Is Islamic justice really harsh, or is ‘modern’ just changing words?

Assalamu alaikum - I’ve been thinking about how we call some things modern when they’re really just temporary ideas. What people consider “modern” keeps shifting, so the way Islam is seen changes too. But Islam isn’t tied to a single era or culture; it speaks to human nature. Our need for meaning, justice, limits, mercy, and responsibility doesn’t vanish with trends. That’s why Islam often feels timeless - it addresses the human condition, not whatever is labeled modern right now. Take punishment as an example. In many contemporary systems, something like speeding usually means a fine. But fines aren’t equal in effect. A $100 or $1,000 fine might be nothing to a wealthy person and devastating to someone poor. Some places try to scale fines by income, but money still struggles to produce true equality. In classical Islamic legal thought, many consequences weren’t tied to wealth. The aim wasn’t cruelty but fairness. If both a rich person and a poor person endanger others by speeding, what could be more equal than the same consequence for both? When the penalty is the same - say, lashes in that historical context - it’s felt by everyone. Wealth can’t erase it. Both go home with the same responsibility and the same consequence. From that viewpoint, it’s hard to see a fairer form of justice. Nowadays those kinds of penalties are often called barbaric because they clash with contemporary sensibilities. But what seems modern isn’t always the most just - sometimes it’s just what we’ve grown used to.