Question

Salaam in a situation where a outsider has sent explicit messages to a sister, how should the situation be dealt with. This situation occurred recently and the person got beaten up badly. However the beaten boy denied he did anything like that before and after the beating. After I had seen the beaten boys face I felt that the beating that took place was wrong. So my question here is what is the Islamic method of dealing with a situation like this and if beating a person becomes permitted how much of a beating can you give that person assuming you have full evidence of the action taking place. I ask you this question because many youngsters who are affiliated with the street life use Islam and it’s right on revenge to justify their actions as what had happened in this situation. Jazkallah

Answer

Islam does not permit a person to take revenge themselves for matters such as the one stated in your question. The matter has to be referred to and resolved by the legal system of that country. In a Muslim state, this would ensure that an investigation is carried out, evidence is gathered and then if found guilty a suitable punishment is given, all within the framework of shari’ah. If living in a non-Muslim country even though the matter might not be dealt with according to the framework of shari’ah, however, the matter would still have to be referred to the legal system of the country, otherwise if one takes matters into their own hands, they run the risk of being prosecuted themselves. If the matter was left to individuals to execute a suitable punishment then there will undoubtedly be cases of excessive retribution, as can be seen in the case in question.

Answered by:
Ifta Research Fellow

Checked & Approved by:
Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Zubair Patel