A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE AND THE LAW OF QISAS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol2iss2pp169-177Abstract
Discussion on penology generally revolves around the philosophy behind the ‘punishment’ and its ‘implementation’ in order to maintain a crime-free, harmonious society. To understand the philosophy of the major school of thoughts for punishment, this paper discusses the theory of retributivism as a punishment mechanism and relates it to Qisas - the theory of punishment that hinges on Islamic criminal law jurisprudence. The objective of this paper is to compare the retributive concept of punishment with the Islamic theory of Qisas and to unravel how Islam attempts to establish justice through punishment while implementing forgiveness. It is significant to note that we can find a nexus between the retributive and Qisas school of theory that perpetrators should be punished as a consequence of the crime or an act that is against norms of the community. Nonetheless, this paper concludes that Qisas is quite distinct from the concept of retributivism in the case of punishment. Whereas the core of the retributive justice system is to put the moral blame on the offender for the offence and to provide justice through similar punishment; the law of Qisas is more concerned with the fairness and forgivingness.
Keywords: Forgiveness, Islamic criminal law, punishment, retributive justice, Qisas
Cite as: Karim, R., Newaz, S., & Kabir, A.I. (2017). A comparative analysis of retributive justice and the law of qisas. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 2(2), 169-177. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol2iss2pp169-177
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