Islamic Law- Hudood
HUDOOD
Hudood derived from the word ‘Hadd’ is often used in Islamic literature for the bounds of acceptable behavior and the punishments for serious crimes. In Islamic law or Sharia, hudood usually refers to the class of punishments that are fixed for certain crimes that are considered to be "claims of God." They include theft, fornication, consumption of alcohol, and adultery. These offences are specifically mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah. However shortly after coming into power in 1979, General Zia ul-Haq began to Islamize the Pakistan legal system. One measure used to convert Pakistan into an Islamic state was the introduction of hadd offences—those offences for which the Quran prescribed fixed punishments—into the criminal law.
In 1979, General Zia promulgated a series of ordinances which were to revolutionize the legal system of Pakistan. Zia had come to power in 1977 in a coup d’etat which had toppled the government of PM Zulfikar Bhutto. In 1984, Zia had himself confirmed as President of Pakistan by a referendum, which also gave him a mandate to Islamize the legal system of Pakistan. The ordinances introduced into the legal system of Pakistan were ostensibly Islamic criminal laws. As a result, theft, consumption of intoxicants including alcohol, extra-marital sex including rape, and making false allegations of adultery were all governed by Islamic criminal law. Until 1979 these offenses had been governed by the purely secular Pakistan Penal Code— legislation enacted in 1860 by the British colonial government and later adopted by Pakistan at the time of independence in 1947. Adultery and fornication had not been criminal offenses at all.
Zia’s attempt to make the legal system of Pakistan more Islamic was based largely on political motives. Communal tensions and riots in the 1940s reached such threatening proportion that the colonial rulers eventually agreed to the demand of the Muslim League. On August 15, 1947, British India was divided into the
Hudood derived from the word ‘Hadd’ is often used in Islamic literature for the bounds of acceptable behavior and the punishments for serious crimes. In Islamic law or Sharia, hudood usually refers to the class of punishments that are fixed for certain crimes that are considered to be "claims of God." They include theft, fornication, consumption of alcohol, and adultery. These offences are specifically mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah. However shortly after coming into power in 1979, General Zia ul-Haq began to Islamize the Pakistan legal system. One measure used to convert Pakistan into an Islamic state was the introduction of hadd offences—those offences for which the Quran prescribed fixed punishments—into the criminal law.
In 1979, General Zia promulgated a series of ordinances which were to revolutionize the legal system of Pakistan. Zia had come to power in 1977 in a coup d’etat which had toppled the government of PM Zulfikar Bhutto. In 1984, Zia had himself confirmed as President of Pakistan by a referendum, which also gave him a mandate to Islamize the legal system of Pakistan. The ordinances introduced into the legal system of Pakistan were ostensibly Islamic criminal laws. As a result, theft, consumption of intoxicants including alcohol, extra-marital sex including rape, and making false allegations of adultery were all governed by Islamic criminal law. Until 1979 these offenses had been governed by the purely secular Pakistan Penal Code— legislation enacted in 1860 by the British colonial government and later adopted by Pakistan at the time of independence in 1947. Adultery and fornication had not been criminal offenses at all.
Zia’s attempt to make the legal system of Pakistan more Islamic was based largely on political motives. Communal tensions and riots in the 1940s reached such threatening proportion that the colonial rulers eventually agreed to the demand of the Muslim League. On August 15, 1947, British India was divided into the