5 Practical Steps to Attaining Justice in Your Life | Shaykh Dr. Yasir Qadhi | Jumuah Khutbah

We have a few brothers that passed away, Brother Yusuf Khalil, Brother Hassan Awad, and Brother Hanif Shaikh. They all passed away in different countries. إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ. We ask Allah the Great, the Exalted, to make their graves a garden of paradise, and not a pit of fire. And peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his companions.

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Alhamdulillah, we have a shahada before Salatul Jumu'ah. Alhamdulillah, we're so happy and honored. Our brother, whose name is Christian, and whose faith used to be Christian, is alhamdulillah now going to embrace Islam. I already asked him the preliminary questions that I wanted to ask before the Salat, and that is to explain to him what the Islam is, to make sure he is embracing of his own free will, and we have a nice conversation before this, so inshallah everything is fine.

So I will ask brother Christian to repeat after me. I'm going to say an Arabic phrase, and then I will translate it to English.

I testify that there is no God worthy of worship except Allah. And I testify that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is his final Prophet.

Allahu Akbar! Alhamdulillah, welcome to your new family. May Allah bless you. This is your first Jumu'ah. Alhamdulillah, he's been hearing about Islam, having been making da'wah many weeks and months. So today is going to be his first Jumu'ah, inshallah. And our brother will teach you, inshallah, how to pray.

Community Announcements

Bismillah. Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Apologies for the delay. I'll be really quick. A couple of important announcements, inshallah ta'ala.

As we know that we have Ramadan food drive. It's in progress right now. We are behind, whether you believe it or not. It's unusual for our community. $100 per family. This is overseas. Please, we have a target of 500 families, inshallah. $100 per family, so if you can sponsor a bunch, that would be great, inshallah. Looking forward for that. You can make the payment in the kiosks, inshallah, on your way out.

Second, we have blood drive tomorrow. We have really good partnership with Carter Food Blood Drive. They come here all the way. They always look forward to come to Epic. We have a few spots open. They're looking for about 50 slots to be filled. We have about 15, 20 slots still open. So if you can please sign up, it's from tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., inshallah. So if you can help us out with that one.

Last but not least, we have primary elections coming up. A few really important seats are up for elections, like county judge, county commissioner, other than the council members and other things, the U.S. Congress. The county judge is a really important election. It's coming up. It directly impacts us. So we would like for all of us to step up and at least vote. For that, we have voter registration tables set up in the rotunda. If you have not registered to vote, please go and register yourself. This is an obligation on all of us to go ahead and vote because we are being cornered and we need to respond at least by our vote, inshallah, for the first step. For that one, let's do that.

Last but not least, what do we have? We have donations. Please help Epic, support Epic. As you know, they've been running PAWS Shelter for the last few days now. Your donations go towards, helps towards that as well. So please do support us with that one. $20 per person will really go a long way, inshallah. Jazakumullah Khair.

Opening of the Khutbah

Alhamdulillah. All praise is due to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We praise Him and we seek His help. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and the consequences of our actions. Indeed, whomever Allah guides can never be misguided. And whoever is misguided cannot be guided except with Him. I bear witness and I testify that there is no deity worthy of worship other than Allah jalla jalaluhu. And I bear witness and I testify that the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam is His final Prophet and His most perfect worshipper.

As to what follows, know that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has reminded us in the Qur'an to be constantly conscious of Him when He says:

A Lesson from Abyssinia

Dear Muslims, in our books of seerah and hadith, including the Sunan of Ibn Majah and the books of Ibn Ishaq, it is mentioned that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam once asked a group of companions who had migrated to Abyssinia and then made their way to Medina. A group of companions had gone to a foreign land, an exotic land, Abyssinia. He asked them one day, tell me, what is one of the most amazing incidents that you saw?

So one of them said, Yes, Ya Rasulullah, I will tell you. One day when we were sitting in a gathering in Abyssinia, we saw an old lady from their priestesses, from their nuns, because there's a Christian nation. She was an old lady that was a worshiper of Allah, a worshiper in their religion. She had a jar of water and she was carrying it from the well back home. And a group of young men began mocking, began making fun of her. And one of them came forward, put his hand on her chest and shoved her with such a force, she fell down and the jar broke. And these young men began laughing at her.

Pause here. This is the reality of all societies, you have these young riffraff, you have these young troublemakers. And for whatever reason, whether it is difference in political, socio-political, economic, maybe even making fun of the religion, this always happens. So she's an old lady, she's from a class that is typically socio-economically gonna be underprivileged. And these young elite boys are making fun of her, playing with her, pushing her. She has no recourse.

So, back to the narration. The sahabi said, she stood up in anger. And she said in a stern voice, she said in a stern voice that, What will you do, O treacherous one? What will you do when Allah sets up His throne on the day of judgment? And He gathers the first and the last of all of mankind. And when the hands and the feet will testify to Allah, what have they done? On that day, you will see my position and yours in front of Him. Only tomorrow it will happen. On that day, I will lodge my complaint against Allah for what you have done. And what will your fate be then? And this caused that young group to become silent.

When the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam heard this many years later in Medina, he said, صدقت، صدقت. She has spoken the truth. She has spoken the truth. What she is saying is true. And then he remarked, How will Allah bless a nation that does not protect the rights of the weak against the transgressions of the elite and the powerful? How will Allah bless a nation that allows this level of injustice, mockery, being taken advantage of? There's no recourse to law and order. How can Allah bless a nation where the rights of the weak are trampled over, and the elite get away with doing whatever they want?

He remarked this in the context of Abyssinia, which wasn't a Muslim land. And he said, How is this possible? This nation will never be able to flourish.

Justice: An Islamic and Human Virtue

My dear brothers and sisters, the reality of establishing justice, of being fair, of having rights that are equal to all peoples of a society, this reality is a reality that is grounded in our sharia, in the rights Allah has given us, and in the decency and dignity that is ingrained in every human being. Justice is an Islamic virtue, and it is a human virtue. Being fair, being equitable is something the prophets came with, and it is something we know from our innate nature and disposition.

In fact, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions that one of the primary reasons for sending the prophets, one of the primary reasons for revealing the books is so that mankind acts with justice with each other. Allah says in the Qur'an:

We have sent our prophets with signs and miracles. And we gave them the book, and we gave them the scales. Why? We sent the prophets with book and with instruments of justice so that mankind can establish justice amongst itself.

Justice Linked with Faith

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala praises justice in a way that hardly any other concept is praised. And He links it with the testimony of faith, لا إله إلا الله. In Surah Al-Imran, Allah says:

Allah testifies, لا إله إلا الله. And the malaika, the angels testify, and the people of knowledge are testifying. All of them are standing and enforcing justice. قَائِمًا بِالْقِسْطِ. Allah describes the people of knowledge who say the kalima as being those who try to enforce justice, to preach justice. If you do not preach justice, if you do not stand for equality, then you are betraying the kalima that you affirm, that you say you believe in. Saying the kalima means you must stand with justice and preach justice to mankind.

The Prophet's Mission of Justice

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions that the Prophet ﷺ is commanded by Him to establish justice in society. Allah says:

Call to this reality. Be firm as you have been commanded by Allah to be firm. Say, I believe in the book. And say, I have been commanded by Allah to establish justice amongst you. The Prophet ﷺ, one of the reasons he was sent was to establish adil and justice on this earth.

And Allah Azawajal commands us:

Say, my Lord has commanded us to be just.

In fact, the verse that we recite every single jumu'ah, every single khateeb, in every single masjid, how do we end our khutbas?

Allah commands adil, Allah commands perfection, Allah commands being good unto your relatives. إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ - Allah commands adil.

Justice as a Core of Faith

Realize, O Muslims, the concept of justice is intrinsically linked with iman and with piety. You cannot have iman, and you cannot proclaim to be pious unless you establish justice in your life and in the lives of the people around you. In fact, from the earliest of messages, from the earliest of treaties and covenants that the Prophet ﷺ gave to the sahabah was that they established justice.

In the first treaty of Aqabah, the first treaty of Aqabah, this is before the hijrah, this is before they went to Medina, the Prophet ﷺ demanded that anybody who embraces Islam abandon idolatry, worship Allah alone. And what else? And that we act with adil, with justice, no matter what the situation. This was such a core commandment that the first batch of converts were told that one of the characteristics of being a Muslim was to act with adil, no matter what the context, you must be fair unto others.

Justice at All Levels

Justice, my dear brothers and sisters, is manifested at all levels. It is manifested in our personal lives, with our relatives, with our friends, in our workplace. It is manifested at the societal level. And each one of us has responsibilities. So we need to look at our responsibilities. We need to see how we are interacting with other people. And when we are fair, and when we are just, and when we treat others with the quality of justice, we will attain the highest ranks of piety.

In one of the most beautiful ahadith that our scholars constantly cite in this regard, the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 33, Hadith 6485)

The people that act with justice, the muqsit, they will be on pillars of light on the day of judgment. They will be on pillars of light on the day of judgment. And all of mankind will have a jealousy of them, a positive jealousy, like, I wish I could be in that category as well. The muqsitin, those that act with justice will be elevated on the day of judgment. They will be sitting on pillars of light. Everybody will know this was a just man. And so they will be honored in the akhirah.

My dear brothers and sisters, it is good to talk theoretically about justice.

Five Practical Steps to Attaining Justice

But practically, realistically, how do we attain justice? Much can be said. Simple points, first and foremost.

First: Understand the Rulings of the Shariah

In order to perfect adl or justice, the first thing we need to do is to understand the rulings of the shariah. Gain knowledge of Islam because Islam is the embodiment of justice. All the laws of Allah are laws of justice. Allah only commands that which is just.

All of Allah's commandments are just. Justice, in some aspects, Allah has allowed us to use our common sense. And in other aspects, Allah has revealed the shariah. Where the shariah has been explicit, that is justice. Even if we think another thing might be good, no, the shariah has outlined what is good. So the first thing we do is ask ourselves, did Allah tell us in this area how we should live our lives, how we should conduct ourselves? And if the shariah has explicit commandments, then we must believe those commandments are the commandments of justice.

For example, Allah has explicitly ruled that when we give loans unto other people, we are not allowed to make a profit off of a loan. To make a profit off of a loan, Allah has called this to be a type of injustice. This is zulm, we do not profit off of a loan. Now if two people say, oh, but I'm doing this by mutual consent. This is not something that is unjust because I'm allowing myself to do this. We say, no, your ideas and opinions don't change the shariah of Allah. Allah has said that giving loans cannot become a profitable business. And so anybody who gives a loan can only get the same amount back. That is justice. And to change this is injustice. And we see this reality around us.

For example, any other aspect, two people, a man and a woman want to engage in some type of consensual relationship. They say, oh, nobody is being harmed. This is our choice together. No, Allah has ruled that zina is not allowed and nikah is allowed. Allah has made the difference between what is justice and what is injustice. So where the shariah is speaking, we remain silent. Where the shariah has judged, that judgment is justice regardless of what society says. And there are many areas that Allah has allowed the urf and the rulings of society to also play a role.

Second: Apply the Golden Rule

So this leads us to our second point. Where the shariah is silent, then what do we do? Much can be said, but the second point is, ask yourself, would you like to be treated in the way that you might be treating other people? Would you feel that it is fair what you are doing to others? Allah says in the Quran:

Woe to those who have double measure. Woe to those who defraud. How do they defraud? When they want to buy something, they will make sure they get their money's worth. They will make sure that there's no cheating in the weights. They will make sure that everything is done fine. But when they are selling, they might embezzle, they might be cheap, they might add some weights to the mizan and therefore pretend as if it is actually heavy and it is not. Allah says this is a double standards. As you wish to buy, so too you should sell. As you wish yourself to be treated, make sure you're treating others the same manner. So one of the mechanisms of how you can judge whether something has fairness or equity is whether you would like to be treated that way or not. Put yourself in the shoes of the other person and ask yourself, would I be happy if this is happening? Therefore this is one of the mechanisms of understanding what is just and equitable.

Third: Avoid Group Bias

Number three of the warnings of the Quran when it comes to issues of justice. And one of the biggest cognitive biases that we have is the issue of making excuses for our group, making excuses for us and our family and friends and being extra harsh with the other. But justice by definition cannot be based upon which group is doing it. This is of the most difficult realities of justice and that's why the Quran is explicit in this regard. Allah mentions:

Make sure your hatred of the other does not cause you to act with injustice. Act with justice even with those whom you hate. Act with fairness and equity even with those whom your heart holds a grudge against. In your treatment, you must be just. Then Allah says, that is the essence of piety. You wanna show what piety is? You wanna demonstrate taqwa? Deal with those whom you don't like with equity and justice. Then you are demonstrating God consciousness.

And this is one of the biggest psychological cognitive biases. All of mankind is susceptible to it. We have to be extra careful. When I do something, when my child does something, when my group does something, I will make a million excuses. But when the same thing is done by somebody outside, I become judge, jury and executioner. Doesn't work that way. Just like we would make excuses for one of our own, we might have a way out for one of our own, we have to see, is there a way out for somebody else as well. Treat others the way you want to be treated as well.

Fourth: Don't Pass Verdicts in Haste

Number four of the Islamic commandments of how to attain justice. Number four, do not pass verdicts in haste. Be careful. Observe. Gain the facts. Listen to all sides and parties. Do not be hasty in forming judgment. Again, this is one of the most easy psychological cognitive biases. Where? If we don't like somebody or somebody is neutral or whatever, we form a judgment without hearing the full story. Without hearing their side and their excuse. Allah says in the Quran, if an evil person comes to you with a news, verify before you act upon that news. And in the Quran and in the sunnah, we are told explicitly to get the information directly from the other side if we need to pass a judgment. Do not pass a judgment based upon hearsay. Go listen to what the other party has to say if you must make a judgment. If it is something involving you, something you need to make a verdict about before you pass any judgment. Make sure you listen to the other side.

There are so many instances in the seerah, so many where an incident outwardly can be judged in a certain manner. The Prophet ﷺ never made a judgment until he called the person directly. Said, explain yourself. I have heard this. We have witnessed this. News has come to us. This has happened. Explain yourself. And in some of those situations, in more than one, after the companion explained, the Prophet ﷺ found an excuse and a way out. SubhanAllah. Be careful. Do not be hasty. Do not form judgments quickly. Rather, verify. Find out the facts. Once you find out the facts, at least go to the person directly. Confront them. Say to them, can you explain this reality? If you must pass a verdict, pass it only after you have listened to all sides. Taking into account what is happening and heard directly from the person that you must pass a verdict against.

Fifth: Correct Your Mistakes

And then the fifth point that we can say, and again much more can be said but time is limited. The fifth and final point dear Muslims is that if you made a mistake in a judgment, if you were hasty, if anger got the better of you, if your emotions clouded your judgment, and you made an actual mistake in a judgment, then realize, unless you correct that mistake in this world, you will have to face a bigger penalty in the hereafter. So, do not be full of arrogance and refuse to apologize. Humble yourself. And go to the person whom you wronged with an unjust verdict. Humble yourself and go to the person whose actions, whose deeds you have done injustice against because you made a mistake. Perhaps you were hasty, perhaps anger got the better of you, perhaps you formed a judgment when you shouldn't have formed a judgment. When you realize your mistake, do not be full of arrogance. Go to that person and ask for forgiveness. Humble yourself in front of him before Allah will demand that humbleness on that day. And on that day, perhaps it will be of no benefit to you.

Our Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2449)

Whoever has an injustice that he has done to his brother in this world, if you've done dhulm, if you've said something you shouldn't have said, if you acted, if you did anything that is a type of dhulm to your brother or sister, let him absolve it in this world before the hereafter. Let him cleanse it away. How do you cleanse it? You go directly to him if you can. This is the best way. You go directly to him. You apologize. You make it up. You say, أخي I hurt your feelings, now I will try my best to make sure that maybe I said something wrong, I will go praise you in those same gatherings. I will make sure what I said does not have a negative impact. You ask for forgiveness directly. You show him remorse and contrite because you made a mistake against that person.

Suppose you cannot find that person, the person has passed away, or if you think it might cause a bigger issue telling him what has happened. In this case, there is still a way out before the day of judgment. And that is, you gift your good deeds to that person proportional to the amount of injustice you believe you have done. You have to be judge and jury and executioner against yourself. And you have to answer to Allah for your assessment. Make a penalty. Give a monetary sum. What wrong have I done? What will compensate for that given my wealth, given my status? I need to fine myself in the eyes of Allah. And I will give that money, but I don't want Allah to reward me. I have to absolve myself of my sin in front of my brother. Oh Allah, here is 500 dollars, a thousand dollars to that orphan. But the reward should go to the one whom I harmed so that on the day of judgment, that person cannot have any complaint against me. And of course, you have to be conscious that what amount you give, it has to be proportional to what you have done, proportional to your own wealth, proportional to the hurt that you have done. And if you do so sincerely and fairly, then on the day of judgment, when that person whom you have wronged will come, they will not have a case against you because you have paid them already what was due unto them. And you don't have to worry about hisab on the day of judgment in this regard if you were fair and sincere.

So there are multiple ways of doing this. But make sure you do not die in this world when you have zulm done against you because our Prophet ﷺ called such a person the bankrupt person, the one who declares bankruptcy. He has personal good deeds, but he is full of injustice to other people. And the Prophet ﷺ warned us against being of those people.

The Universal Importance of Justice

My dear brothers and sisters, justice is of the highest virtues at the individual level, at the family level, at the workplace level, and yes, at the society level. Justice is an important virtue whether you're Muslim or non-Muslim. And that is why Ibn Taymiyyah famously remarked, and this is something that we all see in our own lives. Ibn Taymiyyah famously remarked that Allah loves justice so much. Allah loves justice so much that a society that is not even Muslim, but is just, shall be blessed in this world with peace and security. And a society that is Muslim but unjust, a society that, yes, they're praying, they're fasting, but there's corruption, there's nepotism, there's complete inequality, the rich and the powerful get away with whatever they want. Ibn Taymiyyah says, Allah will not bless that society in this world even if they're upon Islam. And we see this reality in the current world around us. And we remark with sadness that we are seeing our country that used to be in some ways a paragon of equality and justice. In some ways it was a beacon of equality. We are now seeing this reality change dramatically.

The Importance of Justice in Islam

And if we truly believe in Allah and if we truly understand the importance of preaching justice, then we should be at the forefront of preaching and teaching and embodying justice in all aspects of life. Indeed, justice is the backbone of piety. And when we establish justice, we demonstrate piety. May Allah bless me and you with and through the Quran. And may He make us of those whose verses they understand and applies halal and haram throughout our lifespan. I ask Allah's forgiveness. You as well ask Him for His ghafoor and the rahman.

Two Categories of Sins

Dear Muslims, realize that sins broadly are divided into two categories. The private sins between you and Allah and the sins that involve the rights of other people. The private sins between you and Allah. Nobody knows about them. You are falling short in Allah's commandments. You are doing something that Allah has forbidden. But this is between you and Allah. And then there are sins that deal with the rights of other people. Backbiting, lying, embezzling, slandering, hurting, killing. That is a different type of sin.

And generally speaking, generally speaking, between man and Allah, it is very easy to be forgiven. Istighfar and tawbah. And Allah forgives all sins. But between man and man, between two humans, that is a different reality. Because now you're not just dealing with Allah's rights, you're also dealing with the rights of other people. And Allah himself might forgive his issue with you. But when it comes to the infringement of the rights of the other, that person has to forgive on the day of judgment. And that is why, generally speaking, between these two categories, the sins that involve other people as a category is far, far, far more dangerous. Why? Because to attain forgiveness is far more difficult.

Wisdom from Sufyan al-Thawri

One of the great scholars of the past, Sufyan al-Thawri said, if I were to meet Allah with 70 major sins between me and Allah, personal private sins, it is more beloved to me than if I were to meet Allah with one zulm and injustice between me and my brother. If I were to meet Allah and I've done 70 things I shouldn't have done, I will have more hope of forgiveness. Allah will forgive inshAllah ta'ala because I'm trying to be good in other areas. Then meeting Him with one injustice I've done between me and another person.

A Call to Examine Our Lives

Remember this point, my dear brothers and sisters. Examine your lives in this world before the next come. Cleanse yourself of any injustice that you might have done. Live a fair and equitable life. And be careful, be careful of infringing on the rights of other people.

I conclude by reminding us of what our Prophet said in a beautiful hadith in Bukhari and others. The Prophet said, there shall always be hope for a person on the day of judgment. There's always hope for forgiveness as long as he has not infringed on the rights of others. There's always hope in your personal shortcomings, your personal sins. InshAllah, you ask Allah's forgiveness, try to do good, there shall be hope for you. There's always gonna be fusha or hope unless you are hurting other people, harming other people, treating other people unfairly. In that case, the hope becomes much much less.

So fear Allah. Live a righteous and just life. And do not take the rights of others lest you will find on the day of judgment the reality and the consequences of those sins.

Du'a

Closing Verses

Brothers and sisters, we have a salatul janaza after the prayer, so please remain for the salatul janaza.