The Effect of the Criminal's Social Status on Punishment According to the Penal Code in Islam

The current study explores the effect of social status –that is people`s status among the group and society- on punishment. Social status is a relative concept and it is estimated by the norms. One of the subsets of justice is equality in the law and execution of the punishments equally that is highly emphasized. Before the advent of Islam, courts had hierarchy order, based on social levels. People were punished in accordance with the social level they existed in. Using a descriptive-analytic approach, this paper tries to analyze the effect of criminal`s social position on punishment based on Islamic teachings. The findings show that although the effect of criminal`s social position on the severity, retaliation, blood money and punishments are inferable from the jurisprudential books, but accepting its effects on punishments is easier than its effect on severity, retaliation and blood money. Observing public interest and common good and the principle of the most important and important leads to the delayed execution of the punishments. What can be understood from the tradition of Ahl al-Bayt (p.b.u.t) is that sometimes they forgave some people who possessed a high position in the society or even punished them more severe.