The criminal’s repentance in Moqaren jurisprudence and criminal law

Document Type : Research Paper

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Abstract

Repentance institution is a feature in Islamic law and from Qur’an and Sonnah’s viewpoint it is a chance for convict to regret from his/her behaviors and retrieve. Repentance means that return with regression to God and avoid from sins and not to return to that and blessing from God and try to make up his/her past. Despite divine effects of this legal institution it has mundane effects too. Because Islamic lawyers have different ideas in mundane effects so examining its functions for punishments is necessary. For this point in Islamic law there are several views: Zaheriyeh believes that convict’s repentance hasn’t had any role in mundane punishments because accepting the collapse of punishment via repentance would close divine boundaries and repentance is only a collapse for after life punishments. Moreover Hanifeh, Malekiyeh and Shafe’ee (in Adhar’s words) believe that repentance is the only punishment for crime of Mohareb with this condition that s/he repentant before dominate of governmental power but this repentance doesn’t have any effect on other crimes that s/he may committed. Emamiyeh in their common view and also Hanabaleh and Shafei’e in one of their viewpoints believe that the repentance of convict would collapse the punishments. It seems that this view is the innovation of Islamic law punishment in 1392 that is mostly favorable with philosophy of reforming-training punishments.

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