Restorative justice: the implementation in the Islamic criminal law according to the Qur’an and Hadith of the Prophet (S.A.W.)

• Main Authors: Ab Aziz, Norjihan, Hussin, Nasimah
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: KBP Islamic Law; KBP1 Islamic law.Shariah.Fiqh
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/47821/1/47821.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/47821/; http://swatfpqs.usim.edu.my/

Restorative justice is a diversion of a traditional criminal justice system which aims to restore whatever has been affected by the victim caused by the crime. Restorative justice emphasizes more on direct responsibility of the accused towards the victim such as to pay compensation to the victim, or to seek forgiveness from the victim rather than punishing the offender for an offence that he had committed. In fact, restorative justice has long existed in Islam as provided in numerous verses of Qur’an and hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (s.’a.w.) where in certain criminal cases, the victim and the accused are encouraged to resolve criminal cases among themselves instead of referring to the authority. Since restorative justice benefits the accused, the victim and the community, recently, restorative justice has been recognized by the United Nation as part of criminal justice system. Hence, this article aims to examine the definition and the concept of restorative justice. This research will analyze the authority of restorative justice in the Qur’an and hadith of the Prophet (s.’a.w.) and how it is implemented in Pakistan and Sudan. The discussion will also include the position of restorative justice in Malaysia.