Are prisons a newly invented punishment, and is there no benefit in them?

Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. Some people say that prisons are a newly invented punishment, that they are a tool for oppressing people, and that there is no benefit for them in them. What is the opinion on that?

Answer:
This is a false statement, because during the time of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) bought a house in Makkah for imprisonment. So it is a punishment among the types of punishments; imprisonment is one of the types of punishments. Indeed, Allah mentioned in the story of Yusuf (peace be upon him) that he remained in prison for a few years, to prove that imprisonment is known and is not something newly invented in this age, as this person claims.