ABSTRACT
The next part presents a perspective concerning the understanding of hudud in the Qur'an and related developments in fiqh. An enquiry in to Qur'anic evidence leads us to the conclusion that a certain rigidity which has characterised the juristic formulatians of fiqh on this theme are neither Qur'anic nor authorised by the Sunnah. "Hudud Allah" in the Qur'an is a broad concept which is neither confmed to punishments nor to a legal framework but provides a comprehensive set of guidelines on moral, legal, and religious themes. Juristic thought has, however, followed a different course whereby this broad and comprehensive concept is reduced to mean quantified, mandatory and invariable punishment. The four offences for which the Qur'an prescribed a punishment were on the other hand expanded, in the jiqh presentations of the hudud, to six, and according to an alternative version, to seven, offences - and this was undertaken in the face of el ear evidence that advised a restrictive approach in punitive matters. Whereas the Qur'an has, in all the four instances where specifled punishments occur, made provisions for repentance and reformation, juristic doctrine has either left this totally out or reduced it to a mechanical formality that can hardly be said to be reflective of the original teachings of the Qur'an.
