"Chop off his hands or else he will do the same again."
The question any thoughtful person will ask is,
"Is it a viable solution ?"
Amongst different theories of punishment, here we will be concerned with two only. One is the Theory of Deterrence & the other is Preventive Theory. Cutting the hands of the thief falls in the former category, its aim being to put the terror of law in the minds of offenders, to prevent commission of similar crimes in future.
In Pakistan, the system in practice is Preventive (except for crimes falling under Hudood Laws), the idea behind this system is to keep the offender away from the society. The offenders are punished with death, imprisonment of life, transportation of life etc.
Whether they no longer remain a danger to society after completing their term in prison is debatable because that is the aim of Reformative System not Preventive System.
Now, coming to the Deterrent Theory, first of all deterrent punishments are to be doled out by the state. Mob justice is a mockery of all the norms of both natural & legal justice. Deterrent punishments are carried out in front of the public. But, before meting out justice in this form certain factors must be considered.
Many people, who don't have the slightest idea of the Islamic Legal System, point fingers that the punishments under Islamic Law are unjustly severe. On the surface, it may seem true that a person who steals (in most cases out of dire need), should not be deprived of his hand. But it is pertinent to note that before Islamic Legal System was enforced, the Muslims had to fulfil certain other obligations. One such obligation was the payment of Zakat. Zakat was made obligatory in the 2nd year after Hijrah (migration to medina). It is determined based on the amount of wealth acquired; the greater one's assets, the greater the tax. Owing to the system of Zakat and other checks put on to ensure the circulation of wealth, social and economic justice was established during the early years of the 1st Muslim State. After that, the Islamic Penal System came into force.
So after the poor due had been paid, people were no longer starving. Nobody was stealing owing to the fact that his physical being was in jeopardy. But still, there were people who would steal out of greed. Although the basic needs of almost all the people had been catered for by the Islamic System of Social Justice, there were many who would steal to fill their purse. Such people had to be dealt with severely & hence came the punishment of chopping off hand(s). An example had to be made out of those who were willing to deprive people of their hard earned coin or commodities, for the sake of their mundane lust.
An important event can further clarify the issue under consideration. During the reign of 2nd pious Caliph, Umar(R.A.), the land was hit by a severe drought. Many poor people turned to stealing bread, so the Caliph ordered the punishment of cutting hands to be deferred during such harsh times.
Islamic punishments are not cruel but they are made to appear so by the so called 'Imposers of Shariah.' They have distorted the real image of Islam and they are not ready to listen to any reasonable voice. How can one impose a Penal System over others without fulfilling the pre-requisites of that system?
The media has further aggravated the situation by giving such an ignorant minority so much coverage. It is incumbent upon moderate and secular minded Muslims to counter the threat the extremists pose to the religion of Islam. Only through a collective effort can we project a positive image of Islam and remove the misconceptions that have creeped up in the heads of International Community.
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