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Doctrine

Capital punishment in Islam

International and Comparative Law Doctrine
Origin 7th century CE (era of the Quran and hadith)

Capital punishment in Islam is traditionally governed by sharia, which is derived from the Quran and the hadith, the recorded traditions of Muhammad. Capital crimes under sharia are often interpreted to include murder, rape, adultery and homosexual intercourse, and the penalty is applied across many Muslim-majority countries, where it is often described as prescribed by sharia for offenses including apostasy, adultery, witchcraft, murder and rape. This entity records the doctrine as it appears in comparative legal-systems scholarship, describing how a major legal tradition treats capital punishment, and is entered here as a record of that legal position rather than as an endorsement of any particular application. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Origin Period
7th century CE (era of the Quran and hadith) 1
Core Principle
Regulated by sharia, derived from the Quran and hadith, prescribing capital punishment for specific offenses 1
Origin Period
Origin Period (category)
Medieval / Pre-1500 1
Classification
Doctrine Category
Criminal Law 2
Connections

In Area Of Law

Criminal Law, Doctrines

Entity-backed identity for the doctrine category value this doctrine already carries as an enum fact, resolved to a doctrine entity by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The enum fact itself stays on the entity unchanged.

In Legal System

Sharia, Legal Systems
Source Capital punishment in Islam (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Capital punishment in Islam (Wikipedia)
  • Capital crimes and sentencing section
    both the hadiths and the Quran mention specific crimes for which capital punishment is a valid punishment.
  • Lead section
    Capital punishment in Islam is traditionally regulated by sharia, which is derived from the Quran and ahadith.
  • In Legal System: Sharia, Wikipedia lead sentence
    Capital punishment in Islam is traditionally regulated by sharia, which is derived from the Quran and ahadith
View the Source
2. Wikipedia: Capital punishment in Islam
traditionally regulated by sharia... Capital crimes in sharia are often interpreted to include murder, rape, adulteryView the Source
Frequently Asked Questions

Which crimes carry the death penalty under Islamic law?

Specific crimes named in the Quran and hadith carry it; the list is interpreted differently across traditions and countries.

Islamic law treats capital punishment as regulated by sharia, which is derived from the Quran and the hadith. Both the hadith and the Quran name specific crimes for which capital punishment is a valid punishment. Interpretations differ, and the crimes most often cited include murder, rape, adultery and homosexual intercourse. Many Muslim-majority countries apply the penalty, and it is often described there as prescribed by sharia for offenses that also include apostasy and witchcraft. This entry records the legal position and does not endorse any particular application.
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