DOES having power justify one's actions, no matter what they are? Can a judge give a sentence without considering its consequences? Such questions haunt me when I think about the number of lashes that some judges stipulate in the name of Tazeer. In Islam, there are three basic kinds of judgment codes: Hadd, Qasas and Tazeer. In the well-known Arabic dictionary Lisan Al-Arab, Tazeer means to punish in order to prevent the offender from committing the same crime again. Another dictionary, Almuheet, defines Tazeer similarly. Tazeer generally covers crimes for which there is no specific ruling in Islam, and the punishment is less serious than that of Hadd. Other dictionaries, such as Alma'ani, Alwaseet and the Modern Arabic dictionary, specify Tazeer as punishment that is less serious than Hadd. The word can also indicate respect and glorification, but its root generally connotes discipline. Abi Burdah Al-Ansari related in a Hadith that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) specified that a judge should not sentence a guilty man to more than 10 lashes, although this is disputed by some. Others say that the maximum number of lashes is 99, but this is under very limited circumstances, and surely not when the person being tried is innocent. I once heard that a judge sentenced three men to be severely lashed, jailed and fined, even though there was evidence which suggested that they were innocent. I was flabbergasted to read the judge's ruling. According to the verdict, the first defendant was to be flogged 100 times, pay SR50,000, and be imprisoned for one year. The man was elderly, over 70 years old, and could have died had the sentence been carried out. The two other defendants received punishment that was even more severe. Luckily, in the elderly man's case, he was exempted from being flogged or going to prison, although his fine was not waived. His family was so relieved that they did not mind paying the fine in order to save their father from misery and shame. This disheartening story is just one example of how power can be abused, and shows how people who are supposed to provide justice are sometimes unjust themselves. I have looked for a justification for such actions, but to no avail. Judges have been known to sentence people to up to 1,000 lashes! To correct this injustice, my suggestion is that if it is proved that a judge has given an unjust sentence, he should be given the same number of lashes that he had stipulated for the innocent defendant. Maybe this will prevent judges from abusing their power.— The writer can be reached at [email protected]
