Daily Times

Although the video captures a bright sunny day and a clear blue sky, its contents could not have slumped any darker. Needless to say, it has shocked the whole world except us, the Muslims who have somehow succumbed to the narrative that God wants us kill women in the most gruesome and inhuman way possible.

Emerging from Afghanistan, it shows a remote area with mountains in the background ascending to touch the horizon. They slope down to a plain field in front, its surface covered with rocks and boulders. Without plants, shrubs or trees, the whole terrain gives the impression of an uninhabitable alien planet, one we watch in documentary movies regarding Mars or other stellar bodies. Up close, a freshly dug hole, large enough to accommodate a human being, catches one’s attention. What is more daunting is realising it is not empty; pushed inside there stands a young, hapless girl, her head and neck jutting out of the pit, her body sunken in. About a dozen men wearing traditional shalwar kameez (national dress) are standing around her. Huddled on one side, some additional men are siting in one corner, watching and waiting for the process to begin. They did not have to wait for long. Within a few seconds and without any warning, one of the men casts the first stone. It hits the girl right on target — the forehead. The bleeding begins. The shadow of death grows darker, piercing through our souls. But drenched in religious fervour, they do not flinch. One after another, all of them hurl the rocks, contributing to a tradition that should have been abandoned centuries ago. She does not survive more than a minute. You see her body lying bolted in the ground, motionless, blood dripping down her face, her head flung to one side.

Can this punishment be called Islamic? If so, how else can we define brutality? To be clear here, I am not raising the question of whether she is innocent or guilty. My question is if we should approve stoning for anyone, even when they are found guilty. Most scholars agree that Quran does not endorse such treatment and the scripture does not contain a single verse that recommends it. The Quran only advocates flogging in such circumstances. But the ulema (clergy) also agree that the hadith — sayings of the Prophet (PBUH) – bring enough evidence in favor of lapidation. According to some of these sources, the Prophet (PBUH) may even have recommended the punishment in his lifetime too. Following his lead, after the Prophet (PBUH), the caliphs carried on with the same practice. Among them, most notably Caliph Umer allegedly said that there was a verse in the Quran that advocated rajm (stoning to death) but it somehow got lost. In short, the scholars, more or less, have accepted it as a part of sharia law to be implemented whenever the opportunity arises.

Not everyone agrees with them though. Liberal scholars of course disagree. However, they reject the idea of lapidation by adopting the most difficult and, to some extent, the most controversial route. They deny the accuracy of the hadith altogether claiming that they were complied centuries after Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) death and that there was no way to confirm the word of mouth that is being passed from one generation to another. They say that since the Quran does not recommend stoning, the hadith related to lapidation should therefore be disregarded.

The ‘modern’ scholars, by questioning the validity of the most scared collection of books after the Quran — books that have not been challenged for centuries — do not realise they are shaking the foundations of the whole religion. If you toe their line, everything from offering prayers to fasting to performing Hajj, details that are derived from the books of the hadith, can be disputed, leading to further disagreements and fragmentations.

So, what should we do? We can shove the whole issue under the carpet, since a frank discussion brings up a lot of controversy, and wait for the next victim to be killed. Or we can open a debate and settle it once and for all. I know not everyone will agree to the decision but most Muslims can be brought on one page, a point where no woman has to go through that inhuman punishment again but how?

I think we should treat lapidation in the same way we have treated slavery. The Quran does not ban slavery nor do the hadith proscribe it. Sure, it encourages Muslims to treat slaves with respect and kindness but there is nothing in the scripture to suggest against it. Some scholars believe the Quran was preparing society towards abolishing it. But it held itself back from issuing a clear decree because a divine injunction would have wreaked havoc in society. This argument cannot be taken seriously. It is purely speculative. On top of it all, did the Prophet (PBUH) not already wreak havoc in Meccan society by standing against polytheism? Even so, the ground reality is, whether the Quran condones it or not, no human being can be enslaved by another human being anymore, not even in Saudi Arabia. We all believe that the principle of individual freedom overrides any other moral code.

Do you recall any Muslim scholar who stood up and said, “This is against the teachings of the Quran” when the west abolished slavery? I have not heard of an argument like this nor do I think I would want to. The reason? In our hearts, we realise abolishing slavery was the right thing to do, that is why.

Rajm calls for similar clarity of mind. We know stamping it out is the right thing to do then why do we not ban it and call it a tradition of the past that cannot be practiced anymore? For doing that, we do not have to challenge the whole institution of the hadith to prove a minor point. It serves no purpose.

The writer is a US-based freelance columnist. He tweets at @KaamranHashmi and can be reached at skamranhashmi@gmail.com