justice

all prayers and blessings of allah be upon our master, the most noble prophet muhammad, his family, his wives and his companions. we praise allah, thank him and seek his help, guidance and forgiveness.

we will talk about the scale that allah sets for creations to have justice; it is one of the rules of life. no order in life except through this scale, and no reform without it. it is the scale of justice, a quality that islam calls for.

what is justice?

justice is righteousness; it is giving the person his right and taking from him what he should give.

the status of justice:

* justice is an attribute of almighty allah as he is the just. the prophet (peace be upon him) reports that allah almighty says in a qudsi hadith: "o my servants! i have forbidden injustice for myself and have made injustice forbidden for you. do not be unjust to one another." [muslim 16/132]

* justice has a high rank for almighty allah: “and be equitable. verily! allah loves those who are equitable.” (al-hujurat: 9)

* a lot of verses in the qur’an order believers to adhere to justice. they encourage believers to be just towards everybody and call them to stick to righteousness. almighty allah says: “surely allah commands to justice and fairness and bringing (charity) to a near kinsman, and he forbids obscenity and maleficence and iniquity. he admonishes you that possibly you would be mindful.” (nahl: 90)

kinds of justice:

we have to be just in everything, but here we will mention some main situations in which justice is required:

1- justice between opponents:

the prophet muhammad (peace be upon him) is a role model in applying justice. two men from the ansar ([1]) came to the prophet (pbuh) to arbitrate between the two of them in a certain matter. the prophet (pbuh) told them that whoever takes the right of his brother is like taking a piece of hell. the two men cried and each one of them gave to the other his right.

2- justice in measures and scales:

almighty allay says: “and the heaven, he raised it up, and laid down the balance. that you should not be inordinate in the balance, and keep up the weight with equity, and do not cause loss in the balance.” (ar-rahman: 7-9)

also, mentioned in the qur’an what the prophet shuaayb told the people of madyan: “and my people, fill up the measuring and the balance with equity and do not depreciate the things of mankind, and do not perpetrate (mischief) in the land as corruptors.”

3- justice in polygamy:

the muslim is just with his wife by giving her all her rights. if he has more than one wife, he has to be just towards them in food, drinks, clothes, housing and expenditure. he also has to be just in the money he spends for each of them. the prophet muhammad (peace be upon him) was just and fair towards his wives, may allah be pleased with them. from aisha (ra) that the prophet (pbuh) used to divide between his wives and was just between them and he (pbuh) said: "o allah, this is my division in that which i control (or "own") so do not blame me regarding that which you control and i do not control." [hadith sahih, termidhi]

4- justice between children:

the muslim is just towards his children even when he kisses them. he should not favor one of them over the others by a gift or grant, so that they don’t feel sad or hate each other for that. the prophet muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “fear allah and be fair to your offspring.” (hadith sahih)

5- jusitce in testimony:

justice is to testify of what you actually saw or heard as a witness. if a person testifies of anything that is not the truth, then he is a false witness. allah says in the qur’an: “we do not charge (any) self except to its capacity; and when you say (anything), then be just (i.e., do justice) even if he were a near kinsman. and fulfill the covenant of allah. that is what he has enjoined you with, that possibly you would be mindful.” (al-anaam: 152). also, it is recorded in the two sahihs that `abdur-rahman ibn abi bakrah said that his father said, "the prophet (peace be upon him) said, should i inform you about the greatest of the great sins we said, `yes, o allah's apostle!' he said, to join others in worship with allah and to be undutiful to one's parents. he was reclining, then he sat up and said; and i warn you against false testimony and false speech. he continued repeating it until we wished that he would stop.''

the fruits of justice:

1- justice gives security to the weak and poor people; it makes them feel proud and satisfied that their rights are not wasted.

2- justice spreads love among people and between the ruler and his citizens.

3- justice stops tyrants from their oppression and the greedy from their greed. it protects rights, properties and dignity.

the means to be just:

1- educating and raising children on justice in word and deed.

2- adhering to justice and forcing the self on sticking into this high trait even if it is against personal desires. if the person wants people to be just with him, he also should be fair towards others.

3- remembering the consequences of oppression and the torture destined for oppressors in the present life and the hereafter. abu musa al-ash'ari narrated that prophet mohammad (peace be upon him) said: "indeed allah gives respite to the oppressor until when he takes hold of him, he does not let him go."  then the prophet (pbuh) recited: “and thus is the taking away of your lord when he takes away the towns (while) they are unjust; surely his taking away is painful (and) strict.”  [muslim & bukhari; verse is hud: 102]

may allah benefit us of what we write and preach! may allah guide us to the best of manners and character!

----------------------------------------------------

([1]) ansar: an islamic term that literally means "helpers" and denotes the citizens of madinah that helped prophet muhammad (peace be upon him) and the muhajirun (immigrants) on the arrival to the city after the migration to madinah. they belonged to two main tribes, the banu khazraj and the banu aws.

“indeed allah gives respite to the oppressors until when he takes hold of him, he does not let him go” (al-bukhari)