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Why does the judiciary, especially in Islamic countries, not grant any of their rights to an innocent defendant who has spent time in prison after their acquittal?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is not permissible to imprison an innocent person in Islam. The detention of an accused person falls into three categories: 1. If he is innocent: It is not permissible to imprison him or punish him. 2. If his status is unknown: He is to be detained until his situation becomes clear. 3. If he is known for immorality: It is permissible to imprison him and beat him until his situation is clarified.

If the innocence of the accused is proven, or the prescribed punishment (hadd) is carried out against him, or the right is taken and he repents, then he returns to the status of other Muslims and enjoys his rights. His repentance and testimony are accepted, based on the words of Allah Almighty: "Except for those who repent after that and correct themselves. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." (Quran 3:89). The scholars have not mentioned that an accused person is entitled to financial compensation if his innocence is proven, nor was compensation mentioned for the Prophet, peace be upon him, when he detained a man on suspicion and then released him.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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