Only a State that Governs by the Laws of Allah will Protect Muslim Lives

News:

SARGODHA, PAKISTAN: The Sargodha police on Wednesday said the prime suspect in a recent murder case of a seven-year-old girl was killed “by his accomplices’ firing” during an alleged encounter with the Crime Control Department (CCD) after he allegedly escaped police custody. (Dawn)

Comment:

In the last one month, the people of Pakistan have witnessed multiple publicised cases of crimes against women. A father killed his daughter, a husband killed his wife, a male friend brought a female friend to the hospital emergency room, where she was later declared dead, a hospital employee threw acid on a female doctor’s face on duty and a shopkeeper killed an innocent 7-year-old girl to teach her father a lesson.

The pattern displays two things. First, that even the most trustworthy have fallen down from their rank. Secondly, that power is actually and terribly corrupting. The accused of the recent case has been murdered in a police encounter and this may have given a bit of relief to the girl's parents and family. But relief and revenge are not justice. Islam demands that punishment be made through an Islamic State and in lines with Allah’s (swt) law. Justice can only be delivered by a state that governs by the laws of Allah, and does not rule by man-made law.

Pakistan’s Punjab province is particularly notorious for these extra judicial killings. They have been used to assassinate common criminals, mob bosses, student leaders, and political activists. The purpose is not to deliver just punishment. It is to create an illusion that something is being “done” and the government is in-action. The reality is that the CCD (Crime Control Department) and other law enforcement agencies act as a mafia. They are involved in killing innocents, enforcing the illicit and illegal demands of the government, and every now and then they will deliver such extra judicial justice to keep the people quiet by faking the concept of accountability, while the criminal rackets keep working and crime keeps thriving.

We all remember the Zainab Ansari case from 2018 and we all have access to Human Rights Commission reports on the child sexual abuse scandal of Kasur district, which involved hundreds of children and was backed by influentials with the support in the Government. These CCD encounters are not aimed to eradicate crime but to keep giving an impression of being in action.

Along with anger, there are a variety of reactions from people. Some chose to put the blame on males, as if it is a faulty creation and is bound to act wild, some blamed the parents who let their 7 years old daughter go out alone, and some blamed the wrong upbringing of the criminal. No one blamed the society where the rule of power prevails over the rule of law. Crimes in the society are not gender based but based on abuse of power. Women and children being physically vulnerable often fall victim to these crimes and often by the ones who were supposed to protect them.

History has examples of nations being perished for harming Muslim women. How the Prophet (saw) dealt with Bani Qainuqa is an example of how Muslim men dealt with any injustice inflicted on Muslim women. Hajaj bin Yusuf sent Muhammad bin Qasim to Sindh and the doors of India opened to Islam. Mutassim Billah shook the heart and core of Byzantine to help a woman in distress. These are all examples of Allah-fearing Muslim men who broke the hands that came to harm Muslim women and changed the fate of nations and enlightened them with the light of Islam. Thus, the accusation that Muslim women are in any kind of danger from Muslim men has been proven wrong. Both Muslim men and women are in danger because of the system that prevents them from implementing the teachings of Islam and the systems of Islam. The implementation of Islamic punishments and removal of man-made law is the only way to eliminate crime from society.

‏‏It was narrated from `Ubadah bin Samit that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: «أَقِيمُوا حُدُودَ اللَّهِ فِي الْقَرِيبِ وَالْبَعِيدِ وَلاَ تَأْخُذْكُمْ فِي اللَّهِ لَوْمَةُ لاَئِمٍ» “Carry out the legal punishments on relatives and strangers, and do not let the fear of blame stop you from carrying out the command of Allah (swt)”. Also RasulAllah (saw) warned the Muslims by saying  ...«إِنَّمَا أَهْلَكَ الَّذِينَ قَبْلَكُمْ أَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا إِذَا سَرَقَ فِيهِمْ الشَّرِيفُ تَرَكُوهُ وَإِذَا سَرَقَ فِيهِمْ الضَّعِيفُ أَقَامُوا عَلَيْهِ الْحَدَّ وَايْمُ اللَّهِ لَوْ أَنَّ فَاطِمَةَ بِنْتَ مُحَمَّدٍ سَرَقَتْ لَقَطَعْتُ يَدَهَا»“The people before you were ruined because when a noble person amongst them committed theft, they would leave him, but if a weak person amongst them committed theft, they would execute the legal punishment on him. By Allah, were Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad, to commit the theft, I would have cut off her hand.’’ [Bukhari]

Our beloved Prophet (saw) left examples of justice by practicing and implementing it and the rightly guided Khulafa followed in his footsteps. It is only Khilafah (Caliphate) on the method of the Prophethood that will again rule by the laws of Allah (swt) and only that rule will give people relief and justice.