ISLAMABAD (Online) – The – Hudood Ordinance does not l conform fully to the Quran and Hadith and its thorough revision is necessary to make it more responsive to the philosophy of crime and punishment in the Quran and Sunna as well as more effective in a modern Judicial system, says a interim report on Hudood Ordinance issued by Chairman Council of Islamic Ideology Khalid Masood. According to the report, Partial amendments to the Hudood Ordinance cannot bring it to accord with the letter and spirit of the Quran and Sunna. A thorough revision of the Hudood Ordinance is necessary in order to make it more responsive to the philosophy of crime and punishment in the Quran and Sunna as well as more effective in a modern Judicial system.

The report said that the definition of Hadd in the Ordinance had not been derived from the Quran and Sunna, rather it did not even agree with the definitions prescribed by the jurists. The concept and usage of the term Hadd differs from the definition given by Ordinance and the jurists; the Quran uses different terms for the idea of punishment (jaza, adhab). In the prophetic Hadith the term Hadd is used in a general meaning, not in the technical sense in which the jurists use it, the report said.

The jurists use the term Hadd in the meaning of “fixed punishment” regardless whether fixed by the Quran, Sunna and Ijma. The identification and division of crimes as Hudood, Qisas and Tazir has been done by the jurists and it varies. Hudood Ordinance has adopted Fiqhi identification and classification of Hudood offences selectively and arbitrarily, which added to the confusion between Hudood and Tazir, the report said. It has further confused the concept of Hudood mixing common law criminal procedure and Fiqhi procedure, disregarding the need for fine distinction.
Source: The Nation
Date:8/3/2006