Hudud

In traditional Islamic jurisprudence, Hudud (also transliterated as Hadood, Hadud, Hudood, Arabic: حدود, romanized: ḥudūd; sing.: Hadd Arabic: حد), meaning "borders, boundaries, limits", refers to punishments (ranging from public lashing, public stoning to death, amputation of hands, crucifixion, depending on the crime), for several specific crimes (drinking alcohol, illicit sexual intercourse, false accusations of adultery, theft, apostasy from Islam, highway robbery) for which punishments have been determined by verses of Quran or hadith. Hudud is one of three categories of crime and punishment in classical Islamic literature, the other two being Qisas ("eye for an eye") or Diya (paying victims compensation), and Ta'zeer (punishment left to the judge's or ruler's discretion). Hudud are crimes "against God", and cover the punishments given to those who exceed the "limits of God" (hududullah), associated with the Quran and in some cases inferred from hadith. (Qisas, Diya, and Ta'zeer deal with "crimes against man".) Hudud crimes cannot be pardoned by the victim or by the state and the punishments must be carried out in public, but in traditional practice were rarely implemented because the evidentiary standards were so high, Offenders who escaped a hudud punishment could still receive a ta'zir sentence. These punishments were applied throughout most of Islamic history, replaced in many parts of the Islamic world in the 19th century by European-inspired models, and then restored in the late 20th to early 21st century in several Muslim-majority states as a result of the Islamic revival and calls by Islamists for full implementation of Sharia. In the 21st century, hudud, including amputation of limbs, is part of the legal systems of Afghanistan, Brunei, Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and the northern part of Nigeria.