Mumtaz Qadri, Blasphemy Law

& Liberal Secular Begherats

Our View in the light of Quran & Sunnah

Syed Zaid Zaman Hamid

Almost 1 million people have subscribed to this Facebook page. These individuals come from all
backgrounds and multiple schools of thoughts. While many of these subscribers are extremely
smart individuals, some are ignorant beyond the shadow of a doubt; there are many a friend and
many a foe and there is also a significant majority of the Scholars of Truth equated by the same
number of intellectual hypocrites.
In sensitive and socially perceptive matters of Deen, The Sharia provides us with a fundamental
baseline: Debate by the ignorant is forbidden, Arguments by Ulema unadvised. The wise and
judicious Aulia Allah's, with an inner sight and far reaching understanding of human nature have
always recommended that there are some delicate matters that should only be discussed in the
gatherings of a few subject specialists. When matters of this sensitive a nature are discussed in
front of crowds of emotion, they only lead to mass confusion and total chaos.
Today, Pakistan seems to be hijacked by yet another massive debate. It is running on all levels of the
society and concerns Mumtaz Qadri, Sacrilege of justice and the Passionate opinions of the least
informed people in matters of both Pakistani Law, as well as the Sharia. In one of the most sensitive
debates to have happened in the course of the last few years, the matter of 'Blasphemy against our
Beloved Prophet 'is also of prime concern. The Holy Quran, teaches us the ultimate reverence of
our Beloved by stating: O you who have believed, do not raise your voices above the voice of the
Prophet or be loud to him in speech like the loudness of some of you to others, lest your deeds
become worthless while you perceive not [Al-Quran; 49:2]
Therefore, as I have mentioned before, to debate on such a sensitive subject involving the esteem
of our Beloved Prophet in front of thousands of people does not only come under the boundary
of disrespect itself, but is also a deliberate invitation to anyone and everyone with an intellect the
size of a single chick pea to showcase their in depth knowledge of the subject and put the naive
population to shame. It is only for this reason that I am avoiding having a public deliberation on an
issue of this sensitive a nature. This matter should specifically be resolved within the Aulia Allah's
and the Ulema's of Deen. Pakistan today, is already in a state of war. The entire nation is jammed
between a political and economic disaster. At such a time, to make an issue of this sensitive subject

and an open house debate inviting the general population, completely unfamiliar with blasphemy
laws and Sharia jurisprudence will only be adding to the mayhem.
In Pakistan, there has always been a lobby of secularists, hell bent on erasing religion in all forms of
our governance and social life. I have always been at war with these people. But on the other hand,
there is a concerning rise in religious extremism, sectarianism and the menace of Khawarij is
completely uprooting our value system from the ground level. Pakistan is caught between the devil
and the deep blue sea, and in such a volatile environment; the infinite wisdom and justice of our
Shariah and Sunnah seem to have been completely forgotten. Our Beloved Prophet had warned us
of such a time, where the evils will commence from the Ulemas and end up returning to become a
part of them.
The fate of Mumtaz Qadri is now in the hands of Allah. If what he did was in accordance with Shariah,
then quite definitely, he would bear its fruits from Allah. If his actions were conflicting with Shariah,
then he has already served his punishment in this world. Those are also the rules of Shariah; that
stress that when a man is punished according to the penal code of Islam, Allah's Rahmat supersedes
all decisions in the afterlife. Therefore, in the matter of Mumtaz Qadri, I believe Allah to be the
ultimate judge and have refrained from sharing my personal opinions. I do not doubt his intentions
but the actions have to seen in the light of Quran and Sunnah.
On the other hand is Salman Taseer's case. He too was killed. Was his killing also within the
framework provided by Sharia? That is a debate the Ulemas must take up. I have no sympathy for the
liberal secular class of the country who are not just immoral but also intellectually corrupt, and no
doubt Salman Taseer was one of them. But the only question that I ask the scholars is wether his
murder fulfilled the strict criteria given in Quran and Sunnah. Our bias or hatred for a community
must not compel us to violate the clear injunctions of Quran and Sunnah.
**********
It is without a doubt that our deen ascribes an extremely strict punishment for Blasphemy. But it is
also without a shadow of doubt that our deen demands even stricter conditions to be fulfilled before
enforcing any punishment for this offence. The bigger the crime, the higher the conditions that must
be met before the sentencing is carried out; and in the absence of these conditions being met, the
rules of Quran and Sunnah continue to be dishonored. The intention of the one uttering
questionable remarks, his explanation for his remarks, his opportunity at publically apologizing, the
credibility of witnesses all contribute towards ensuring the conditions of justice are met before
killing of anyone is carried out. A matter of this nature must therefore, only be dealt with in the light
of Quran and Sunnah and presided over by individuals in an Islamic Court well versed in matters of
Fiqh and Sharia jurisprudence.
Now let us also shed some light on this Blasphemy law that we have in Pakistan.
The Blasphemy law in Pakistan was written by a group of lawyers in 1985. It was written in English
and its implementation was to be carried out in accordance to the British Law being practiced. The

purpose of this law was to deter any possible attack on the reverence of our Prophet , but the
lawyers who ended up scripting it, did so after brushing all laws of Shariah and Sunnah under the
carpet. Because most of our Ulemas lack Basic English language proficiency, none of them were able
to recognize the un-Islamic clauses completely in violation with rules of the Shariah.
You can imagine this just by the first condition of the Blasphemy law, that states that NO case
registered as Blasphemy can ever be sent to the Shariah Court to be tried! Inna Lillah Wa Inna Elaihe
Rajiyoon.
According to this law, if anyone falsely accuses another individual for committing blasphemy, then
even in the case of a fabricated accusation, the accuser cannot be held liable or punishable! On the
contrary, Shariah Law makes it mandatory to carry a lashing punishment against any individual
throwing around false accusations on the matter.
This law also completely ignores any room for repentance in case an act of blasphemy is committed,
whereas in Shariah Law it is not only mandatory to provide the accused with a chance to explain their
stance, but shariah law also gives them the opportunity to repent for it. It is only if the accused
remains adamant not to repent for his crime that the punishment is allowed to be carried out.
This present law also provides every single individual in the state with the right to file a blasphemy
case against another individual. From 1918 till 1986 there were only 14 registered cases of
Blasphemy in India and Pakistan combined, however since the enforcement of this amendment in
the blasphemy law, in just a matter of ten years, Pakistan saw over five and a half thousand cases of
blasphemy registered in its courts! A majority of the accused in these cases were Muslims, and the
most common reasons for their being accused were sectarian differences, personal animosities and
economic gains. There have also been cases where one maulvi has been found to have registered
over a hundred blasphemy cases single handedly!
I would ask the venerable scholars: are the clauses written in this law in accordance with the
principles of Islam and Shariah? And up till now, why have the scholars remained silent on this issue?
Has any scholar ever highlighted to you that the Blasphemy Law written by a few lawyers is by itself in
conflict with Qur'an and Sunnah?? The lawyers that formulated this law, toyed with the sentiments
of Muslims and incorporated within it such clauses that not only oppose Qur'an and Sunnah but are
in fact Blasphemy itself!
Thus a new, organized and official means to fuel the sectarian war, using the blessed name of Syyadi
RusulAllah and exploiting that passionate love to justify tyranny over the masses was invented.
Can a Muslim ever be content with having such delicate and sensitive cases pertaining to the Honor
of RusulAllah in the hands of corrupt Pakistani Police and Religiously Aloof Judiciary?
What should have happened instead was that all the cases relating to Blasphemy be sent to Federal
Shariah Court. Furthermore, prior to the registry of each case, the State should review it according to
the standards of the Shariah and only the State should have the final authority to file. And in the
event of a false accusation or slander being proven, then the blamer would be sentenced for False-

Accusation in accordance with the Shariah by either lashes or death penalty according to the severity
of the consequences resulting from that false accusation.
No doubt all the laws in Pakistan are misused, but when the blessed name of RasulAllah is used to
falsely sentence an individual, then such an act becomes brazen injustice! Just as murder is a great
crime, but committing murder within the gates of Ka'abah Shareef is heinous
We would advise the judiciary and clergy of Pakistan to raise their voices that all the cases of
Blasphemy be heard solely and exclusively within Shariah Courts, cases get registered exclusively by
the State, the entire stance of the accused be documented, explanation of the accused and their
repentance be recognized, one who slanders against anyone be charged with False-Accusation; only
then can this chaos that is being flared up in this country be counteracted. Even today, thousands of
people are imprisoned in jails for years because of these cases, which in reality are not due to
blasphemy but only to spread sectarian and religious strife. We would want that all the cases
currently present in the western system of judiciary be urgently transferred into Shariah Courts and
unless all the criteria defined by the Shariah of Quran and Sunnah are not met, no individual be
sentenced with a punishment.
If the State and the Scholars do not act upon this then the frustration and rage of the masses will
manifest itself on the streets just as we see in the case of Salman Taseer.
This Blasphemy Law has been written by lawyers. To identify a mistake within this document is
neither blasphemy nor rebellion against religion, but this task can only be conducted by a Passionate
Aashiq-e-Rasul. If any shameless liberal secular, who, from the very get go wants to abolish this
law, attempts this, then it would be negatively perceived and they will have to face the agitation of
the entire nation.
May Allah (subhanawata'ala) strengthen and assist Pakistan, keep Ummat e Rusul safe, invigorate
True Scholars to make a solid stand for Truth despite fierce opposition, and may Allah (Jallajalaluhu)
keep Pakistan guarded from the menace of Khwarij and the mischief of sectarian Mullahs!