Islamic criminal laws are one of the subjects criticized by the converts. Islam says that if a man kills another man, the murderer must be killed. If one's part is damaged by another, the same part of the person who damaged must be damaged. Islam tells us to enforce strict laws that require amputation of hands for stealing.
Alternative religions who disagree with Islam also criticize these laws. What a terrible thing! Isn't it barbaric to ask him to cut off his hand for stealing? Isn't capital punishment for adultery inhumane? Do these cruel inhumane laws apply in a time when man has gone to the top of civilization? They are raising questions.
Criminals must be punished. They also say that as Islam says. Give severe punishments? Give less severe punishments? That is why they are at odds with Islam. Let us examine which of the two types of punishment is intellectual.
We can come to the right conclusion on this matter only if we understand the purpose of the provision that a criminal should be punished.
Killing murderers is not going to bring back the life of the already killed. Capital punishment for rapist will not restore the lost chastity. In some crimes related to economy, such as theft, what is lost can sometimes be found, but in most crimes, the culprit is punished, so there is no benefit to the victim. From this it can be understood that the purpose of punishments is not to recover what has been lost.
So what is the reason why criminals should be punished?
Punishment given to the offender should deter him from committing the offense again and again.
The punishment meted out to one criminal should make others afraid to commit the crime.
A victim of a criminal must believe that he has received justice. He should be satisfied.
There can be no other reason to punish the criminals except these three. Dissenters will not deny that these are the purposes for which criminals are punished.
Prisons, police stations and courts have been established all over the world so that those who have committed crimes do not commit crimes again and those who want to commit crimes do not come close to it. No government in the world says that criminals should not be punished.
It is not certain whether the governments which have been providing various punishments against crimes have succeeded in this objective.
This is because no country's law is strong enough to deter the perpetrator and the perpetrator. Not only that, a person who sees the facilities provided to criminals, if we also commit a crime, we can enjoy those facilities.
If the current lenient forms of punishment were replaced with strict, severe penalties, these intellectuals would experience the practical benefits firsthand. Only then would they cease their criticism of Islamic law.
Some ask, "If a thief's hand is amputated immediately upon capture, and he is later proven innocent, can the lost hand ever be restored?"
Islam does not advocate for hasty or impulsive punishment; it mandates that punishment be administered only after the crime has been proven. For instance, the crime of adultery—which carries the death penalty—must be established through the testimony of four direct witnesses. If fewer than four witnesses testify to the act, Islam orders that those who made the accusation be punished with eighty lashes. The truth is that under the Islamic system of governance, while some offenders might manage to escape due to a lack of adequate evidence, it is impossible for the innocent to be punished.