Post-Colonial Discourse on Siyasah in Islamic Criminal Law

Dr. Muhammad Mushtaq Ahmad

Volume 1 Issue 1 | Dec 2019

DOI: 10.31841/KJL.2021.6

Views: 708

Total Downloads: 11

Download PDF

Abstract

In the post-colonial discourse on Islamic criminal law, more often than not the right of Allah has been deemed synonymous to public right and, thus, the doctrine of siyasah as expounded by the Hanafi School has been generally misunderstood . Resultantly, the whole edifice of criminal justice system as developed by Muslim jurists has been turned upside down. One of the reasons for this development is that in the post-colonial discourse, scholars have generally ignored the proper legal manuals, particularly those of the Hanafi School, and have instead focused on works of general political theory. Another reason is that scholars have found it convenient to mix-up the views of the various schools. This paper critically examines this general trend and, then, elaborates the position of the Hanafi School with the help of the work of Imran Ahsan Khan Nyazee, a renowned jurist, who expounded the Hanafi doctrine of siyasah in detail and explained its peculiar nature. Nyazee’s work shows that the Hanafi doctrine of siyasah, if applied properly, can provide better solution to many complicated issues of criminal justice system in the modern world.