The Influence of Repentance on Punishments and Penalties

Abstract

As a kind of His mercy and justice, Allah paves the way for the
criminals and aggressors to come back to the right path through
repentance. Thus, in addition to forgiveness in the Hereafter,
repentance has a significant effect on changing, dilution and, in some
cases, canceling the sentences issued against the sinful people in this
world. However, because the wide spread of crimes and guilt in the
contemporary Islamic societies, many people think that there is no
more room for repentance.
Due to the fact that this subject is of a high significance, the aim
of this research is to clarify the influence of repentance on the
punishments and penalties posed by the Islamic law against the sinful
and criminals.
The research is divided into two main parts: 1. the meaning of
repentance, and 2. its effect on the Islamic penal law.
Finally, it is concluded that:
1.The real repentance can uproot crimes so long the ultimate end of
punishment is to correct the behavior of people, and that is because
the repentance is stimulated by an internal motivation based on trust
in Allah’s mercy.
2.Repentance could lead to modifying or canceling the sentences
issued against criminals and guilty people.