Imprisonment in Islamic criminal law

Islam has implemented encouraging or deterrent measures to ensure the enforcement of commands and prohibitions aimed at regulating individual and social life. These measures and sanctions are considered within the concept of punishment. In Islamic law, one of the punishments that restrict a person's freedom is imprisonment. It has undergone various changes since the time of the Prophet. Imprisonment, which is considered within the scope of Ta'zîr crimes, was used for detention purposes in the early periods of Islam. These detentions created an environment that prepared the punishment rather than the punishment itself. However, with the growth of the lands dominated by Islam and the establishment of great Islamic states, it was seen that it was widely used as the main punishment. This process of imprisonment is quite complex. At the same time, this type of punishment, which is not specified or prohibited in the Quran, has undergone change and transformation as a result of social requirements. There were no specially built prisons until Ali's caliphate. However, places such as mosques, houses, cellars and wells were used for detention purposes. Therefore, although there are differences in practice, the place of imprisonment in the Islamic justice system has been important since the early periods. Islamic jurists disagreed on the ways of applying imprisonment. Punishments were determined by both state administrators and judges according to the severity and crime committed. The fact that imprisonment has a place in Islamic law literature has created the need to address the situation of prisons and prisoners. Within the scope of Islamic law, which attaches importance to fundamental rights and freedoms and believes in innate rights, the warnings of jurists were not followed from time to time, and prisons turned into frightening dungeons. However, this situation necessitated reconsidering the situation of prisoners and prisons. Keywords: Sicn; Habs; Imprisonment; Islamic law; Prisoner