Mufti's Corner - Saba Khan, AZ

[Dr. Shabbir]

Saba Khan, AZ - email


Question
Why is DNA itself is not a core Shar’ee ground for
conviction for crimes?

Answer.
The Shar'i requirements for the execution of
corporeal punishment (hadd) has expressly been
mentioned in the legal sources of our
shari'ah.viz, admission of guilt or the testimony of
four witnesses.
The establishment of a biological relationship
between the child and a strange man (to the mother) is
not grounds for the shari' consequences to come into
effect. In an authentic hadith nabi (saw) mentions
that the child (i.e his lineage) belongs to the man in
whose nikah his mother is and the one guilty of zina
is deprived. Here, the establishment of a biological
relationship between the child and the fornicator did
not bring about the shari consequences of parenthood.
Similarly,the establishment of a biological
relationship between a child and a strange man (to his
mother) do not bring about the shari consequences of
corporeal punishment.
Secondly, the object of admission of guilt and the
testimony of 4 witnesses is not the conclusiveness of
the evidence. Had thus been the case then evidence
presented by DNA analysis may also be rejected due to
the results being prone to a margin of error albeit
minimal.
Allah (swt) is the sole legislator of this deen and
the execution of punishment is primarily His sole
prerogative. Those guilty of breaking his commandments
will be answerable to Him directly in the hereafter
and will have to bear his wrath. As a secondary
measure Allah (swt) has set out the requirements for
the execution of punishment in this world.The
rationale behind these requirements is known to Him
.If these requirements are not found ,alternate means
will not be adopted.Rather, the matter will resort to
its primary position (i.e accountabilitry to
Allah(swt).

And Allah Ta'ala knows best.

Mufti Imran Hatia
Student

Checked and Approved
Mufti Ebrahim Desai