Hudud not a solution, says Obedient Wives Club

The idea of implementing hudud as a solution to the many social problems in this country is roundly rejected by the controversial Obedient Wives Club (OWC).

Using laws and punishments, says its president Fauziah Ariffin, will not curb problems such as sex out of wedlock, baby dumping and homosexuality.

OWC, Fauziah said, believes in the implementation of hudud only if it was the last possible solution to punish those who were involved in social ills.

Under Islamic law or syariah, hudud refers to the class of punishments for certain crimes that include theft, fornication and adultery, consumption of alcohol or other intoxicants and apostasy.

The requirements of a hudud witness include not missing prayers and a person who is not a fasik(not trustworthy), which would make such witnesses difficult to find in today's world.

"In Islam, hudud is the last (solution). We should not punish (wrongdoers using hudud) if there are other ways.

"Even if there is hudud, we must provide four witnesses. Do you think it is easy to find the witnesses - those who have never missed their prayers and are not fasik?

"When we see illicit things while walking around, we can no longer be trusted (and become fasik). And if we do not istighfar (seek forgiveness from Allah), we will remain fasik.

"Is it easy to get such witness nowadays? That is why hudud is acceptable only when there are four of such witnesses. You can only use hudud when you get such witnesses. If not, the punishment will not be valid," Fauziah said.

Kelantan has approved the implementation of hudud under Syariah Criminal Code II 1993. However, its implementation has stymied due to federal constitutional issues.

Strict laws ineffective

Fauziah believes that hudud will not be able to solve the country's social problems.

She pointed to the death sentence for drug traffickers and yet the problem remained, and as such the law was ineffective.
"Our opinion is that when we focus on punishments, people will not obey. This goes beyond Islamic laws," she added.

She also spoke about how institutions built to prevent crimes were failing.

"Even now, the numbers of babies born out of wedlock are rapidly increasing and massage parlours continue to expand," she said.

She said she, on the other hand, was trying to educate society, just like what Prophet Muhammad did when he led the earliest Muslims in Mecca.

According to her, when the prophet first started preaching, he used the approach of the ‘knowing and loving God', rather than the fear of punishment.

"That was how Prophet Muhammad introduced his community to Allah when he was in Mecca at the beginning.

"Then he (the prophet) told them about heaven and hell, so that his followers would want to go to heaven.

"That was Prophet Muhammad's first dakwah (preaching of Islam) for over 13 years, telling the same thing until he arrived in Medina, where he talk about syariah (Islamic law)," she said.