Reactualization of Hadd Sanctions for Theft and Robbery in the Context of a Modern Rule of Law

Abstract

This study examines the concepts of theft (sariqah) and robbery (hirabah) in Islamic criminal law and explores their relevance to the development of property crimes in the modern era, particularly within a state governed by the rule of law such as Indonesia. Using normative legal research with conceptual, historical, and comparative approaches, the study analyzes the Qur'an, Hadith, classical works of criminal fiqh, modern scholarship on Islamic criminal law, Indonesian criminal legislation, and criminological literature on cybercrime and crime prevention. The results show that sariqah is the secret taking of another person's protected property without right, and that the hadd punishment applies only when strict conditions are met, including the nisab, safekeeping (hirz), intent, full proof, and the absence of doubt (shubhah); otherwise, the offender is subject to discretionary punishment (ta'zir). Hirabah is the open taking of property or terrorization of the public through force or threat, and is treated as a more serious crime with graduated penalties proportional to the harm caused. Historical research indicates that hadd punishments were applied rarely because of demanding evidentiary standards and the principle of averting hudud in cases of doubt, which reveals that the system was oriented more toward deterrence, caution, and the protection of society than toward frequent physical punishment. The study argues that the reactualization of sariqah and hirabah in a modern rule-of-law state does not mean the formal adoption of hadd punishments into national law, but the translation of their underlying values, namely the protection of property and public security, proportionality, evidentiary rigor, and the prevention of crime through social justice, into contemporary criminal policy. These values remain relevant in addressing modern property crimes such as data theft, account hacking, online fraud, and digital extortion, and can inform Indonesia's criminal law reform, cybercrime regulation, and restorative justice practices.