(Part 2) For The Attention Of The Federal Court : Bapak Zina Kahwin Anak Zina, Hudud & Shariah Shafie

On Monday I attended a talk organised by the G25. The guest speaker was the Mufti of Perlis Dato Dr Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin or Dr Maza. It was interesting and of course very predictable too. The gist of it is that "the scholars differ".

Dr Asri said things that I have been saying now for decades. There is no uniformity of opinion among the religious folks. Plus what they tell us about their religion is sectarian or mazhab based.

Dr Asri mentioned what I have said before many, many times - the understanding of hudud and shariah in Malaysia is based on the Shafie sect. What does this mean?

For example the Shafie sect says that a man can marry his own biological daughter if the child was born out of wedlock or 'anak haram'.  What Dr Asri termed 'bapak zina kahwin anak zina'. I will visit this point again later.

He also explained that the State of Perlis does not favour any one particular sect among the FOUR major Sunni sects ie Shafie, Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali. In Perlis they follow whatever suits them from all the four sects.

Did you know that Perlis is the only State in Malaysia where a Muslim man can marry a non Muslim woman (ahli kitab, ie Jewish or Christian) and the wife need not convert to Islam?According to Dr Maza this is a gazetted fatwa in Perlis done during the time of Dr Juanda Jaya, the previous mufti of Perlis.

So all you mixed marriage couples (guy must be Muslim though) who wish to tie the knot without too much hassle or requiring the wife to convert  can get married in Perlis.  It appears that religion is defined by geography. Perlis lain, Selangor lain, Kelantan lain etc.

Perlis is different because (according to Dr Maza) since 1948 the state was influenced by the progressive reform movement of Muhammad Abduh and Rashid Rida (both Egyptians).   

Well I would like to declare that I am not a follower of Rashid Rida or Muhammad Abduh.  I just follow the Quran which is an extremely progressive and contemporary book (despite being 1400 years old).

In the case of custody over children in the event of divorce among mixed marriages (where one parent is not Muslim) Dr Maza said that he favours an opinion in the Hanafi sect which determines custody according to which parent can provide better care for the child - and not based on the religion of the parent.  

So as I have said many, many times before - the scholars differ. This is the constant among the religious scholars ie they always differ.  One person says like this and another person will say like that. So how can what they say be deemed as 'hukum Allah' or 'Allah's law'?


Now back to the 'bapak zina kahwin anak zina' thingy - it is the view of the Shafiee sect that a man can marry his own biological daughter as long as she was born out of wedlock.

You do not have to have modern science to know that this is very wrong. 

As I have blogged it before the Chinese people have it in their traditions that two people with the same Chinese surname cannot get married. So a Lim cannot marry a Lim, Wong cannot marry Wong etc. I think they still follow this rule.

From ancient times, thousands of years ago,  the Chinese people have worked out the genetical dangers of inbreeding (not to mention incest).  Maybe that is why they are so clever and numerous on the Earth - because their genetic pool is 'strengthened' by a more diverse DNA.  

Here is something about incest :

• Incest is sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in a consanguineous relationship (blood relations). 
• The incest taboo is and has been one of the most widespread of all cultural taboos, both in present and in many past societies. Most modern societies have laws regarding incest or social restrictions on closely consanguineous marriages. 
• Some cultures extend the incest taboo to relatives with no consanguinity such as milk-siblings, step-siblings, and adoptive siblings. A common justification given for the incest taboo is the impact inbreeding may have on children of incestuous sex. Children whose biological parents have a close genetic relationship have an increased risk of congenital disorders, death, and disability due at least in part to genetic diseases caused by the inbreeding."

Long before children of inbreeding develop genetic diseases, they tend to become dim witted as well. Kalau cakap Melayu - depa boleh jadi lagi bodoh.  

So imagine centuries of close breeding or inbreeding within family groups. The DNA is not strengthened with new blood (like the Chinese) instead it gets concentrated and the gene pool becomes smaller.  Genetically, subsequent generations become more and more bodoh.

Now to my fellow Muslim readers and to the Judges of the Federal Court, the Appeals Court, High Court and other courts I hope you are reading this. 

The Quran has already spoken against inbreeding and incestuous marriages from over 1400 years ago. 

Surah 4:23. Prohibited to you are:- Your mothers, daughters, sisters; father's sisters, Mother's sisters; brother's daughters, sister's daughters; foster-mothers (Who gave you suck), foster-sisters; your wives' mothers; your step-daughters under your guardianship, born of your wives to whom ye have gone in, no prohibition if ye have not gone in; wives of your sons proceeding from your loins; and two sisters in wedlock at one and the same time, except for what is past; for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful

So these are the women whom you cannot marry, including women who suckled from the same woman as you. All of these 'prohibitions' refer blood relations or other biological relationships ("your step-daughters under your guardianship, born of your wives to whom ye have gone in") .  These are deemed "incestuous" marriages.

The Quran is so crystal clear.  You cannot marry your mothers or your daughters. 

Now these incestuous marriages are 'prohibited' not just because the Quran says so. 

The Quran says so because these types of incestuous marriages are bad for the human race.   Because it is the wrong thing to do - biologically and genetically. It is bad for the human race. 

So how did the Shafie sect come to say  bapak zina kahwin anak zina ?? It totally contradicts the Quran. 

How can you say that just because you did not have a valid marriage certificate from the pejabat kadi Tanjong Malim (for example) and you gave birth to illegitimate daughters then you can marry your own illegitimate daughters !! 


Despite the passage of almost 1200 years since Shafie, this strange ruling has been part of the jurisprudence (fiqah) in the Shafiee sect.  No one until today has said that this teaching in the Shafie sect should be expunged.  

So I hope the Judges of the Federal Court will be aware that when the religious people come to you and present the case for their religious laws, please make a full and sincere effort to understand the reality and the history of their laws.

I can assure you their laws have very little to do with the Quran. They are just sectarian laws, the ideas of fallible humans and often from a misguided intellect.  

So do not allow their frail arguments to nail the coffin over this beautiful country.  History will not judge you kindly at all.