ALL praise is due to Allah, the lord of the Universe. May His benediction be upon the noble prophet (PBUH).
On behalf of the Executive Members of Edo State Council for Islamic Affairs, I wish to address you on the matter of rape which is now prevalent in our society.
Incidence of rape is not a new phenomenon but the frequency it occurs these days is very alarming. What is now more worrisome is the rate the rapists also murder their victims. It is on this note that I decided to join other well-meaning citizens to condemn this barbaric act.
From the recent happenings of rape, coupled with the killings of the victims as in the cases of Uwa and Barakat in Benin and in Ibadan respectively, it becomes very difficult for me as a person to agree that those crimes were really just for the purpose of rape. I believe those cases were more of murder for only Allah knows why. Those involved should be reminded that nobody have the right to take life unjustly because nobody can create one.
We should fear Allah and also control our quest for irrelevant things in fear of Allah in order to avoid the temptation of following the ways of Shaytan. May Almighty Allah continue to guide and protect us and He should not allow us to be among those the devil is leading astray.
In Islam, human sexuality is governed by Allah’s law as contained in the holy Quran and Hadiths of the Prophet (PBUH). Violation of this law is a violation of moral and divine law. Rape can be referred to as transgression against the honour of women. Rape is highly forbidden in Islam and in the mind of all wise people and those who possess sound human judgement.
It is time for all to establish and maintain high moral standard and also help to make rapists and potential rapists to know the implications of their actions. The argument of some people basing the reasons for raping on indecent dressing and sexual inducement on the part of the female victims is no longer tenable, because most of the victims of late were devoid of these characters. Also, one begin to wonder what attract babies and toddlers to full grown men for sex other than evil clandestine in their minds.
The punishment to deter people from involving in rape is a very serious one (hadd punishment). According to the sharia law, this is by stoning the perpetrator to death if he is married, one hundred lashes and banishment for one year if he is not married.
However, if it is established that the perpetrator use weapon to actualise the crime, then he is muhaarib, and he subjected to the hadd punishment describe in suratu Al-Maaidah 5 : 33. If it is proven that the victim is innocent of the crime, she is excused.
Under the criminal Code of Nigeria (section 357 & 358), the punishment for rape is life imprisonment.
It is generally said that the pain of rape cannot be easily erased with the passage of time, hence many victims of rape have attempted suicide and some have actually succeeded in committing suicide.
In the light of this, all hands should be on deck to reduce the occurrence of rape in our society. One of the ways to do this is to know what actions and inactions that may likely facilitate occurrence of rape in our society.
Study has shown that:
Most of these rapists are already criminals before they add the act of rape to it. That is most of the rapists are notorious criminals so we should avoid those with criminal tendencies.
They commit this dastardly act under the influence of alcohol and other types of drugs. We should be wary of those with such character in our society.
They take advantage of their victims who walk alone in isolated places, or staying in their houses alone. This should be avoided as much as possible.
Study has also shown that what these criminals watch in the streets and in the media about the semi-naked styles of dress in which women go out also lead to the commission of rape.
Adherence to laws of Islam can also help in the reduction of incidence of rape. These laws include:
Women should be modest in their dressing, especially when they are outside their homes.
Women should not travel without mahram.
It is forbidden in Islam for woman to shake hand with non-mahram man.
Islam encourages young men and women to marry early as this reduce temptation of pre-marital sex.
My brothers and sisters, the victims of rape and the perpetrators are our fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters. So we should step up moral teachings and fear of Allah as this will go a long way in reducing the heinous crime in our society.
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Alhaji Abdulazeez Nosakhare Igbinidu Fca Is The
Chairman, Edo State Council For Islamic Affairs
