The Quest of a Curious Muslim

The Quest of a Curious Muslim — Page 78

WHY ARE ISLAMIC PUNISHMENTS SO STRICT? 78 where the motives are evil? Are they given out rarely? The answer is provided by Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad rh in his book, The Relationship between Religion & Politics in Islam. For those interested in a thorough understanding of this topic, this book is strongly recommended for reading. In this book, Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad rh argues that imposing Shariah has practical issues that would need resolution. For instance, there are so many interpretations, of so many different sects. Whose interpretation would apply? In fact, most Shariah matters are confined to the individual with no g o v e r n m e n t r e q u i r e d t o “ i m p o s e ” s u c h requirements. They are a natural expression of the free individual’s devotion to his/her faith. As far as the strict punishments are concerned, they first require an environment to be created as was done by every Prophet. Once a pious and healthy environment has been created, the society becomes ready for the imposing of certain strict rules. At such a time, strict punishments would be meted out very rarely, if at all, and would mostly serve as a deterrent.