‘Hudud’: A Decree Seriously Misunderstood
‘Hukum Hudud’: A Serious Misconception
The English equivalent for ‘Hukum’, a word derived from Arabic, is ‘Decree’. While, ‘Hudud’ is ‘Limit’ or ‘Boundary’.
‘Hukum Hudud’ is, therefore, to be correctly perceived as the irrefutable ‘Decree’ from God in respect of ‘Behavioral Boundary’ involving the Do’s and Don’ts sets forth by God necessary for purpose of regulating personal life, in the form of intra-personal ‘hudud’, as well as inter-personal dealings and interactions with others, in the form of inter-personal ‘hudud’.
As far as the latter is concerned, it applies to both the Believers and non-Believers alike, of people of different belief system, faith, ideology and culture. For God has designed it as such to bring about life of peace and order, free, safe and secure for all.
Islam, meaning ‘Peace’, is synonymous to ‘Submission’ or ‘Compliance’ to this God’s irrefutable Decree to ‘Non-Violation’ or ‘Non-Aggression’ Rule and Principle against legally and morally protected rights of the individuals, societies and countries.
Whether a person is a deemed a Mukmin (Subscriber to absolute Faith in God), a Muslim (Subscriber to Peace and personal Freedom), or a Fasiq (Enemy of Peace and personal Freedom), is dependent very much on one’s successful restraint from transgressing the intra-personal and the inter-personal ‘code of conduct’ in respect of ‘hudud’ (behavioral boundaries) decreed by God. The Quran describes transgressors and violators of this ‘hudud’ principle as ‘Taghut’, and that assigning Taghut as partner to Allah is tantamount to ‘Shirik’.
Mukmin is essentially one who is an absolute believer in Allah and one who rejects Taghut completely. Mukmin is one who does not ascribe partners to Allah (free from elements of Shirik), and one who observe and comply with intra-personal ‘hudud’ (free from immoral activities) as well as inter-personal ‘hudud’ (free form illegal/criminal activities) to become the best of civil citizens.
كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ ۗ وَلَوْ آمَنَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَّهُم ۚ مِّنْهُمُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَأَكْثَرُهُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ
(Al-Quran , Ali Imran 3:110) You are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind; you enjoin Al-Ma’ruf and forbid Al-Munkar, and you believe in Allah . And had the people of the Scripture believed, it would have been better for them; among them are some who have faith, but most of them are Fasiq.
Muslim, on the other hand, refers to one who observes inter-personal ‘hudud’ (free from illegal/criminal activites), but not necessarily observe intra-personal ‘hudud’ (not free from immoral activities), and therefore may not be construed to have absolute faith in God (not free from some element of kufur), for not having complete submission and compliance to God’s requirements.
قَالَتِ الْأَعْرَابُ آمَنَّا ۖ قُل لَّمْ تُؤْمِنُوا وَلَٰكِن قُولُوا أَسْلَمْنَا وَلَمَّا يَدْخُلِ الْإِيمَانُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ ۖ وَإِن تُطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ لَا يَلِتْكُم مِّنْ أَعْمَالِكُمْ شَيْئًا ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
(Al-Quran, Al-Hujarat 49:14) The Al-A’arab say, “We have believed.” Say, “You have not [yet] believed; but say [instead], ‘We have submitted,’ for faith has not yet entered your hearts. And if you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not deprive you from your deeds of anything. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”
Fasiq is one who is an enemy of Allah and enemy of Humankind for they observe not inter-personal ‘hudud’, what more intra-personal one. Their apparent rejection of Allah’s guidance in preference for Taghut and their glaring violation to God’s decreed ‘hudud principle’ turn them into morally corrupt persons to become absolute transgressors, tyrannical rulers, terrorists and rule breakers. They disrupt Law and Order, and have no respect for Human Rights to become enemies of peace and personal freedom.
وَأَنِ احْكُم بَيْنَهُم بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ وَاحْذَرْهُمْ أَن يَفْتِنُوكَ عَن بَعْضِ مَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ ۖ فَإِن تَوَلَّوْا فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ أَن يُصِيبَهُم بِبَعْضِ ذُنُوبِهِمْ ۗ وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِّنَ النَّاسِ لَفَاسِقُونَ
Al-Quran, Al-Maeda 5:49 > And so judge among them by what Allah has revealed and follow not their vain desires, but beware of them lest they turn you far away from some of that which Allah has sent down to you. And if they turn away, then know that Allah’s Will is to punish them for some sins of theirs. And truly, most of men are Fasiq (rebellious and disobedient to Allah).
Meanwhile, Portugal in year 2000, despite international outcry, had decided to de-criminalize addiction and possession of all kinds of psychoactive substances in the country – the first country in the world to do so. This is an act deemed ‘Islamic’ and a fine example of ‘Hudud’ rule and principle put into practice, especially of one self-imposed by the Government on itself. It is a 180-degree Policy change necessary to effectively remove further violation and transgression to human’s rights and freedom in respect of drug possession and addiction.
The Portuguese has become the first to succumb to the sanity of realizing how those who sell and consume psychoactive substances, an act of consent between two willing parties engaging on peaceful private activity, has fallen victims to social injustice and prejudice. It is a clear violation and transgression to the rights and freedom of individuals to not only be deprived or removed of their needs but further subjected to some of the harshest punishments ever meted out on human beings. In country after country, the punishments for those who violate drugs laws are often more severe than those for rape or murder.
The Portuguese drug decriminalization and harm reduction model has been in place for more than a decade now and is a proven success. It is a glaring example to the world that the human values of dignity, respect and freedom can challenge and replace the inhumanity, incarceration and barbarity of the War on Drugs.
Drug addiction is essentially a question of moral principle offensive of intra-personal ‘hudud’ only. It is a question of personal choice and a right privy to a person. It has nothing to do with criminal offences i.e violation of inter-personal ‘hudud’.
Criminalizing drug (i.e. making drug addiction and possession a criminal offence) in the first place, is indeed a violation to God’s given basic ‘Rights’ to Humankind in respect of ‘Freedom of Choice’, for God has essentially allowed choices of between God’s path (i.e. compliance with personal ‘hudud’) or the path of ‘Taghut’ (i.e. violation of personal ‘hudud’):
لَا إِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّينِ ۖ قَد تَّبَيَّنَ الرُّشْدُ مِنَ الْغَيِّ ۚ فَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِالطَّاغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِن بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ اسْتَمْسَكَ بِالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقَىٰ لَا انفِصَامَ لَهَا ۗ وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
(Al-Qur’an, Al-Baqarah 2:256) Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear from Error. Whoever rejects Taghut and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things.
For God has decreed that there shall be no compelling to the ‘deen’ (or path) of Allah in this respect of ‘intra-personal hudud’. It reciprocates that there shall be no compelling to the ‘deen’ (or path) of Taghut, either . That there shall be no obstruction to the ‘Path of Allah’ and neither there shall be obstruction to the ‘Path of Taghut’, to leave alone and in peace those desirous of ‘peaceful activities’ privy to and in privacy of private homes and private clubs between mutually consenting and willing adults.
And that is deemed to include ‘peaceful activities’ like drug addiction, as well as prostitution, or other similar ‘peaceful’ activities deemed ‘immoral’ and even ‘satanic’ by general societal standard, like the much abhorred Lesbian and Gay marriage, that is now legalized in some countries in the liberal west.
Apparently, the Portuguese has reverted to what is deemed compliance to ‘Hudud’ decree by de-criminalizing drug as it is the matter of ‘Freedom’ and minority ‘Rights’ that should be respected by the majority of the population.
However, it is the duty of those who have Faith in God, the subscriber to non-violation of intra-personal ‘hudud’, to carry out the ‘Amar Ma’aruf, Nahi Munkar’ mission of enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, an effort deemed educative, soul searching, non- compelling and non-prohibitive, to help bring the lost and misguided souls back to God’s guided Path (for their own personal good):
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ ۚ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ
(Al-Qur’an, An-Naĥl 16:90) Lo! Allah enjoineth justice and kindness, and giving to kinsfolk, and forbiddeth lewdness and abomination and wickedness. He exhorteth you in order that ye may take heed.
Perhaps it is time for Muslims to start ponder and appreciate the important underlying message from this famous quote by Muhammad Abduh (1849 –1905), an Egyptian jurist, religious scholar and liberal reformer, regarded as the founder of Islamic Modernism :
“I went to the West and saw Islam, but no Muslims; I got back to the East and saw Muslims, but not Islam”.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ هَادُوا وَالنَّصَارَىٰ وَالصَّابِئِينَ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ
(Al-Quran 2:62)
Verily! Those who believe and those who are Jews and Christians, and Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and do righteous good deeds shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.
وَأَنزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَمُهَيْمِنًا عَلَيْهِ ۖ فَاحْكُم بَيْنَهُم بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ ۖ وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ عَمَّا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ ۚ لِكُلٍّ جَعَلْنَا مِنكُمْ شِرْعَةً وَمِنْهَاجًا ۚ وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَجَعَلَكُمْ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً وَلَٰكِن لِّيَبْلُوَكُمْ فِي مَا آتَاكُمْ ۖ فَاسْتَبِقُوا الْخَيْرَاتِ ۚ إِلَى اللَّهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ جَمِيعًا فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ
(Al-Quran 5:48)
And We have revealed to you, the Book in truth, confirming that which preceded it of the Scripture and as a criterion over it. So judge between them by what Allah has revealed and do not follow their inclinations away from what has come to you of the truth. To each of you We prescribed a law and a method. Had Allah willed, He would have made you one nation [united in religion], but [He intended] to test you in what He has given you; so race to [all that is] good. To Allah is your return all together, and He will [then] inform you concerning that over which you used to differ.
‘Hudud’ and ‘Jihad’ are fundamentals to Islamic teaching that they are closely associated with Islam and Muslim community. During the days of Prophet Muhammad and companions, ‘Hudud’ has effectively functioned as the ‘tool’, and ‘Jihad’ as the ‘weapon’, to bring about ‘peace’ and ‘civil order’ in the Arabic societies of Mecca and Medina.
Apparently, ‘Jihad’, a forceful act of law enforcement is meant to force compliance with interpersonal ‘hudud’ to bring peace and order in the society.
Unfortunately, ‘Hudud’ and ‘Jihad’ noble meaning has been ‘adulterated’ and ‘stripped off’ the true value and functions that they became words abhorred by world community at large. That ‘Hudud’ is associated with ‘barbaric act’ and ‘Jihad’ with ‘terrorism’.
Therefore, reverting to the true teaching of Islam, especially in respect of getting to the true meaning and practice of ‘Hudud’ and ‘Jihad’ fundamentals, will Muslims live to their role of becoming advocate to freedom, protector of global peace, and contributor to world order.
