The Quran accepts the death penalty for murder---however the right to Justice belongs to the victim's family and so, they must decide if this is the degree of punishment they want to satisfy justice---other options the Quran recommends are compensation or forgiveness. In today's sharia---the state decides the punishment.
The Quranic concept of Justice has 3 systems of Justice:-1) Restorative Justice, 2)Retributive Justice and 3) Deterrent Justice)
The Sharia today emphasizes only Retributive Justice and often in the harshest possible manner. The Quranic system emphasizes the quality of God's compassion and mercy. The Quran also emphasizes balance and harmony (God created everything in Balance and harmony)---So Justice has to be balanced by Compassion and Mercy otherwise it becomes harsh and oppressive leading to injustice.
Because Sharia is aligned with the state and a corrupt government is aligned with the elite and the privileged, laws favor the privileged and are harsh towards the underprivileged. The Quran promotes equality (all human beings are of equivalent value) and responsibility---those who are privileged have a responsibility/obligation towards the underprivileged. Justice (and therefore law) have an obligation to protect the weak, the underprivileged, the marginalized of society.
In many such ways, the Sharia practiced today is very far from the ethico-moral principles of the Quran. However, Quranic ethico-moral principles are not limited to Law alone but also encompass the area of socio-economics. In other words---Justice cannot be attained simply through the application of ethico-moral principles in law alone---but must be wholistic and be implemented in both economic and social policies.
The Quranic concept of Justice has 3 systems of Justice:-1) Restorative Justice, 2)Retributive Justice and 3) Deterrent Justice)
The Sharia today emphasizes only Retributive Justice and often in the harshest possible manner. The Quranic system emphasizes the quality of God's compassion and mercy. The Quran also emphasizes balance and harmony (God created everything in Balance and harmony)---So Justice has to be balanced by Compassion and Mercy otherwise it becomes harsh and oppressive leading to injustice.
Because Sharia is aligned with the state and a corrupt government is aligned with the elite and the privileged, laws favor the privileged and are harsh towards the underprivileged. The Quran promotes equality (all human beings are of equivalent value) and responsibility---those who are privileged have a responsibility/obligation towards the underprivileged. Justice (and therefore law) have an obligation to protect the weak, the underprivileged, the marginalized of society.
In many such ways, the Sharia practiced today is very far from the ethico-moral principles of the Quran. However, Quranic ethico-moral principles are not limited to Law alone but also encompass the area of socio-economics. In other words---Justice cannot be attained simply through the application of ethico-moral principles in law alone---but must be wholistic and be implemented in both economic and social policies.
Comment