Peace and God's blessing be upon you...
Some Christians and Jews accuse Islam of being a cruel religion that imposes cruel crime penalties and contradicts the principles of the modern world of democracy and freedom. Some people say that the laws of the Islamic sharia are inhuman, humiliating and out-of-date. In this thread, we'll make a comparison between the crime penalties in the Islamic Sharia, and those in the Bible.
1- Death penalty
A- Murder (Homicide):-
(The Bible)
The fifth of the Ten Commandments mentioned in the book of Exodus, chapter 20 says:
"Thou shalt not kill" (Ex. 20:13). Furthermore, If someone kills an innocent person deliberately (with malice aforethought), he will be put to death according to the Mosaic law. As the book of Numbers (35:31) says:
"Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of
death: but he shall be surely put to death".
The book of Exodus (21:22-23) says also:-
"And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe."
- The book of Leviticus (24:17) says:-
"And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death"
- The book of Deuteronomy (19:21) says:-
"And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot."
(Islam)
Al Qisas "Retaliation" is one of the basic principles of f the Islamic law, as God says in Sura 2 (Al Baqarah - The Heifer), Verse 178:-
"O ye who believe, equivalence is the law decreed for ye when dealing with murder - the free for the free, the slave for the slave, the female for the female. If one is pardoned by the victim's kin, an appreciative response is in order, and an equitable compensation shall be paid. This is an alleviation from thine Lord and mercy. Anyone who transgresses beyond this incurs a painful retribution"
B- Apostasy and Blasphemy:-
(The Bible)
- Monotheism is the cornerstone of the religions based on the Bible (Judaism and Christianity) , as the first of the Ten Commandments says (Exodus 20: 2-3):-
"I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
- If someone blasphemes and curses God , he will be put to death according to the book of Leviticus (24:16) which says:-
"And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD,he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death."
- The book of Deuteronomy (17:2-5) says:-
"If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant,. And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;. And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel. Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die."
(Islam)
- Worshiping Allah , the Single and Omnipotent God, is the basis of Islam. He who doesn't worship God and believe i him will be punished severely in the hereafter (judgement day).
- In Sahih Al Bukhari, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said:-
"The blood of a Muslim, who confesses that there is no god but Allâh, cannot be shed except in three cases: 1. Life for life (in cases of intentional murders without right i.e., in Al-Qisas – Law of Equality in punishment); 2. A married person who commits illegal sexual intercourse; and 3. The one who turns renegade from Islam (apostate) and leaves the group of Muslims."
- Only those who were born into pure Muslim family will be put to death for apostasy. If a 'pure' Muslim committed apostasy, Islamic scholars should advise him three times gently and wisely not to abandon Islam. If he didn't do so, he would be put to death. But if somebody embraced Islam and then abandoned it, he wouldn't be put to death (but God will punish him in the 'world to come')
C- Transgressing God's covenant and working on the Holy Sabbath (Saturday)
( The Bible)
- In the Bible, God sanctified the seventh day (The Holy Sabbath) and ordered the
Israelite not to work on it - which is the fourth of the Ten Commandments, as the book
of Exodus (20:8-11) says:-
" Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates"
- If someone transgresses God's covenant and worked on the Holy Sabbath, he will be put to death, as what happened to the woodcutter whose story is told in the book of Numbers (15:32-36):-
" And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.
D- Cursing or beating one's parents
(The Bible)
- In the Bible, one's parents are held cherished and venerated, as the sixth of the Ten
Commandments says (Exodus 20:12) :-
"Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
- If someone beats or curses one of his parents, he will be put to death according to
Exodus (21: 15-17) :-
" And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.
.......And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death."
E- Kidnapping people and selling them as slaves
- The book of Exodus (21:16) says:-
" And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death."
F- Sorcery, Occultism, Necromancy...etc
(In the Bible)
- Of course witchcraft and all these practices have close ties with paganism, polytheism and apostasy, for this God ordered Moses to kill all sorcerers and occultists, as the book of Exodus (22:18) says:-
"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."
- The book of Deuteronomy (17:2-5) says:-
"There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer."
(In Islam)
- God prohibited all kinds of sorcery and witchcraft, as the Holy Koran says:-
“And indeed they knew that the buyers of it (magic) would have no share in the Hereafter. And how bad indeed was that for which they sold their own selves, if they but knew.” (Quran 2:102)
- Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said:-
‘Kill every sorcerer, for this is the punishment ordained by Allah.’
G- Fornication, adultery and Incest
(In the Bible)
- The eighth of the Ten Commandments says:-
"Thou shalt not commit adultery"
- The book of Leviticus (20:10) says:-
"And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death."
-Committing adultery, getting involved in incestuous sex, and rape (such sexual crimes) are considered as "abominations" to the Lord in both the Bible and the Holy Koran. Thus, those who commit such crimes should be put to death according to the Mosaic law.
(In Islam)
- God forbids Muslims to commit adultery. In other words, Muslims shouldn't get involved in any kind of extramarital sex, whatever the circumstances. The Holy Koran says: -
"Do not go near to adultery. Surely it is a shameful deed and evil, opening roads (to other evils)."[Quran 17:32]"
- In the Islamic law, an unmarried person who commits adultery or fornication is punished by flogging 100 times; a married person, however, may receive the heavier punishment of stoning to death if convicted of adultery.
F- Homosexuality
(In the Bible)
- There's no doubt that Homosexuality is and abhorrent sin. For this, those who commit sodomy should be put to death. The book of Leviticus (20:13) says :-
"If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them"
(In Islam)
- The residents of Sodom and Gomorrah were punished severely by God for their infidelity and getting involved in homosexual intercourse. In Sunan al Tirmidhi, there's a hadith in which prophet Muhammad says :-
"Whoever you find committing the sin of the people of Lut (Lot), kill them, both the one who does it and the one to whom it is done."
G- Zoophilia (intercourse between Human and animals)
- In the bible, those who indulge in intercourse with animals should be put to death. The book of Leviticus (20:15-16) says:-
" And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast. And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them."
2- Cutting hands
(In the bible)
- If two men quarreled with each other, and the wife of one of them seized the genitals and her husband's adversary and damaged them, her hand should be cut off. The book of Deuteronomy (25:11-12) says :-
"When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draweth near for to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets:Then thou shalt cut off her hand, thine eye shall not pity her."
(In Islam)
- If a wealthy person (not a poor or a needy one) stole something, his hand should be cut off. The Holy Koran says:-
“[As for] the thief, the male and the female, amputate their hands in recompense for what they earned [i.e. committed] as a deterrent [punishment] from Allah. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.” [Quran 5:38]
In the end, we can say that the crime penalties in Islam of execution, cutting hands and retaliation also exist in the Bible; which makes it clear that the Holy Koran is the word of God whose laws are of divine source, not a savage and cruel one as some people may claim. In both Bible and the Holy Koran, God imposed on those who commit the previously-mentioned abhorrent crimes such penalties in order to create a peaceful society free of evil and crime. However, God forgives those who commit such crimes if they feel regret for them and atone for their sins; as God is the most merciful, the most compassionate.
The End