Blogger: PAS Hudud not found in Quran

Syed Akbar Ali says no 'hudud' law in Quran, occurs 14 times as limits of social behaviour.

KUALA LUMPUR: Popular blogger and political critic Syed Akbar Ali has challenged religious scholars to explain the difference between the use of the term “hudud” in the Quran and “hudud” as used by PAS for criminal punishments.

Writing in his blog OutSyed the Box, he republished an old article and said the word occurred in only 14 verses of the Quran and were used only in relation to social behaviour and domestic relationships, and not in the legal sense as used by PAS.

He challenged readers, both Muslim and non-Muslim, to question the religionists and explain the difference between the “hudud” of the Quran and its usage by those such as PAS.

He dismissed the PAS usage by saying: “The Hudud Laws as propounded by PAS – that is exactly what they are, ie the hudud of PAS.”

PAS has championed the application of “hudud” criminal penalties such as amputation and stoning to death for various offences under syariah criminal law. The Islamist party now seeks to obtain parliamentary approval of a Bill that would allow Kelantan to carry out “hudud” penalties.

Syed Akbar’s dismissive comment is similar to that of Barisan Nasional secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor who said earlier today that “PAS hudud is political hudud”.

Syed Akbar, a former panel member of MACC, the anti-corruption agency, said the word “hudud” was derived from the Arabic word “hadd” meaning limits or bounds.

He said anyone could check the full text of the Quran and find only 14 occurrences, all used to describe limits or bounds on social behaviour and domestic relationships.

The first occurrence was in Surah 2:187, which reads:

“..But do not associate with your wives while you are in retreat in the mosques. These are Allah’s bounds (hudud), keep well within them” Surah 2:187

He said: “As the reader can see this verse talks about domestic relations between man and wife. There is no indication of any of the hudud laws here.”

Syed Akbar listed out all the 14 verses in which “hudud” appears, and challenged his readers to ask religious experts or those in the know to explain the verses. He said readers, both Muslim as well as non-Muslim, would appreciate the simplicity and the truth behind all the 14 occurences.

These occurrences of the word in the Quran, he said, “are most certainly the hudud-ullah or hudud of Allah”, he pointed out, asking readers to compare this with the hudud of the religionists to note the differences.”

“I feel this is important for the ‘Muslims’ as well as the non Mulims because this issue of the hudud laws is not over. It will keep coming back after some time.”