This book essentially consists of a presentation of issues and reform
proposals regarding the prescribed punishments of ḥudūd in Islamic
criminal law. But the discussion is not confined to ḥudūd as such and also
delves into other concerns relating to crimes and punishments in shariah.
Two main topics are discussed in this book: first, issues that relate to
presenting a holistic reading of the Qur’an and hadiths on ḥudūd punishments,
just retaliation (qiṣāṣ), and the discretionary punishments of taʿzīr;
and second, issues that are encountered in modern- day applications of
Islamic criminal law. The first of these subjects, which is addressed in part
one of the book, is the main preoccupation and takes up about two- thirds
of this volume. Parts two and three examine the applied aspects of Islamic
criminal law in a number of Muslim countries.