Qatl (Homicide) and Qasas (Law of Equality) in Islam; A Predicament of Crime Taxonomy under Hudud in Islamic Criminal Law

Abstract

This study focuses on the idea of ‘limit’ is thus basic both to the literal as well as the technical meanings of ḥadd. The classification of ḥadd as the right of Allah signifies that it is meant to be a mandatory punishment which requires fulfillment and no one, including the victim, judge, legislator or ruler has the authority to decrease, increase, alter, pardon or suspend it. The punishment of qisās is not ḥadd because it has been fixed as the right of individuals and it is for this reason that it can be pardoned by the victim or his heirs. Ḥadd also means the crime for which punishment has been fixed either by the Holy Qur’an or Sunnah of the Prophet as the right of Allah. Qatl (Homicide) is completely forbidden in Islamic law and is a crime punishable by Islam, capital punishment is reserved for the most extreme crimes: those that harm individual victims or destabilize society. Despite the fact that in contemporary days many Islamic laws are not been practice and also change, among them equating Qatl (Homicide). The methodological approach used in this paper is descriptive, prescriptive and annalistic; meanwhile the method of data collection is empirical.

Keywords: Hadd (Punishment), Islamic Law, Qatl (Homicide), Qasas (Law of Equality)