The Bible speaks about hudud laws — Stephen Ng

APRIL 30 — Many of my Muslim friends will be surprised to learn that in the Bible, Jesus spoke about the hudud laws.

I quote from Matthew 5:27-29, where Jesus said: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”

This is as far as it goes. Like anything else, if it is quoted out of context, it can mean a whole world of difference. By now, most of us would have either lost an eye, a leg or a hand. We would all be limping around, and wearing the pirate’s eye pad on one eye, and the stigma would have prevented us from looking for a job to turn on a new leaf.

It is not the woman who commits adultery that should be stoned, but even the man who marries more than one wife, Jesus calls it ‘adultery.’ I quote: “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce. But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

Such is the standard of God’s law. Technically, none of us can escape the punishment is meted out against sin. All of us have sinned in one way or another.

Here, we are reminded of Jesus’ words time and again: “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7). And we are told that at that juncture, Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground, apparently every sin that was committed by the so-called ‘righteous’ men who wanted to stone the prostitute who pleaded to Jesus for mercy.

The reason why Christians do not practise the hudud laws is because we see it in a bigger context of things by which we interpret what appears to be ‘hudud’-like laws. This is the context (as expounded in Romans 5:18): “For if, by the trespass of the one man (i.e. Adam), death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!”

We are no longer under the laws that lead to death, but under the grace of God which leads to life. Therefore, what Jesus said about the way a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has committed a sin that allegorically, he should in fact, “gouge out the eye that causes him to stumble.”

But because we are under grace, we talk about God’s forgiveness. While there is a room for the criminal justice system, the way we deal with a wrongdoing is different. We talk about repentance and God’s forgiveness. Incarceration or even flogging and death penalty will not deal with the real issues of crime.

In the light of all this, and the fact that even the judges can err with their decisions, we should therefore treat every prisoner with some respect befitting of another fellow human being. There is a saying: Love the criminal (the person), hate their sins.

Often, criminals become who they are because of an unhappy childhood. Dr James Dobson in his book, Building Confidence in Your Child quoted the example of Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated President John Fitzgerald Kennedy in 1963.

“He (Oswald) began his life with all the classic handicaps and disadvantages. His mother was a powerfully built, dominating woman who found it difficult to love anyone,” Dr Dobson wrote. Oswald was abused at home.

At school, Oswald was rejected from his earliest childhood. “When he was thirteen years old, a school psychologist commented that he probably didn’t even know the meaning of the word, love,” Dr Dobson continued. He was then rejected in the Marine Corp. Later, when he went to live in a foreign country, he married a girl, who had been an illegitimate child herself.

When they returned to the United States, the wife treated him badly, and threw him out of the house. He was humiliated and tortured by his wife.

The story went on: “Finally, in silence, (Oswald) pleaded no more. No one wanted him. No one had ever wanted him. He was a most rejected man. His ego lay shattered in dust!

“The next day he was a strangely different man. He arose, went to the garage, and took down a rifle he had hidden there. He carried it with him to his newly acquired job at a book-storage building. And from a window on the sixth floor of the building, shortly after noon, November 22, 1963, he sent two shells crashing into the head of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.”

For this reason, we are taught to treat even the worst of criminals with respect as a fellow human being. It is only when we learn to respect them that they will respect us. After all, in the eyes of God, we are all equal. God is the ultimate Judge.

By implementing death penalty or the hudud laws, we cannot reverse the injustices committed through human errors in judgement once the punishment is meted. God, being a just God, will not spare those who take the life of innocent people.

One cannot help it but to remember the legend of Mahsuri where she was accused of adultery and after she was killed, there was great regret that innocent blood had been shed. Can we afford a repeat of the Mahsuri legend?

* This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.