A Comparative Study of Controversial Types of Hirabah (Banditry) in Islamic Jurisprudence and Yemeni Laws

Abstract

This paper investigated the controversial types of Hirabah for three reasons: to the best of the researcher's knowledge, it is a new topic that has not been investigated independently; the focus has been on the agreed types only. Secondly, this topic focuses on a vital issue in society; and finally it paves the way for future studies of Mohareb offences. The paper aimed to identify controversial types of Hirabah, its rules, and to examine the possibility of applying Hirabah elements (to them) as well as the perspective of Yemeni laws about Hirabah. For defining the types of Hirabah, the analytical descriptive method was followed, and for comparing and tracking various opinions and views, the comparative inductive method was used. The study concluded that Hirabah controversial types should be penalized as the rules of Hirabah apply to them. This fulfills the purposes of jurisprudence in protecting the society security and public interests, and preventing such crimes. It was recommended that Yemeni penal code be reviewed to conform with Islamic jurisprudence and general penal code; and collective Ejtehad and making use of the potential of Islamic criminal law regarding formation of appropriate legal opinions for the current crimes should be taken into consideration. It was also suggested that this topic should be open for further research studies.

Keywords: Hirabah, brigandry, banditry, piracy, assassination.