This research investigates rape as a crime according to Islamic criminal law. There
have been many controversial issues pertaining to the notion of rape, its penal
classification, punishment, adjudication and remedies for the victim. Rape in
classical Islamic law has been seen as a crime correlated with zina and as such to be
treated in the same way as zina in terms of collecting evidence for prosecution, as
well as the punishment for it. However, some modern scholars have suggested that
rape is actually closer to hiraba on the basis that there are concepts of hiraba, such as
physical assault, in rape. These different classifications of rape result it different
procedures for prosecution, proof and punishment. This research examines the
appropriate punishment for the rape as well as modern developments regarding the
prosecution of rape, legal procedures, the rights of the accused and the rights of the
victim, based on the opinions and arguments of classical and modern Muslim
jurisprudents from various schools of la
