Rajm
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- This is a sub-article to Islamic criminal jurisprudence and Stoning
Rajm is an Arabic word that means to stone. It is commonly used to refer to the traditional Islamic Hudud punishment capital punishment whereby an organized group throws stones at the convicted individual until that person dies. Traditionally, it is called for in cases of adultery where the (strict) criteria for conviction are met.
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[edit] Overview
In Islamic law, the practice of stoning is a punishment that has been prescribed as proper for married men and women who commit adultery when proof is established, or there is pregnancy, or a confession. Some believe adultery is only proved when four eye witnesses testify that they saw the actual act of sexual intercourse; if all four witnesses cannot prove this requirement, they are liable to punishment of Qazaf. The crime is also proved if one bears witness against his or her own self four times, or if there is a pregnancy.[citation needed]. Some Muslim find it problematic that the Quran does not prescribe stoning as a punishment.
[edit] Practice
Rajm is carried out differently depending upon if the subject is female or male. If the subject is a female, then she is buried up to her chest, and stoned until dead. If the subject is male, then he is buried up to his waist, and stoned until dead. However, if either manages to escape before being killed, the subject is allowed to live. Some critics of stoning claim that it is far more possible for men to escape and live than for women because of the different depth of burial.
Stoning punishments have been considered or handed down recently in Nigeria for the crimes of adultery and sodomy. [1][2]
[edit] Scriptural basis
[edit] Quran
There are six verses in the Quran which mention threats of stoning, against the Muslims (Hanif) of the Quran.
[11:91] They said, "O Shu`aib, we do not comprehend many of the things you are telling us, and we see that you are powerless among us. If it were not for your tribe, we would have stoned you. You have no value for us."
[18:20] "If they discover you, they will stone you, or force you to revert to their religion, then you can never succeed."
[19:46] He said, "Have you forsaken my gods, O Abraham? Unless you stop, I will stone you. Leave me alone."
[26:116] They said, "Unless you refrain, O Noah, you will be stoned."
[36:18] They said, "We consider you bad omens. Unless you refrain, we will surely stone you, or afflict you with painful retribution."
[44:20] And surely I take refuge with my Lord and your Lord that you should stone me to death:''
[edit] Hadith
Among prominent ahadith mentioning stoning is the Hadith of Umar's speech of forbidding Mut'ah and Hadith of the Verse of Rajm. There are also other ahadith regarding stoning.
[edit] Views
One Muslim view is that stoning is the appropriate punishment for adultery committed by a married man or woman with someone who is not legal to him/her. Another view is that it is only applicable to rapists and prostitutes. Other Muslims disagree entirely regarding its legality, arguing that it cannot be found in the Qur'an, and the practice goes against some verses, such as those in Sura an-Nur.
There is disagreement among modernist Islamic thinkers as to the applicability of stoning for adultery, as religious texts often give examples with and without stoning, but the Quran does not prescribe stoning as a punishment for any crime, mentioning only lashing as punishment for adultery. However, traditionalists do not see this as a problem, since hadith can also establish laws which the Qur'an does not mention.[5]
[edit] Javed Ahmad Ghamidi
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Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, a Pakistani Islamic scholar, has examined all[citation needed] hadith related to Rajm in his book Burhan and deals with the issue of Rajm not having been prescribed in the Qur'an, the source which has presidence over the Sunnah for Muslims. Based on principles of Islamic Jurisprudence, particularly that of Shatibi, Sunnah (the recorded ways and the manners of the prophet Muhammad) provides either an explanation of the Qur'an or an addition to the Qur'an.
If it is an explanation, then its status is secondary to the Quran. If it is an addition, than its issue can not have been discussed by the Qur'an.[6][7] Ghamidi concludes that Quranic punishment for Zina in verse [Qur'an 24:2] does not leave a room for another interpretation.[7] He also writes that stoning can only be prescribed for someone who rapes or habitually commits fornication as prostitutes, as it constitutes maleficence in the land and punishable according to verses [Qur'an 5:33].[8] As it is attributed to Muhammad in following hadith:
Acquire it from me, acquire it from me. The Almighty has revealed the directive about women who habitually commit fornication about which He had promised to reveal. If such criminals are unmarried or are the unsophisticated youth, then their punishment is a hundred stripes and exile and if they are widowers or are married, then their punishment is a hundred stripes and death by stoning. Sahih Muslim 1690
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Nigerian scholars promoting Sharia law as support for women's rights. September 13, 2005
- ^ 5th Delay in Nigerian Gay Trial. Two men facing death by stoning for the alleged crime of sodomy .... September 14, 2005
- ^ Kitab Al-Hudud|Book 017, Number 4192
- ^ Kitab Al-Hudud|Book 017, Number 4218
- ^ Probativeness of Sunna [1-3]
- ^ Imam Shatibi. Al-Muwafiqaat fi Usool al-Sharia, 5(4)
- ^ a b Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, Burhan, Al-Mawrid
- ^ Javed Ahmed Ghamidi, Mizan, The Penal Law of Islam, Al-Mawrid
