Islamic Fiqh > Penalties (hudud) > Maharaba in Islamic law
The Quranic category of hiraba (spreading terror on the roads), its gradations and the schools' views, and why jurists reserve it for organized violence against public security.
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Updated on 06 October 2026 at 10:50 PM
Maharaba (hiraba) designates brigandage: appearing in force to kill, seize property or terrorize people, beyond the reach of any help. The jurists count it among the fixed penalties (hudud), established by consensus, whose basis is the verse of al-Ma'ida. This page restates the exposition of the encyclopaedia of jurisprudence: the schools' definitions, the conditions, the penalties according to the cases, the fate of the accomplice, repentance and the return of property.
The chapter is published in sections, each complete and directly accessible: