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- by Dr. Mohammad Haitham Al-Khayat

Deterrent Penalties

The religious approach, as we have seen, relies heavily on the need to protect human beings against all gross indecency. It lays down a verdict of prohibition on all indecent and sinful practices, projects them as unpleasant and discourages believers from pursuing them. Religions also advocate preventive measures that would curb the spread of such practices.

People, however, are not of the same calibre and ability when it comes to religious observance and piety. There are those who possess sufficient willpower and strength of character that could not be broken by temptation and seduction. There are others who can neither resist temptation nor effectively restrain their desires. Such people fall into the traps of sin and vile behaviour .

For these people religions have prescribed some harsh penalties that aim to dissuade sinners and deter others who might be tempted to follow their example. Another purpose of these penalties is to restrict the spread of vice and misbehaviour and bring about reform in society as a whole.

7.1 The penalty for adultery in Islam is lashing for the unmarried offender and stoning for the one who is married. In the Quran we read: " As for the adulteress and the adulterer, flog each one of them a hundred lashes. Do not pity them when it comes to God's laws, if you truly believe in God and the Last Day; and let their punishment be witnessed by a number of believers" (24: 2 ).

In the hadith of the Prophet there are to be found definitive rules, as documented by AI-Bukhari, Muslim and others, with respect to the punishment of the married adulterer and adulteress, which is death by stoning.

7.2 In the Old Testament there are also statements specifying death by stoning as the enforceable punishment for both adulterers: "Then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbour's wife; so you shall .purge the evil from the midst of you" (Deuteronomy 22:24).

In case a woman was forced into committing adultery, the Old Testament prescribes punishment only for whoever forced her into it. It says, "But if in the open country a man meets a woman who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man.who lay with her shall die. But to the young woman you shall do nothing; in the young woman there is no offence punishable by death, for this case is like a man attacking and murdering his neighbour"
(Deuteronomy -22: 25-26).

7.3 For homosexuals, the Old Testament prescribes the penalty of death. It says, " If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death; their blood is upon them" (Leviticus - 20: 13).

7.4 In Islam, it is absolutely forbidden to consume or take intoxicants or drugs and narcotics, or to deal with them in any way. Any violation of the relevant orders and commandments earns a befitting punishment in accordance with the Islamic penal code which provides a system for cases where no definite penalty has been specified in the Quran or the Sunnah. Islamic law allows for discretionary punishment in these cases. The range of punishment can go as far as the death penalty itself, especially in serious offences that threaten the security and well-being of society as a whole.

In Islam, every offence, whether of commission or omission, is subject to this system which provides a protective measure and gives the penal and judicial authorities the flexibility to decide the relevant and suitable punishment in each case, so as to protect public morals.

Muslim criminal law, and religious rules in general, aim to protect moral values in the face of transgression by those who are not deterred by teaching or advice. Indeed, this attitude of religious law in protecting moral values, by all available means, is based on the fact that the laws themselves are established on ethical foundations. Human actions, attitudes and behaviour are all judged by how close to, or how far from, the ideal moral model they are. For this reason, Islam has condemned those who demonstrate, by word or action, their desire to see evil and immorality spread and become commonplace in society.

The ideal moral model was preached by Prophets before Mohammad, whose mission was to complement and crown theirs, as confirmed by the Prophet Mohammad himself in his statement: I have been sent in order to bring noble moral beha1Jiour to complete fullness" (33).