Hadd

Hadd, also spelled hudud, is an Islamic legal term that designates fixed punishments prescribed in Sharia for certain offenses deemed offenses against God. The word hadd itself means limit or boundary in Arabic. In traditional jurisprudence, hadd punishments are distinguished from discretionary penalties (ta’zir) and are considered to have rigid, statute-like requirements and minimum standards of evidence.

The offenses typically listed as hadd include theft (sariq), highway robbery or armed banditry (hirabah), zina (unlawful sexual intercourse, including adultery and fornication), qazf (false accusation of zina), shurb al-khamr (drinking intoxicants), and, in some legal schools, apostasy (ridda). The exact enumeration and details vary by Islamic legal school. In practice, the doctrinal categories are defined by religious sources such as the Qur’an and Hadith, with jurisprudence outlining the conditions under which these penalties may be applied.

Evidentiary and procedural requirements are strict. For theft, the property generally must reach a specified value and be taken from a secure possession, with evidence that meets high standards (often involving witnesses or a formal confession). For zina, the crime must be established by four adult Muslim witnesses to the act or by a sober confession repeated confidentially. For qazf, four witnesses are required to substantiate a false accusation. Penalties associated with hadd offenses range from amputation for theft, to flogging for drinking, to stoning for zina in some traditions, and 80 lashes for qazf; apostasy penalties are debated and vary by school. Many modern Muslim-majority states limit or modify hadd applications through constitutional protections and alternative penalties.

Today, hadd punishments are rarely applied in full in many countries, and where they exist, enforcement is often contested or integrated with broader legal frameworks. The concept remains a topic of scholarly debate and practical variation within Islamic law.