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Restorative justice, as a viable alternative to retributive justice, emerged in the West during the 1970s and 1980s. It emphasises respect, dialogue, and collaborative decision-making. This study explains the principles of the restorative justice system and describes various Islamic principles and values akin to restorative justice. Such a study is warranted by the fact that the compatibility of restorative justice with Islamic principles and values is under-researched in the social sciences and humanities. This study, based on primary sources and case studies, found that Islam encourages amicable settlement of disputes through mediation and arbitration while ensuring justice, fairness, and equity in all situations. Similar to restorative justice, Islamic principles emphasise respect, honour and dignity, and mutual obligations and responsibilities in righting wrong. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and his successors applied these principles, and such a system continues to be practised in certain small villages in contemporary Muslim societies. However, unlike Western restorative justice, Islam places particular emphasis on forgiveness as a value, thus limiting the cycle of retribution and retaliation detrimental to society. Islam considers forgiveness as a great virtue that brings forth gratitude, heals broken relationships, and establishes peace at individual and social levels. Islam aims at constructing a just society which empowers victims, offenders, and the community. Unlike the Western concept of restorative justice, the shariah incorporates elements of restorative justice with a heavy emphasis on forgiveness, with or without an apology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article highlights the achievements of Shariah Courts in Malaysia in administering Islamic law especially on the issues of human capital as well as innovations which were introduced by the Department of Shariah Judiciary, Malaysia (JKSM) and the State Department of Shariah Judiciary (JKSN). This study also aims at fending off some negative notions against the Shariah Court as the second-class court in terms of power and achievements in administering and implementing Islamic law in Malaysia. The study uses qualitative approach and refers as well to the primary and secondary sources, which includes statutory provisions, monograf, articles, website information and interview with Tuan Haji Mohammad Syakir Abdul Hamid, the Registrar, JKSM at that time. The study found that the efforts made by JKSM/JKSN have, in the above-mentioned areas, achieved the goal and received recognition at the international level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Muslims believe that only Allah swt has the ultimate will and power over life and death. Life is merely a gift and a loan entrusted to mankind until death takes place. It is therefore forbidden for any person to intentionally end a life; to do so would be to commit a grievous transgression against Allah. Islam holds life in the highest esteem to the extent that the duty to preserve life forms one of the core principles in maqasid al-shari'ah. Protection of one's life includes taking care of one's body, health and mind from that which would lead to harm and death. All lives are equally inviolable; Islam does not discriminate one's life on the basis of nationality, race or religion. In order to ensure a just order that protects both individual and public interests at large, Islam prescribes certain legitimate situations where the dimensions of sanctity of life are qualified, for example, by permitting to end life in self-defence or in due course of law. There is thus a need to understand the wisdom behind the sanctity of life principle in Islam, not only by studying its importance, but also the overall scope in which it operates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enforcement of Shari'ah criminal offences in Selangor has always been subjected to public scrutiny. The commission of selected Shari'ah criminal offences has been rigorously enforced against by the Religious Enforcement Division of the Department of Islamic Affairs. Alas, there are times that the manner in which the enforcement has been carried out has led to public criticism. This article studies the power of the enforcement officers, the modus operandi of enforcement and the challenges faced by the Selangor Religious Enforcement Division. Using a mixed mode of content analysis and personal observation, the article argues that there is still much that needs to be done to improve the image and modus operandi of the enforcement of Shari'ah criminal offences in Selangor specifically and in Malaysia generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing financial punishments in Malaysia, usually in the form of fines for certain offences are payable to the government. The victims (if any) are not entitled to benefit from such payment, which implies that the system has failed to compensate the victims for losses that they have suffered. Another issue is the option provided for some offenders to pay a fine in lieu of imprisonment. This negates the principle of justice as it allows the rich to pay whilst the poor will have to face imprisonment. The question arises concerns the effectiveness of imposing fines to remedy the ailments in society. It also questions the reformative value of the punishment and how it can benefit the victim. This article evaluates the existing legal framework relating to financial punishments in Malaysia. In doing this, the objective of the article is to provide suggestions as to how these questions could be answered by incorporating Shari'ah principle of al-'adl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]