Recently, I have read many articles on the topic of corporal punishment, including those written by Professor Tariq Ramadan and, most recently, some especially interesting and useful thoughts written by Dr. Farooq, a professor of Economics. The matter of corporal punishment is an important problem that the Ummah has been confronting for a long time. In light of the contributions written by Prof. Ramadan and Dr. Farooq, I am moved to give my own reflections on the topic. What follows are my honest personal reflections on the subject. They do not represent the opinions of any Islamic or secular group, in either the material or virtual worlds. The following thoughts are my private, scholarly perceptions of this very public matter.

The "Words of God" are not anyone’s personal property, nor are they injunctions to be carried out without the careful practices of Adl, Ihsan, ijtihad, hikmah and so forth. Under any despotic ruler or regime, the entire corporal punishment system should be suspended until the situation changes substantially. Moreover, it is a strong Islamic legal principle and tradition that a Muslim system of governance, or a Muslim regime, that cannot or will not provide jobs and livelihood for everyone living under its jurisdiction has no right to execute any corporal punishment. Most Maddhabi-Imams and Mujaddids fought for the sake of this Islamic principle and many sacrificed their lives for it. The historical records show that such Imams as Abu Hanifa and Hanbal were killed by Muslim rulers for their defense of these principles.

Clearly, the issue is a matter of identifying priorities. The Muslim Ummah is aflame with crises of poverty, ignorance, arrogance, and dictatorial or military brutality. Our priority should be to first put out the flames of these fires, rather than fueling them in the name of sectarian or ethnic interpretations of the Quran or the “Mind of Allah”. These “fires” of poverty, ignorance, and corruption did not begin with Pakistani or Bathist military control. Rather, their seeds were sown long ago, by Yazid, who killed almost the entire direct progeny of our beloved Prophet.

Our priority must be to oppose all Muslim Yazid-like leaders today, and not just to concern ourselves with the lesser matter of administering corporal punishment upon the weaker members of Muslim society. How many Muslim kings or princes have lost their hands for thefts, or were stoned to death for their adultery? Have they not stolen public property? Are they not guilty of adultery, every now and then? We could not even punish our own President Ershad. How, then, can we punish Arab kings or Princes?

Why have we failed so miserably to punish the Pakistani military for their atrocities and rapes, which they so openly committed throughout Bangladesh? We have not been able to assure that most of the Pakistani army officers and soldiers, under the command of united Pakistan, will receive punishment by being stoned to death. Why, then, should a poor Bangladeshi worker be under threat of corporal punishment, in an Arab country, while Arab royals or Muslim military dictators remain above the law and Shariah rulings?

Why are we not discussing this inconsistency in any meaningful way? If, tomorrow, the Ummah could destroy all the corrupt Muslim palaces and military headquarters of despotic Muslim rulers, then perhaps we could resume genuine research on the forms and shapes of an "Islamic criminal justice" system, in the context of a new dynamic of justice in equitable production and consumption systems.

There is a real problem with our priorities when it comes to the "Words of God." We need to see through, and stop our inconsistent, hypocritical blindness. Take for example, a quotation like the following: "If we call for an international moratorium on corporal punishment, stoning, and the death penalty today, I fear that, tomorrow, Muslims will be asked to suspend their Friday Prayer." This sort of alarmist statement indicates a misunderstanding of the true Islamic tradition with regard to corporal punishment.

Stoning to death is not the "real word of God". Rather, here, the real essence of stoning is, to Satan, "God's Final injunction". Because a full, genuine, independent judiciary has been absent in the Muslim world for many centuries now, no typically Islamic corporal punishment can justifiably be executed. Rather, it is un-Islamic, or even anti-Islamic, to allow corrupted Muslim leaders, politicians, and judges to execute corporal punishments found in the fiqh books.

Fiqh books are not the "words of God". No single interpretation of any Quranic verse can be regarded as the final "Words of God". Final words of Gods are discovered with the "Tajalli of God's NOOR" that must be understood first. Having said that, I would agree that under a system such as the Singaporean legal system, caning can be permitted in some Muslim countries, once the pre-conditions of minimum assess to livelihood are ensured for all, irrespective of gender, race, religion, and ethnicity.

These may sound like very sweeping comments, but we must use the principles of Adl, Ihsan, ijtihad, hikmah and so forth, to proceed with caution and deeper understanding, rather than instigating fitna casually, using the slogan, the "Words of God", or narrowly defining Shariah rulings, as justification for corporal punishment.

May Allah forgive us all, and enable us all to understand the “intentions of God” behind each of Ayat (symbol or Tajjali). Amen!


by Dr. Maimul Ahsan Khan from USA
***************************************