Browsing by Author "Mek Wok Mahmud, Ph.D"

Rape is a violent and heinous crime against women. Those who commit it will be punished according to the Malaysia’s civil criminal law, specifically through section 375, Malaysia Penal Code. It is an illegal sexual intercourse between a man and a woman without consent and against her will. Different types of rape such as statutory, non-statutory, incestuous and gang rape are prescribed with different punishments based on the seriousness of the crime. The government’s effort to seriously curb the number of rape cases is clearly seen by strengthening and amending the law in 2013. However, based on statistics given by Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM), rape cases are still reported at an alarming rate, and the adequacy and suffienciency of the present rape law is being questioned. Accordingly, this study intends to analyse rape law from the Shari'ah perspective with the purpose of suggesting its harmonisation with Shari'ah as a correctional study. To attain this objective, a qualitative case study method has been adopted. The data have been collected by using two methods, namely document review and interview and the collected data were analysed thematically. The findings of the study indicated that there are three main aspects of Malaysian rape law which are in contradiction with Shari'ah principles: first, the irrebutable presumption of a boy as a rapist in the definition of rape; second, the issue of consent in terms of ambiguity and statutory rape; third, the punishment for incestuous and consensual statutory rape. Therefore, in order to ensure that the law and Shari'ah are in tandem, a suggestion of harmonisation on these aspects has been proposed. It is hoped that this study will contribute to a better Malaysian rape law in safeguarding the welfare of society and protecting the honor and lineage (ḥifẓ al-ʽirḍ wa al-nasl) as outlined in the Shari'ah objectives (maqasid Shari'ah).

This study aims to highlight the issue of the increase in the divorce phenomenon in the province of North Batinah in Oman, and to clarify the reasons that led to the emergence of this phenomenon in the society. It is also to show the effects on both of divorced spouses and their children and the rest of society, and to reach an appropriate treatment that can contribute to minimizing and reducing the size of divorce in society. The researcher followed four scientific approaches in addressing this subject, through the inductive approach. The researcher extrapolated the sources related to the subject through Omani society in accordance with the rules of Islamic law purposes. In addition, the study analyzed the scientific material through analytical method in order to find out the Islamic opinion in some of the provisions of divorce. As for the comparative approach, a comparison was conducted in digital statistics among the province's states. The field study was also employed by using the questionnaire distributed to the community members, as well as conducting some interviews with divorce specialists. The study found that divorce became apparent in the province of North Batinah in Oman, by increasing its numbers year after year by comparing the numbers of male and female divorcees in the years of study. In addition, there are some reasons that the researcher did not expect to be the main reasons for divorce in society, such as infidelity, as the researcher concluded his study with a set of recommendations.

The aim of the study was to identify the role of endowment in Islamic civilization; to clarify the role of the Othman bin Affan endowment in humanitarian services in Islamic civilization; to monitor the obstacles that limit the endowment from performing its role in the modem era; and to reveal the mechanisms of endowment investment and development in the modem era. The research problem was represented by the role of endowment in Islamic civilization, especially the endowment of Othman bin Affan. T h e i n du c t i v e and descriptive analytical methods were used to know the mechanisms that were i mp 1 e m e n t e d at that time and reveal the obstacles that limit the endowment's provision of community services in our contemporary reality. The most significant findings of the study are the following: Throughout the lengthy history of Islam, the Islamic endowment system is one of the systems that has affected various aspects of economic, social, cultural, and religious life in Islamic civilization. The endowment made a significant contribution to religious life. It was fundamental in establishing places of worship, contributing to the memorization of the Qur' an, endowing religious books, helping the poor who are unable to perform the Hajj, aiding considerably to the Islamic Jihad movement, rising against the occupation in Islamic countries, and extending a helping hand to the Islamic minorities scattered in various countries. In terms of cultural life, the endowment made significant contributions to the educational process, as well as to the dissemination of scientific knowledge to different members of society, especially the poor, as well as contributed to the provision of books, by endowing integrated libraries to facilitate the task of teachers and students. The endowment has also contributed significantly in the aspect of social life, in which it supported the teaching of medical and pharmaceutical sciences, by providing special places for this, continuing the work of health centers as long as possible, choosing the best expertise to work in suspended hospitals, as well as W aqf medical books, so that they are accessible to everyone. The endowment also contributed to the establishment of infrastructure projects such as roads, schools, mosques, wells, roads, and fortifications of cemeteries and tombs. It also helped m the increase of all kinds of production.

This research analyzes qiwamah (male guardianship) as practiced by Muslims of Bangkok, Thailand, who understand it in an authoritarian sense. The research adopts the inductive and analytical method, as well as a field study consisting of questionnaires, interviews, visits to common Muslims, judges, imams of mosques and members of the Islamic Committee in Bangkok .The research is divided into three sections: the study of qiwamah, its concepts and implications in the Islamic law; the assessment of qiwamah and its contemporary problems; and how to solve them from the perspective of the Islamic law. The research concludes that Muslims of Bangkok are a minority ruled by Buddhist authorities of Thailand. As a result, they are largely ignorant about the rules of Muslims’ family and the sound understanding of qiwamah.

This research conducts a comparative study between women’s rights in Islamic Jurisprudence and the viewpoints of women’s organizations in Bangladesh. The central issues of the study relate to the concepts of women’s rights, equality between man and woman, woman’s rights of inheritance and freedom. Following the inductive, analytical and comparative methods, the researcher discusses these concepts in the light of what is available in Islamic Jurisprudence and what is maintained and demanded by women’s organizations in Bangladesh. Then he conducts a comparative study between them. The result of the study reveals the fundamental differences between Islamic Jurisprudence and the feminist organizations of Bangladesh regarding the concepts of woman’s rights and her equality with man. The study also explains the necessity of appropriate understanding of the term “woman’s rights”, so that we should not take it out of its correct concept. Likewise, this research finds that both Islamic Jurisprudence and women’s organizations in Bangladesh emphasize on providing woman’s rights, but Islamic Jurisprudence is the most suitable, appropriate and useful mechanism for achieving women’s rights.

Islam commands it’s female believers to cover their aurah, the body parts that are obliged by Allah upon the Muslims to be covered, as which had been clearly stated in numerous Quranic verses and prophetic traditions. Nevertheless, there are not many studies discussing the topic of aurah covering parameters, instead, the existing literatures in this topic mainly explore the meaning of hijab to Muslim women. Attempting to fill the gap, this study aims to determine the correctness of understanding on aurah covering parameters among female students in International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and their differences in understanding regarding the matter. This study also aims to identify the factors that shape female IIUM students understanding regarding aurah covering parameters, as well as to identify the difference in the correctness of their understanding between those who are affected by these factors and those who were not affected. Another objective of this study is to find out the coherence of IIUM dress code with Islamic aurah covering parameter and the adherence of IIUM female students towards this dress code. The researcher used the inductive method to study the discussion of scholars deriving the evidence regarding aurah covering and the analytical method in analysing their opinions. In addition, the researcher adopted the quantitative method through survey conducted using questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed online among female students of IIUM using various social media platform. The researcher obtained usable answers from 136 students, and these answers were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) program. The result show that IIUM female students possess correct understanding on aurah covering parameter and did not show significant difference of understanding on the matter. The two factors that shape female IIUM students understanding regarding aurah covering parameters are the religious sources and family. The researcher found statistically significant difference in the correctness of understanding between those who are affected by these factors and those who were not affected. The results also show that the university dress code is in line with the aurah covering parameters in general, except in the clause prohibiting face covering in the university compound. Furthermore, the results show good adherence of IIUM female students to the dress code.