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In September 2019, a Multan Sessions Court (state trial court) issued its decision in State v. Muhammad Waseem et. al, a high-profile honor killing case in Pakistan. The case involved the killing of Qandeel Baloch, a controversial social media star, who was found strangled to death in her home on July 16, 2016. In a witness statement on the day of the occurrence, the deceased’s parents accused their son (Muhammad Waseem) for killing their daughter. Waseem was arrested and, shortly thereafter, admitted to murdering his sister “in the name of Gairat” during interrogation. The next day, Waseem repeated the confession in front of a Judicial Magistrate in a recorded statement. In December 2018, the State instituted a criminal case against Waseem and five other defendants for the offenses of qatl-i-amd (intentional homicide) and “abetment” of qatl-i-amd. At the onset of trial, Waseem retracted his judicial confession and the victim’s parents waived their right of qisas (retribution) against him. After evaluating the facts, circumstances, and evidence admitted at trial, the court held that the prosecution had proved “beyond shadow of reasonable doubt” that Waseem strangled his sister to death and that this was a case of honor killing. Despite a waiver of qisas (pardoning of the accused) by the deceased’s legal heirs, the court sentenced Waseem to life imprisonment as ta’zir (discretionary punishment). The other defendants were acquitted for lack of sufficient circumstantial evidence against them.

This fatwa states that Islam recognises the death penalty and applies it to jarimah (criminal conduct) that warrants hudud, qishas (retaliatory) or ta'zir punishments. It also acknowledges that the state may execute perpetrators of certain criminal offences.

This fatwa declares the production, trafficking and usage of narcotics as haram (forbidden), punishable by hadd and/or ta'zir punishments. It distinguishes between the effect narcotics has on society with that of alcohol, noting the effect of the former to be far more grave. The fatwa also condones the death penalty for producing, trafficking or using narcotics, and opposes government intervention in penalties handed down for such misconduct.

This fatwa applies to those shari'a banking customers who default on contractual repayments. It notes that customers who default because of a force majeure may not be sanctioned, however, those who default for other reasons within their control may incur a financial sanction. The fatwa states that such sanctions are based on the principle of ta'zir, that being a sanction with the intent of ensuring the customer is more disciplined in executing their contractual obligations.

This qanun constitutes the Aceh Islamic Criminal Code. It prohibits jarimah (conduct prohibited under Islamic law, or sharīʿa) and imposes hudud and ta'zir punitive measures ('uqubat) as deterrents for committing jarimah. Specifically, the qanun prohibits khamar (alcohol), maisir (gambling), khalwat (close proximity in private), ikhtilath (non-sexual, pre-marital intimacy), zina (adultery), sexual abuse, rape, qadzaf (false accusation), liwath (sodomy), and musahaqah (lesbian relations).

Article 4(2) of the qanun defines hudud punishment as caning, while ta'zir, according to arts 4(3) and 4(4), is caning, monetary fines, imprisonment, and restitution.

Pursuant to art 5, persons subject to the qanun are:

1. all Muslim offenders in Aceh;
2. all non-Muslim offenders who commit an offence togther with another Muslim and voluntarily submit to the qanun;
3. all non-Muslims who commit an offence not covered in the Indonesian Criminal Code (Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana) or that is outside the Indonesian Criminal Code, but regulated in the qanun; and
4. legal entities carrying out operations in Aceh.

This fatwa states that, in Islam, a child is born in a holy state, free from sin, even if born of adultery. The fatwa acknowledges Indonesian Constitutional Court Decision No. 46 of 2010 that granted children born out of wedlock the same status as that of children born of parents in wedlock.

The fatwa states, however, that a child born of adultery does not have a relationship with its father or father's family, but does with its mother and mother's family. The child does not bear the sin of its parents, who are to be punished (hadd) by the authorised parties. The government is authorised to hand down a ta'zir punishment to compel the male adulterer to cover the child's needs and provide the child with some form of inheritance in his will (wasiat wajibah). This ta'zir punishment is designed to afford the child some protection; not to legitimise the relationship between the father and child.

The fatwa also recommends that the People's Representative Assembly (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat) and government legislate to ensure severe punishments for adultery as a deterrent, as well as to ensure that children born of adultery are afforded the necessary protections a father should provide his child. The fatwa requests that the government facilitate with ease the provision of birth certificates to children born of adultery, but not to legitimise the relationship between the father and child. The fatwa also obliges the government to educate society so as children born of adultery are not discriminated against, but are treated like any other child.

The prosecution submitted that the accused had raped the 13-year old victim, his own biological daughter, contrary to arts 49, and 1(30) and (25) of Aceh Qanun No. 6 of 2014 on Criminal Law, on a day in October 2015 at around 4.00pm, and then again on 5 November 2015 at around 4.30pm. The prosecution submitted that upon learning that his daughter had been physically intimate with her own step-father, the accused visited her at his sibling's home, where she was living, and raped her on at least two occasions. On the first occasion, the accused allegedly told the victim that he was raping her because she was no longer virginal ('udah hancur'), that she therefore had ruined her future, and that he would take her to Medan where she could become a prostitute ('lonte'). On the second occasion, on 5 November 2015, the accused again allegedly raped the victim while threatening her that he would either kill her or send her to Medan to become a prostitute.

A medical report submited by the prosecution revealed that the victim had been raped on several occasions. The prosecution submitted that, pursuant to arts 49, and 1(30) and (25) of Aceh Qanun No. 6 of 2014 on Criminal Law, the prescribed punishment for incestuous rape is either between 150 and 200 strokes of the cane, a fine of between 1500 and 2000 grams of pure gold, or a prison sentence of between 150 and 200 months. The prosecution requested, therefore, that the accused be imprisoned for 16 years.

The court acknolwedged that the charge was one of rape, rather than zina (sexual relations out of wedlock), meaning that the evidentiary burden contained in Aceh Qanun No. 7 of 2013 on Criminal Procedure applied, rather than that of four witnesses, as in cases of zina. Moreover, as Aceh Qanun No. 6 of 2014 prescribed a ta'zir punishment for rape, the court was of the opinion that a prison sentence would reduce the chances of the accused reoffending. In sentencing the accused to 15 years' jail, less time already served on remand, the court also acknowledged the seriousness of the offence and the need to protect children from such abuse, citing Law No. 35 of 2014 on Amendments to Law No. 23 of 2002 on Child Protection.