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MAJLIS UGAMA ISLAM SINGAPURA FRIDAY SERMON 18 OCTOBER 2002M / 11 SYAABAN 1423H
HUDUD LAWS IN ISLAM

My Respected Friday Congregation, Today, through various media, we hear more voices for the implementation of the Shariah or Islamic Law. In this open environment and with the advancement of Information Technology, the Muslim community in Singapore would have surely heard some of these calls and hence follow their developments as well as discuss and debate about it. The non-muslim community too would be aware of such calls as such issues i.e. to enact hudud laws in neighbouring countries are covered by the local media. This would surely raise questions about the Muslim communitys stand on this issue. My dear brothers, Islamic scholars have given various interpretations of the word syariah. Some of them have given general meanings while others have chosen to be specific. Nevertheless, what

is required of the Ummah is to practise Islam as a way of life. ALLAH Al-Mighty says in the Quran,

If anyone desires A Religion other than Islam (submission to God), Never will it be accepted of him ; and in the hereafter He will be in the ranks of those who have lost (all spiritual good) (Ali-Imran :85) The Islam that has to be lived and implemented is a religion of three basic elements Aqeedah or the Islamic Creed, Ibadah or Rituals & Practises and Jurisprudence or more known as the Fiqh and thirdly, Akhlaq or Noble Character and Etiquettes. Each of those three elements have their own elaborations and importance and priorities and cannot be neglected. Accordingly, when we talk about implementing Shariah in its general and wide term i.e. implementing Islam as a way of life, it means to secure the true aqidah or Islamic creed, the just and correct jurisprudence and noble characters. And when we talk about implementing the Shariah in its specific interpretation that is Shariah meaning Fiqh or Jurisprudence such as hudud laws, we cannot ignore the other two elements i.e. to secure the Islamic creed and inculcate the akhlaq or noble characters. Infact, the Islamic

creed has to be the basis for implementing the laws, and the implementing of laws should be congruent with observing high standards of moral. It does not suffice for a Muslim to have faith and proclaim his Islam, but not to observe the laws and the moral standards, and otherwise too. We hear people saying Why must we do this and that . more importantly, we must have good hearts. Why must we do this and that . if our character is still bad. Is not the content of Islamic teachings more important, not the form of it? These are unsound sayings, because if we are to accept the argument that whats more important is the good heart . whats more important is the content, not the form , people would then have reasons to not carry out all religious obligations. People will start saying, why pray, if you still do wrong things, why go to haj, if you still dont refrain yourself from doing wrong, why fast, only to be hungry, whats more important is to have a good heart!! On the other hand, we should understand that someone who practises Islam is not divinely protected from sins. Therefore, it is possible to see a muslim lady with hijab but committing sins, such as gossipping or slandering. In this case, ALLAH will reward her for her hijab, yet at the same time, punish her for gossipping and her other sins. My Dear Brothers, Among the most talked about aspects of Islamic Jurisprudence these days is the implementation of hudud laws.

Hudud laws is one of the three types of Criminal Law in Islam. Hudud originally means borders or anything that ALLAH forbids us from doing. ALLAH says in the Holy Quran;

Those are the Limits (set by) God ; Approach not nigh thereto. (Al-Baqarah : 187) In the context of Islamic Criminal Laws, hudud means all offences done not on humans and carry specific punishment as stipulated and fixed by ALLAH. Criminal offences which do not carry specific punishment are called tazeer such as vandalising public property. Offences with specific punishment but inflicted upon human life itself such as killing and injuring others is called Qisas. Hudud, Qisas and Tazeer form the Islamic Laws of Jinayat or Crimes. The offences which fall under the category of hudud are: First, adultery which carries the punishment of 100 strokes of the cane for male and female offenders who have not married as mentioned in Surah An-Nur :2 and stoning to death if the offender has been married as mentioned in a Hadith narrated by Ibn Majah and observed by Prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h. unto MaIz and al-Ghamidiyyah as narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim. Second, accusing someone else of adultery without witnesses. This act carries a punishment of 80 strokes of the cane as mentioned in Surah an-Nur :4.

Third, consuming liquor which carries a punishment of 40 strokes of the cane. Our Prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h. said, Whoever consumes liquor, lash him with the cane (Narrated by at-Turmuzi) Fourth, theft which carries a punishment of amputating of the hand as mentioned in Surah al-Maidah :38.

Fifith, high-way robbery whose punishment varies according to the degree of the offence as mentioned in surah alMaidah :33. Some scholars include revolting against the state and apostasy as part of the hudud laws too. To understand hudud offences comprehensively, one needs to understand also the aspects of how to provide evidence, execute the punishment, the rationale behind the laws and the wisdom of these laws so as to avoid misunderstanding of ALLAHs laws. Today, a lot of people criticise the amputating of hands for stealing on the basis of violence yet they dont understand what is the definition of stealing. When does stealing carry such a punishment. What is the philosophical dimension to such a ruling? As if if someone steals two dollars, his hands will be cut off.

My Dear Brothers, We surely are not able to discuss all aspects of the hudud laws in this khutbah. Whats important is that we must know that hudud is part of our religion and we are required to understand it best before we can even talk about its implementation or criticise it. Hudud laws are mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah. As such, all Muslims everywhere must belief in its authencity. To doubt these laws and to dispute on its authencity may nullify our Aqeedah or Creed and its feared that we fall under the category of those mentioned in the verse :

If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what God Hath revealed, they are (No better than) Unbelievers. (al-Maidah :44) Nevertheless, the implementation of hudud laws can only be done after preparing the proper infrastructure such as having a trained group of people and an effective judiciary system. Besides that, the community must be ready to accept such laws as part of their lives because the Islamic way of life is not built upon laws only, but more importantly upon aqidah and iman/faith in ourselves. Equally important is that only the political authority can implement hudud laws. It cannot be implemented by individuals or Islamic organizations. A father cannot implement the hudud law and thus lash his child who

consumed liquor and Islamic organizations cannot attack someone who transgressed the hudud laws or attack night clubs on the streets. To introduce hudud laws in a society which has long forgotten Islam must be done gradually. Hudud laws should not be implemented all at once because ALLAH Himself introduced the hudud laws over time and not at once. Nevertheless, we have to understand that hudud laws are just part of the many religious obligations that we have to fulfil. Therefore, we have to prioritise our obligations, which one needs to be fulfilled first in the context of the place and time we are in. In this context, the Muslim community in Singapore living as a minority have faith in the hudud laws, but at the same time acknowledges the reality of our lives and our priorities which differ from other Islamic countries. Although it is required of us to implement these laws, our inability to do just that does not mean our Islam is of a lesser quality as compared to other Muslim communities around the world because we are required to strive within our own limitations. The King of Ethiopia, Najasyi was a Muslim and had authority over his people, but he could not implement the Shariah as a whole because his people might revolt against him as most of them were still Christians. Despite that, our Prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h. prayed for him when he died and praised him. This was mentioned by Ibn Taimiyah in his book of Fatawa, Volume 19, pages 218-219.

ALLAH says in the Quran:

which means: On no soul doth God Place a burden greater than it can bear (al-Baqarah :286) May this khutbah be a small guidance for our Muslim community to understand this issue for different angles.