Capital punishment in Islam

Capital punishment in Islam is traditionally regulated by sharia, which is derived from the Quran and ahadith.Samuel M. Zwemer, The Law of Apostasy, The Muslim World. Volume 14, Issue 4, pp. 373–391 Capital crimes in sharia are often interpreted to include murder, rape, adultery, and homosexual intercourse.Javaid Rehman and Eleni Polymenpoulou, "Is Green a Part of the Rainbow? Sharia, Homosexuality and LGBT Rights in the Muslim World", Fordham International Law Journal, Vol. 37, Issue 1, Article 7 (2013) (retrieved 4 July 2025); Archived copy Capital punishment is used in many Muslim-majority countries, where it is often seen as prescribed by sharia for crimes such as apostasy, adultery, witchcraft, murder, and rape.

Capital crimes and sentencing Both the hadiths and the Quran mention specific crimes for which capital punishment is a valid punishment. In the four primary schools of Sunni fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and the two primary schools of Shia fiqh, certain types of crimes mandate capital punishment.

Qisas is a category of sentencing where sharia permits capital punishment, for intentional or unintentional murder.Mohamed El-Awa (1993), Punishment in Islamic Law, American Trust Publications, In the case of murder, sharia gives the victim's nearest relative or () a right to, if the court approves, take the life of the killer.Encyclopædia Britannica, Qisas (2012)Shahid M. Shahidullah, Comparative Criminal Justice Systems: Global and Local Perspectives, , pp. 370–377 crimes, which are those against God, are considered the most serious offences under sharia law, for which punishments are prescribed in the Quran. This includes banditry and adultery:

is a payment to avoid trial for crimes such as murder. Concerns have been raised that poor offenders face trial and capital punishment while wealthy offenders avoid even a trial by paying off qisas compensation. The murder of Shahzeb Khan in 2012 brought particular attention to this issue in Pakistan."Qisas being used by the wealthy to avoid trial: CJ" . The Express Tribune (Pakistan), 3 October 2013 (concerning the murder of Shahzeb Khan).

Hudud Certain crimes are considered crimes against Allah and require capital punishment in public.Mohamed El-Awa (1993), Punishment in Islamic Law, American Trust Publications, , pp 1–68 These include apostasy (leaving Islam to become an atheist or convert to another religion),David Forte, Islam's Trajectory , Revue des Sciences Politiques, No. 29 (2011), pages 92–101 (mischief in the land, or moral corruption against Allah, social disturbance and creating disorder within the Muslim state)Oliver Leaman (2013), Controversies in Contemporary Islam, Routledge, , Chapter 9Marion Katz (2006), Corruption of the Times and the Mutability of the Shari'a, The. Cardozo Law Review, 28:171–188 and (consensual heterosexual or homosexual relations not allowed by Islam, specifically pre-marital or extramarital).

Modern applications Among the 57 member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the death penalty is actively practiced in 25 countries (44%). Another 11 countries (19%) theoretically allow capital punishment but have not carried out an execution in the past ten years (as of 2026). One country (2%) retains the death penalty only for wartime offenses, while 20 states (35%) have abolished it completely.

Muslim-majority nations carry out a large percentage of the world's executions. In the 2024 Amnesty International report for capital punishment, 1,474 (97.75%) of the 1,508 recorded executions occurred in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, Egypt, Kuwait, and Oman. However, this did not include data from China, where the number of executions is classified but believed to be over 1,000 per year alone. In several Islamic countries such as Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran, both and punishments are part of the legal system and in use.

Methods Lethal stoning and beheading in public under sharia is controversial for being a cruel form of capital punishment.Ebbe, O. N., & Odo, I. (2013), The Islamic Criminal Justice System, in Comparative and International Criminal Justice Systems: Policing, Judiciary, and Corrections, CRC Press, , Chapter 16Jon Weinberg (2008), Sword of Justice? Beheadings Rise in Saudi Arabia, Harvard International Review, 29(4):15 These forms of execution remain part of the law enforced in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Qatar, Iran and Mauritania. However stoning has not been implemented for many years.R Terman (2007), The Stop Stoning Forever Campaign: A Report WLUM LawsJavaid Rehman & Eleni Polymenopoulou (2013), Is Green part of the rainbow - Sharia, Homosexuality, and LGBT Rights in the Muslim World, Fordham Int'l Law Journal, 37:1-501

Quotations regarding stoning can be seen in hadiths including the following:

Decapitation in Islam

Decapitation was a standard method of execution in pre-modern Islamic law. The use of decapitation for punishment continued well into the 20th century in both Islamic and non-Islamic nations. When done properly, it was once considered a humane and honorable method of execution.

Use of decapitation was abandoned in most countries by the end of the 20th century. It is a legal method of execution in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Yemen, and was reportedly used in 2001 in Iran according to Amnesty International, where it is no longer in use."Beheading was last used as a method of execution in 2001 ... beheading is no longer in use." Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide, Death Penalty Worldwide: Iran

In Islamic scripture

There is a debate as to whether the Quran discusses decapitation.Rachel Saloom (2005), "Is Beheading Permissible under Islamic Law – Comparing Terrorist Jihad and the Saudi Arabian Death Penalty", UCLA Journal of International Law and Foreign Affairs, vol. 10, pp. 221–49. One surah could potentially be used to provide a justification for decapitation in the context of war:Now when ye meet in battle those who disbelieve, then it is smiting of the necks until, when ye have routed them, making fast of bonds; and afterward either grace or ransom 'til the war lay down its burdens. (47:4)

Among classical commentators, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi interprets the last sentence of 8:12 to mean striking at the enemies in any way possible, from their head to the tips of their extremities. Al-Qurtubi reads the reference to striking at the necks as conveying the gravity and severity of the fighting. For al-Qurtubi, al-Tabari, and Ibn Kathir, the expression indicates the brevity of the act, as it is confined to battle and is not a continuous command.

Some commentators have suggested that Islamic terrorists use alternative interpretations of these surahs to justify beheading captives, however there is agreement among scholars that they have a different meaning. Furthermore, according to Rachel Saloom, surah 47:4 goes on to recommend generosity or ransom when waging war, and it refers to a period when Muslims were persecuted and had to fight for their survival.

Decapitation in Islamic law Decapitation was the normal method of executing the death penalty under classical Islamic law. It was also, together with hanging, one of the ordinary methods of execution in the Ottoman Empire.

, Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world which uses decapitation within its Islamic legal system. The majority of executions carried out by the Wahhabi government of Saudi Arabia are public beheadings,Russell Goldman, "Saudi Arabia's Beheading of a Nanny Followed Strict Procedures" , abcnews.com, 11 January 2013. which usually cause mass gatherings but are not allowed to be photographed or filmed.

According to Amnesty, decapitation has been carried out by Iranian authorities as recently as 2001, but as of 2014 is no longer in use."Death Penalty Database: Iran" , deathpenaltyworldwide.org, Cornell Law School, accessed 13 June 2016. It is also a legal form of execution in Qatar and Yemen, but the punishment has been suspended in those countries.

Historical occurrences The Islamic followers of Mohammed executed the men of the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza for a treaty violation, with several hundred killed in 627. After the Battle of Hattin (1187), Saladin personally beheaded Raynald of Châtillon; a Christian knight who served in the Second Crusade and organized attacks against Islam's two holiest cities. Forces of the Ottoman Empire invaded and laid siege to the city of Otranto and its citadel in 1480. According to a traditional account, after capture, more than 800 of its inhabitants – who refused to convert to Islam – were beheaded. They are known as the Martyrs of Otranto. The historicity of this account has been questioned by modern scholars. Muhammad Ahmad declared himself the Mahdi in 1880 and led jihad against the Ottoman Empire and their British allies. He and his followers beheaded opponents, Christian and Muslim alike, including the British general Charles Gordon.Byron Farwell, Prisoners of the Mahdi (New York & London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1989), pp. 156-7.

Capital punishment in Islam

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