that Islam is what pushes them. One can easily point the finger. I can do that too. I can read Matthew 10:34 in which Jesus said: "I come not to bring peace, but to bring a sword", relate that to the high crime rate in the Christian world, and say that Christianity teaches violence. I can also read any verse in this light.

All Islamic punishments were established to protect our lives. They are a sort of necessary evil just like gangrene. Is gangrene harsh? Yes, it is. Do you have another choice? No.

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