Ifsad fi al-Arth: Conceptual Ambiguity, Practical Repercussion (Evaluation of Islamic Criminal Law Article 286)

Ifsad fi al-arth is one of the controversial issues in Islamic criminal law. Jurisprudential sources (fiqh) are not adequate to establish this concept; on the other hand widespread use of this subject matter in Iranian criminal law has shed the shadow of prudence on this dubious jurisprudential establishment. s this definition of Ifsad has been accepted widely by recently enacted criminal law, it is of importance to analyze this approach. In this article it will be ascertained that this criminal conception does not have convincing grounds in Fiqh and most of Islamic scholars (Foqaha) have not recognised it as an independent crime. Furthermore it will be clarified that this approach results in massive use of this questionable subject matter and leads to arbitrary interpretations. Further it might causes potential risks for Islamic community and its citizens.