I have noticed some Somalis online and western countries + NGOs advocating for leniency on people who are guilty of the worst crimes. If only they knew what Allah had to say about that.Background on verses 33-34 (sura 5):
Apparently, a group of eight Arab bedouins led by a man named Abu Burda Aslami went into Medina, pretending to be interested in Islam and seeking the hospitality of the Prophet. At the time, the Muslims were being pressured from all sides and were in constant fear of attack from the Meccans in the south and hostile tribes in the north, west and east. These bedouin visitors were treated honorably and graciously and a non-aggression treaty between their tribe and the Muslims was established. When the visitors asked for some cattle to be brought to them so they could milk them for their daily food needs, some cows was promptly procured for them. Then, one night they murdered the assigned cowherd, stole the cattle, killed some people on their way to Medina to embrace Islam and then tried to escape with the loot. They were caught before they could melt away into the countryside. For the heinous murder and resultant terrorism, for the theft, for cruelly abusing the hospitality of the Muslims, and to discourage others from such terrorism, the men were staked to the ground in the desert with their hands and feet cut off on opposite sides. (Asbab ul-Nuzul)
The punishment for those who wage war against God and His Messenger, and who strive hard to cause chaos and murder throughout the land, is execution or crucifixion or the cutting off of their hands and feet from opposite sides or (at the very least) exile from the land. That’s the humiliation that they’ll receive in this world, but an even more painful punishment awaits them in the next, [33] except for those who repent before they fall into your power, for in that case know that God is forgiving and merciful. [34]
Footnotes:
Every society on earth has had harsh punishments for those who engage in terrorism, fear-mongering, looting and pillaging. (See Deuteronomy 21:22, for example.) An even more serious crime is to use terrorism and such to fight against the Creator of the Universe, Who only wishes good and safety for all creatures. According to the consensus of legal scholars, the punishments in this verse should be applied as follows: if the terrorist killed and looted, then he must be staked out to die in the desert; if he killed but did not loot, then he must be executed, though in a more humane way. If he looted only, then an opposite pair of hand and foot should be cut; finally, if he terrorized people without loss of life or property, then he should be exiled. (Both ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab and Imam Abu Hanifa interpreted this ‘exile’ to mean that the terrorists should be put in prison.) However, all these various punishments can be avoided if he publicly repents of his actions and accepts Islam, for then he will be forgiven. (Ma’ariful Qur’an) Now these punishments for terrorism may seem harsh by today’s standards, but even nations in our own times execute (and even torture) certain types of criminals, traitors and terrorists (and this includes Western nations). In judging the past we cannot be hypocritical about the present. The interesting thing to note is that the end of this passage states that if the wrong-doers repent on their own of their bad ways (which means accepting Islam) before they’re captured, then we must be merciful to them and forgive them. Modern legal systems don't let remorseful traitors, murderers or other bitter enemies off so easily, but Islam sometimes can. Finally, this type of harsh punishment was only applied one time during the Prophet’s rule and for a very specific kind of treacherous crime: terrorism coupled with murder, theft and a wicked disregard for life
Source:
The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an in Today's English by Sheikh Yahiya Emerick
All terrorist rehabilitation centres must be converted to gas chambers.
