Justice In Islam: A Universal Principle And Divine Purpose

Justice as a Core Value of Islam

In the corporate world, when they are restructuring their organizations, developing their strategies, coming up with mission statements and vision statements — one key component that the management consultants come and talk to the executives about is that you need to clearly define and state what are your core values. And after defining your core values, you need to continue to promote them within your organization to create that culture.

So this is something which is very common for those of our brothers who work in the corporate sector — that there are certain core values every company, every corporation has, that they continue to reinforce. It may be written on the walls, it may be plastered and posted everywhere, and everyone is reminded: we here at this company hold these core values dearly and will always focus on them.

Likewise, in our deen of Islam, the ulema and the scholars, after studying the deen, came up with some core values — universal principles that encompass all of the teachings of Islam. All of the ahkam of the shariah, the orders of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the sunnah of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the correct understanding of the deen, the implementation of the deen at every single level — individual level, family level, community level, governmental level, global level.

What are some of those core values that encapsulate the entirety of the ahkam and injunctions of our deen? One of the principal core values of our deen — which at first glance may seem something very obvious, something super easy, but has so many implications beyond what may be the first thing that comes to our mind — is the concept of adl, of justice. Adl or qist as mentioned in the Quran is one such core value of our deen that permeates every single aspect.

The Purpose of Sending the Prophets

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions this in fact in the Quran as one of the primary objectives of why He sent the anbiya alayhimu salam. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions this as a purpose, as a reason why He sent the prophets. He says:

Indeed We have sent Our messengers with the clear signs — Our prophets who received divine revelation, who received wahi from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — and We sent down with them the Book. This Book is the criterion, the furqan, that distinguishes between truth and falsehood, between moral and immoral, between legitimate and illegitimate, between ethical and unethical. It defines the purpose of our existence — that kitab — why we are here, where we are going, where we came from.

We sent this Book down. Then the word mizan — a scale — has many different interpretations. One of them being that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave us that internal scale, this faculty of making a conscious decision: are we going to follow this mizan, this kitab? Are we going to side with truth over falsehood, with justice over injustice, with fairness over oppression? We have to make that call, we have to make that decision.

And it is because we have this faculty to make the decision that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will reward those who make the correct decision and will punish those who do not. It is a very simple principle.

The Angels and the Faculty of Choice

When it comes to the malaika, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala did not give them that faculty to make that decision. They do not have that internal mizan. They are on auto-pilot. Allah ta'ala mentions about them in Surah al-Tahrim:

They cannot disobey Allah in the least, and they do exactly as they are told. So there is no thawab and reward in jannah for them, nor is there any iqab or jahannam for them. If they do something right, they are not deserving of jannah; if they do something wrong, they are not deserving of jahannam. They will be in jannah, but not as its primary occupants — as secondary occupants, as servants, as khuddam, to serve those who are the true occupants of jannah.

In case somebody says: wait a second, doesn't the Quran say:

That the angels will be entering into jannah from all the doors as well — salamun alaykum bima sabartum — but they are there to say peace be upon you, for you were truly patient in your worldly life, fani'ma uqba al-dar — how beautiful is the eternal abode that you are returning to, the akhirah, the jannah. And when the doors of jannah are opened for Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, the eight doors of jannah are opened up for him as a primary occupant. For the angels, they are there as khuddam.

So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us this faculty to make this decision — are we going to establish justice or not? And Allah ta'ala says, liyaquma al-nasu bil-qist. This lam of ta'lil indicates the actual purpose, the objective — why? Why did Allah ta'ala send down the Book? Liyaquma al-nasu bil-qist — so that humankind can stand forth with justice, to establish justice in this world, in all spheres of life.

Balance in Rights — A Hadith on Moderation

Just like the purpose of creating a spouse is mentioned in the Quran:

And one of the signs of His greatness is He has created spouses from amongst yourselves, li taskunu ilayha — so that you may gain comfort from them — and He has created strong passion and love and compassion and mercy between you.

Likewise, this is the reason why the Quran was revealed, why all of the revelations were revealed in the past. When you talk about justice, it's not just like when people go to a court and the judge is judging — he should have justice. As I said in the beginning, this is a core value of our deen that encompasses all aspects — when it comes to the rights of Allah, when it comes to the rights of fellow human beings.

In Sahih al-Bukhari, in Kitab al-Nikah, the first bab is Bab al-Targhib fi al-Nikah — the chapter on encouragement to marriage. There are stories of the three sahaba mentioned there who came and asked the wives of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam about the ibadah of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And they said: we've got to do much more than this, because the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — all his past and future sins, if he were to commit any, are already forgiven.

This is an izaz and ikram from Allah ta'ala — not that he committed any sins. His statements and his actions were all in accordance with the order of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, which is necessary for him to be a uswatun hasanah, a model for us to follow. So he never committed sins, and even if he did, they would have been forgiven. What about us? We are sitting day and night — we need to do more.

So one of them said: Wallahi, asoomu al-dahra abadan — I will always fast every single day. And another said: aqoomu al-layla abadan — I will stand in prayer all night, every night. And the third one said: la atazawwaju al-nisa' — I will not get married.

Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam showed the balance. He said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Nikah, Hadith 5063)

I have the most fear of Allah and am the most mindful of Him among all of you — but I some days fast and some days I don't, some portion of the night I sleep and some portion I stand in ibadah, and I did get married. So balance — between the rights of Allah and the rights of His servants; balance between the rights of parents and spouse and children; balance between the rights of all children, elder siblings, sons and daughters — all of these rights are part of qist, of justice. That is a core principle of our deen.

Two Extreme Impediments to Justice: Love and Hatred

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala doesn't only instruct us for justice at times when it is easy. Even more so, in the two ayat that I am quoting now, He identifies two extreme scenarios — one is extreme love, and one is extreme hate. These are typically such conflicting emotions that become impediments to establishing justice, and a person swerves off the straight path, the tariq al-sawi, the em>sirat al-mustaqim, and falls into injustice. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala identifies both.

The First Ayah — Justice Against Oneself and Those You Love

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions in Surah al-Nisa, ayah 135:

O those who believe — do establish justice. Be qawwamina bil-qist. Not just establish it, but be a qawwam. Just like Allah ta'ala when He speaks about salah — He doesn't just say sallu, pray — He says aqimu al-salah, establish salah. So: stand out firmly in establishing justice. Make it your hallmark, make it something that you are known for, that you are synonymous with, that you embody justice in all of your dealings — for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, not to gain votes or popularity from anyone else.

And in this ayah, Allah ta'ala speaks about one very strong impediment that prevents a person from establishing justice — which is love. Love for one's near and dear ones, love for one's self, love for one's family, love for one's friends. So Allah ta'ala says: even if you have to establish justice against your own self, or your beloved parents, or your beloved relatives. If you have some ulterior motives, you want to help out and speak for the rich person and against the poor person — Allah ta'ala says: if it is a rich person or a poor person in any circumstance, know for a fact that it is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala who is closer to the one whose right it is, who deserves justice. So do not follow your desires that may lead you to injustice. And if you turn away from the straight path, know that Allah ta'ala is fully aware of what you do.

The Story of Abdullah ibn Rawaha in Khaybar

I was looking at Tafsir Ibn Kathir, and under this there is a very beautiful story. Ibn Kathir rahimahullah mentions — wa min hadha al-qabeel qawlu Abdullah ibn Rawaha radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu — one manifestation of establishing justice, even if it is against oneself, is the example of when Abdullah ibn Rawaha radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu was sent by Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam as an amil to go and collect the zakat — or in this case, as they were not Muslims, the kharaj, the tax — from the Jews of Khaybar.

So when he got there, these individuals — the Jews that were living in the land of Khaybar — wanted to bribe him, to give him a rishwa, so that he takes less than what was due upon them. He had to go and calculate their produce from their gardens, from their orchards of dates, and figure out what the tax was. They wanted him to be lenient by taking less.

He said: Wallahi, I have come to you from that individual who is the most beloved to me. So it would actually make me very, very happy to get more return for him. If I come back with more dates and more produce, it will make me happy — because if you love your Habib al-Mustafa, you love someone, then to buy gifts for them and to bring things for them and to bring a smile on their face is the greatest joy. It would make me happy to make my beloved happy, and he is the most beloved to me.

And to take more from you is not difficult for me — because Wallahi, just as Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is the most beloved to me, you are the most hated to me in my eyes — worse than the monkeys and the swine. So it would be very easy for me to do dhulm upon you.

But know for a fact that my love for Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and my hatred for you — these two emotions, both of which would potentially lead me to committing injustice — will not allow me to do any injustice with you. Because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has revealed that the fact that you hate somebody may compel you to be unjust with them. So the fact that you love someone and lie on their behalf — that is committing injustice because you want to save them. And on the other hand, if you hate somebody and falsely accuse them and get them into trouble — that is also injustice.

He said: My love for Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and my hatred for you — neither one of these will inshAllah compel me or push me to being unjust with you.

The Jews at that point were compelled to respond. They said: It is because of the presence of such truly just individuals that the heavens and the earth are intact. The universe is not being destroyed because of the presence of such individuals.

Closing Du'a and Reflections

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us truly to embody within ourselves justice — to become not only such individuals who preach justice, but who practice justice in all aspects of our life. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us, in this era of rampant injustice — which sometimes may have been more hidden behind the scenes but is becoming more and more apparent and very clear to everyone who has any basic intelligence — to show the world the true justice of Islam.

And may it not be something which is relegated to the pages of history that we can sit back and be proud of from our glorious past. There are so many examples from the time of the Khulafa al-Rashidun and afterwards — of our Muslim leaders, governors and governed, the rich and the poor, the ulema and the awam — everyone practicing justice in so many different ways. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to be inspired by them and make it something that is not just in the past but in the present, and allow us to imbibe these sifat and these beautiful attributes in our children and our students for the future.

Announcements

Please donate generously. Please pass the donation boxes from left to right. In times of calamities, sadaqah draws the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam has mentioned that the sadaqah given on the day of Jumu'ah carries greater reward than any other day.

Please join us for our 7th Annual Winter Intensive: Harmony Within — Cultivating Love and Unity in the Modern Muslim Household. This is from December 21st to 23rd. We have a lot of guest speakers — male and female scholars — being flown in from different states. So you definitely should not miss out on this very important topic. Mark your calendars: December 21st to 23rd. Some of the key sessions include: Beyond the Spectrum — Upholding Marriage and Morals in an Evolving World with Dr. Shadi al-Masri; Heart to Heart — Mastering Marital Communication by Dr. Human; and Safeguarding Marital Bonds — Islamic Guidance on Divorce. There is also a simultaneous winter intensive with female scholars and professionals running parallel. Please register online.

ICW Masjid is having their annual fundraising dinner on December 8th to build a youth center. Dr. Yasir Qadhi, Sheikh Ibrahim Bakir, Sheikh Hassan Saleh, Sheikh Ibrahim Dasawi, and Sheikh Fahmi will be there. Please purchase a ticket on your way out.

There is also a fundraising dinner for Masjid Isa taking place tonight.

And lastly, we have a very important seminar here as well — The Dark Side of Digital — tonight after Isha. We have a professor who has done extensive research on this and has written a book. He is coming all the way from Florida and will be addressing us after Isha at 7:30pm tonight.

The weekly Team Fajr program is continuing — we are going over the Asma al-Husna, the Names of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Tomorrow Fajr Iqamah is at 6am. Tuesday night, Tafsir of Surah Fussilat with Mufti Azimuddin is continuing. We have a weekly Urdu Sirah program on Thursday nights after Isha Salah.

We have some requests for du'a. Sister Nuzhat Fatima is in the ICU. We make du'a for her. Sayyid Shabbir Ali Hashmi is in the ICU in critical condition — please make du'a for his shifa. Hafiz Ibrahim's mother passed away — please make du'a for her. And we make du'a for Palestine, Lebanon, and the entire Muslim Ummah.

Second Khutbah

Before we begin the second Adhan, this is a reminder for myself and all the brothers and sisters that the Jumu'ah Salah is not just a weekly routine, nor is it merely a gathering. Rather, it is an ibadah — it is worship. So it is a humble request for all the brothers and sisters to ensure that before the Adhan and before the Arabic Khutbah, we keep our phones away, we concentrate, we pray, and we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to accept our ibadah. Let us not allow a phone notification to nullify and void our ibadah in the time that we are taking out. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept from all of us and grant us all tawfiq. Jazakumullah khairan.