Justice Under Islam

If you take a look at how the unique Judicial System of the Islamic State operates, you will see that the courts are not the sole factor in curbing the tide of crime. Rather they are the last line of defense. You would see how the State guarantees your rights, and ensures that justice is the only arbiter in your disputes. Taqwa - The First Line of Defense.
As a Muslim, you appreciate that your belief in Islam, and the notion of obedience to your creator Allah (swt), causes you to behave in a certain way. Your taqwa (fear of Allah) will motivate you to leave what is prohibited (haraam), and do what is obligatory (fard). Thus it will automatically help to prevent you and other Muslims around you from committing crimes, like theft, mugging, drug abuse etc. - these are all haraam.

For the Muslim, the issue thereafter becomes not weighing up the risks of committing a crime for which there is a possibility of being caught. Instead it is a matter of facing the punishment of the Hellfire, which Allah (swt), the All-Knowing, All-Seeing, prepares for those who go astray!

The Pressure of Public Opinion

The second factor concerns the society itself. In the Islamic State you are in an environment which is based around and propagates only the Islamic values and emotions There will be no media influences tempting you away from obedience to Allah (swt), nor will the non-Islamic ambitions held by people around us here, like success at all costs or increasing of status, affect us. You will find yourself surrounded by people who look down upon actions contradictory to Islam and who praise those which accord with it.

These will all create a public opinion against committing crime that will act as a check against those who are tempted to do so.

Justice in Islam

Human beings are limited in knowledge and are fallible. They are prone to error and subject to prejudice. Islam does not leave the legislation of justice to the whims and fancies of human beings as is the case in the West. Instead the permission to make laws is only for Allah (swt) the creator of mankind and the One Who knows human beings the best. Who do you think is best qualified for this task? Allah (swt) says,

"The rule is for none but Allah." [EMQ 6:57]
Thus you can rest assured that in an Islamic court, factors such as the judge being friends with the accused, or having had a bad day, have no bearing on the severity of the punishment he chooses to administer.

If you are a victim of crime and are poor while your opponent is wealthy, this will have no effect whatsoever on the verdict of the court. While you are allowed to appoint a representative to speak on your behalf, there are no vast sums of money at stake. The objective of the courts is solely to establish justice, not to make money. Therefore, it does not matter who presents your case, or how persuasively he speaks, but it is up to the judge to ascertain the facts and evaluate them.

In Islam, only definite evidence of guilt is sufficient for the administration of a sentence. Accordingly, there is no concept of a jury, whose members may disagree between themselves on the verdict, purely on the basis of their own personal discretion.

Circumstantial evidence, which is inconclusive and subject to different interpretations is not enough. All evidence is presented to a judge who is expert in jurisprudence, and he imposes punishment according to laws from Islam. Thus only those proven to be criminals are punished. Criminals for whom no conclusive verdict is possible will not escape the punishment on the Day of Judgment.