Capital Punishment in Islam
Date.10 Oct, 2026
For nearly two decades, Justice Project Pakistan has represented people facing the death penalty and worked to strengthen the safeguards that stand between the State and the taking of a human life. Through this work, we have seen that Islamic jurisprudence and international human rights law converge on some of the most fundamental principles of criminal justice. Islam places the sanctity of life, justice, mercy, restraint, due process, protection of the vulnerable and prevention of wrongful punishment at its core. These principles are also central to international human rights law.
As lawyers and advocates, we have found that arguments grounded in both traditions can be among the most compelling and effective ways to advance death penalty reform.
This policy brief brings these principles together in a practical framework for death penalty reform. It examines Islamic jurisprudence alongside international human rights standards and identifies how both can inform the way the death penalty is legislated, imposed and reviewed. It is intended as a resource not only for Pakistan, but for lawyers, judges, policymakers, parliamentarians, scholars, academics, diplomats and civil society across the world and in Muslim-majority countries.
We hope this brief travels far beyond Pakistan. It does not seek to close the debate on Islam and capital punishment. It seeks to open it differently, by providing a framework for examining the death penalty through principles grounded in both Islamic jurisprudence and international human rights law.
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