Justice the heart and soul

Justice — individual, political, social and economic — is the ultimate aim of the Constitution of the Democratic Islamic Welfare State. This is the only institution that makes a state truly democratic and saves a society from falling apart. In the dispensation of justice a crucial problem arises. The Penal Code of the Democratic Islamic Welfare State of Pakistan contains certain exemplary punishments, such as amputation of the hands for theft about which there exist reservations in the minds of many, both at home and abroad? How shall these be treated and reconciled? The commandment is that “Enter into the Faith in totality.” There is no halfway enforcement of the Islamic order in any field or phase of the national life. For example collection of Zakat by the existing system, which is partially Islamic and therefore not Islamic at all, is a gross violation of the Quranic provisions on the subject. Islamic taxes can be imposed and collected by a legitimate government of an Islamic state only. Similarly, all Islamic punishments will be awarded by a truly and genuinely established Islamic order. An Islamic Welfare State will not get established in Pakistan unless it has given to the people all that it promises i.e. all basic human rights, individual and social justice, tranquility of soul and peace of mind, equality of opportunity and a narrowed down gap between the rich and the poor, a state of prosperity in which poverty stands eliminated completely, protection of life, honour and property of the masses, a corruption free administration and pollution-free political environment etc. No Islamic taxation or punishment will be levied until the achievement of this ideal state and when such ideal state is actually attained in which the rights of the people are well looked after, no one will have the justification to indulge in offences of grave nature invoking the imposition of the so called harsh penalties. If some one enjoying every imaginable bounty of life still commits offences that call for exemplary punishment then only he himself is to blame and not the system. The mainspring of such crimes and offences will be the failings and frailties of human character. The punishments laid by the Penal Code will be corrective for the crimes committed and prohibitive: or the crimes not yet committed. Their overall impact will be the wholesale reformation of the society.