URDU-14 Right of Defense: A Comparative Study of Islamic Law and Western Law

Abstract

Haqq-e-Difa—Right of defense has been equally discussed in Islamic and contemporary western laws as a deserving right or to some extent an obligation on the part of a person to defend himself or his property or his chastity against any sort of offence. Both the aforesaid unanimously legitimate the defendant to exercise any mean or force to repel and turn back the offender. They argue that the defendant will bear no criminal responsibility if his defending measurements lead to grave and sever injuries or even to the assassination of the offender.

The word Haqq-e-Difa is rarely found with the early Muslim Jurists. On contrary, they use the word “Dam-al-sail” which means the legitimation of the bloodshed of the offender. Later on the word “Haqq-e-difa” came into use as a synonym of “Dam-al-sail” in juristic and legal connotations.