Crime and Punishment (Islam) Flashcards
What is Hadith?
The sayings of the Prophet Muhammad
What is Justice?
- It is the due allocation of reward and punishment, the maintenance of right
- Justice means rewarding the good and punishing the bad, and making sure that what is right is what happens in society
What are Laws?
rules made by Parliament and enforceable by the courts
What is a perpetrator?
one who commits a crime
What is a victim?
one who has suffered from a crime
Why is justice important for Muslims?
- The Qur’an describes God as just.
- The Qur’an says that God wants people to treat each other fairly and to establish justice.
- There are many Hadith in which Muhammad is shown as acting justly and/or telling Muslims to treat everyone justly and equally.
- Equality before the law is one of the basic principles of the Islamic justice system. Justice has to be distributed with fairness, even it it goes against one’s own self or one’s parents or relatives and whether it goes against the rich or in favour of the poor.
- Muslims believe that all people should have equal rights before the law and that Muslims should work for a fairer sharing of the earth’s resources. The pillar of zakah and the work of groups such as Muslim Aid and Islamic Relief all try to bring justice into the world.
What are the non-religious attitudes to justice?
Justice is important for atheists and Humanists because a just society has laws which:
- ensure that people can work and be involved in business without someone taking away all the rewards of their work
- make sure that everyone behaves fairly to each other and that innocent people are protected from violence
- are upheld by courts and the police to ensure that all members of society obey the law.
Why is justice important for the victim (overall)?
- Victims of crime can suffer physically, financially and emotionally.
- Victims feel it is important that justice is done so that the hurt they have suffered is recognised by society and the perpetrator pays for their crime.
Why do Muslims believe that justice is important for the victim?
- Islam teaches that justice should always be given and as the victim is totally innocent, justice can only be given when the victim receives justice.
- Islam teaches that the victims of crime should be compensated based on what is written in the Qur’an and making the criminal compensate their victim helps to give the victim justice.
- The fact that God commands Muslims to be just means that the unjust must be punished so that their victims are given justice.
What are 3 SofAs for Justice?
- Surah 16 says that God commands justice and the doing of good from Muslims.
- Surah 49 says ‘And act justly. Truly, God loves those who are just’.
- Surah 4 says that Muslims should stand up for justice even if it means acting against parents or relatives.
What is acquisitive crime?
crimes such as stealing and burglary where the criminal wants to acquire someone else’s property
What is Cybercrime?
criminal activities carried out by means of computers or the internet
What are khalifahs?
Allah’s stewards or vicegerents
What is a madrasah?
religious school or college
What is a crime?
- A crime is an act act against the law, and laws are rules made about how members of society are expected to behave.
- The law is upheld by courts and the police to ensure that all members of society obey it.
- Crime in the UK is classified as acquisitive crime (such as burglary), violent crime (ranging from minor assaults to murder) and cybercrime (crime committed on the internet)
What are the causes of crime?
- Poverty is likely to lead people to crime. There is far more crime in poor areas than in rich areas and three-quarters of people convicted in 2008 had made a claim for out-of-work benefits.
- Upbringing and family background have a major effect on the likelihood of people committing crimes. People in prison are far more likely to have been in care, experienced abuse, been expelled from school or have family members who have been in prison, compared to the rest of the population.
- Alcohol and drugs are closely connected with crime. It has been suggested that between a third and a half of all acquisitive crime is related to illegal drug use. Drunkenness is associated with a majority of murders, manslaughters and stabbings.
- Sociological research shows a link between low self-esteem and criminal offending. Criminals in prison for drug offences and those with extensive criminal histories seem to have significantly lower self esteem than the average.
How do Muslims deal with the issue of poverty in order to reduce crime?
- Islam tries to deal with the issue of poverty by banning interest in money lending (poverty is often made worse by high interest rates, which means some people become so desperate the turn to crime);
- encouraging Muslims to share their wealth;
- banning gambling which can drive people into poverty;
- using zakah to help poor Muslims in the UK;
- and encouraging Muslims to support policies aimed at removing poverty.
How do Muslims deal with the issue of upbringing and family background in order to reduce crime?
- Islam helps parents to fulfil their
duties as Muslim parents. - Muslim parents will be judged by God on how well they have brought up their children, so Muslim parents teach their children the difference between right and wrong and make sure they go to the madrasah.
- Many mosques provide family advice and support if parents have problems.
How do Muslims deal with the issue of alchohol in order to reduce crime?
Alcohol and drugs should not be a problem for Muslim families because they are prohibited for Muslims (haram), being banned by the Qur’an and hadith.
How do Muslims deal with the issue of low self-esteem in order to reduce crime?
Muslims know they are the khalifahs of God and have been given the task of looking after the world in the way God wants, so they should never suffer from low self-esteem.
How does Islam try to prevent criminals re-offending?
- the Muslim Chaplains’ Association which supports Muslim prison chaplains in their work of providing care in prisons and helping with the resettlement of prisoners and prevention of re-offending upon release
- the mentoring programme, Mosaic, which provides support to Muslim prisoners in the six months prior to their release from prison and for at least six months post-release to help them find employment and accommodation, and to help them with any problems they may have
What are the 2 SofAs about Crime?
- Surah 16 says that God commands justice, the doing of good and generosity.
- Surah 5 says that Muslims must have nothing to do with
intoxicants (alcohol and drugs) and gambling.
What is Fard?
actions which must be performed for a person to be regarded as good
What does Haram mean?
that which is forbidden
What is Mandub?
actions which a Muslim will be rewarded for doing, but will not be punished for not doing
What is moral evil?
actions done by humans which cause suffering.
What is natural evil?
things which cause suffering but have nothing to do with humans
What does Omnibenevolent mean?
the belief that God is all-good
What does Omnipotent mean?
the belief that God is all-powerful
What is the nature of good actions in Islam?
All good actions are known as ‘halal’ meaning that which is permitted’ and Muslim scholars have subdivided good actions into two groups:
- Fard actions
- Mandub actions
Islam teaches that those who perform good actions will be
rewarded on the Day of Judgement by God sending them to paradise for eternity.
What are Fard actions?
- Fard actions must be performed for a person to be regarded as good.
- They include obeying Shari’ ah laws and observing the Five Pillars.
- Carrying out fard actions means a Muslim will be rewarded; not performing them will result in punishment.
What are Mandub actions?
Mandub actions are those that Muslims will be rewarded for carrying out, but will not be punished for failing to carry out
What is the nature of evil actions in Islam?
- Evil actions are called ‘haram’, meaning ‘that which is forbidden’.
- Any action which is forbidden in the Quran, the hadith or the Shariah, is haram and will be punished by God at the final judgement.
What are non-religious attitudes to evil and suffering?
- Many non-religious people believe that evil and suffering exist because of the nature of the world.
- The suffering brought by things like diseases, floods and earthquakes (natural evil) are just part of how the world is.
- The evil brought by humans, such as crime and war (moral evil), is caused by humans being greedy, selfish and bigoted.
- They believe that evil and suffering is a good reason for not believing in God because no good God would have created a world with diseases, floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc.
Why does evil and suffering causes a problem for Muslims?
- if God is omnipotent, he must be able to remove evil and suffering from the world
- if God is omnibenevolent, he must want to remove evil and suftering from the world because they cause so much unhappiness
Therefore, if God exists, there should be no evil or suffering in the world.
Why do Muslims believe there is evil and suffering?
- Muslims believe that God is omnipotent and omnibenevolent, so there must be a good reason for evil and suffering, but humans are not able to understand
it. God is so much greater than humans that humans must just accept what God does. The Quran says Iblis defied God but he was allowed to try to tempt humans to choose wrong rather than right until the Day of Judgement. - Evil and suffering test people’s belief in Islam and a true Muslim will remain faithful through the trials of this life, and be rewarded with eternity in paradise. The faithful should not ask why there is evil and suffering. Instead, they should accept it as God’s will.
- However, Islam also teaches that Muslims should try to remove evil and suffering from the world. Muslims respond to evil and suffering by helping those who suffer, either practically or by prayer, because helping the suffering and fighting evil will be rewarded by God on the Last Day.
