İslâm Hukukunda Cezaların Bireyselleştirilmesi İlkesi
The Principle of Individualization of Punishments in Islamic Law

Summary/Abstract: The principle of individualization of punishment, which means adapting the punishment to the personality of the criminal, has taken its place in the concepts of contemporary criminal law, along with other principles. In the study, the historical process of the principle of individualization of punishment and the conceptual framework of the principle are revealed. Although it is incompatible with the principles of legality and equality of classical doctrine, "personality of the criminal" has taken its place in today's criminal law as a legal concept and individualization in punishment has been accepted as a principle in contemporary criminal law. Although the individualization of punishment is the subject of many academic studies in general, as far as we can detect, there is only an academic article limited to the crime of adultery in Islamic criminal law. In this study, the principle of individualization of punishment is examined in more detail over the whole of Islamic law. It has been determined that there are data that can be evaluated within the scope of individualization of punishment in the Quran and sunnah, the primary sources of Islamic criminal law. The article also discusses the individualization of punishment through two examples of tazir (punishment left to the discretion of the administrator or judge, other than hadd and retaliation penalties) in Islamic law. The first of these is the punishment predictions that vary according to the social status of the criminals in tazīr penalties, and the second is the fines that vary according to the economic status of the people in the Ottoman codes. In the context of tazir punishments, the prediction of punishment varying according to the social status of the criminals can be considered an important example of the individualization of punishment, on the grounds that the deterrent effect of the punishment will vary according to the social status of the individuals. However, according to this understanding, while the heaviest penalties are prescribed for the lower segments of society, it is not possible to accept the gradual easing of the sentences of the upper segments in terms of justice and equity. Although the determination of fines in statutes is often criticized as the absence of financial penalties in Islamic criminal law, the policy of financial penalties, which vary according to people's ability to pay, has gained more supporters in recent years. In fines where people's economic situation is not considered, the painful nature of the punishment loses its meaning. Because while the same amount of fine for any crime is extremely painful for some, it is not even possible to define it as a punishment for the wealthy. The different punishment regulations included in the Ottoman Code of Laws, varying according to the economic status of the criminals, are an important example of adapting the punishment to the personality of the criminal.

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