ummtaalib Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 'Neither love nor hatred can be allowed tocompromise justice.' By Khalid BaigSource : http://www.albalagh.net There is one word that captures the essence ofall Islamic laws and all Islamic teachings; one word that describes theoverriding value that permeates all Islamic values. Justice. The Qur'an says: "We sentaforetime our messengers with clear Signs and sent down with them the Book andthe Balance, that men may stand forth in Justice." [Al-Hadeed57:25] The sole purpose of sending the prophets wasto establish Justice in the world and end injustice. Broadly speaking, doingjustice means giving everyone his due. But this simple statement camouflages allthe complexities of life in their myriad and ever-changing relations; all thetemptations; all the apprehensions and concerns; all the conflicts and dilemmas.To guide the people, Allah sent down the prophets with clear signs, the Book,and the Balance. The Book contains the revelations that spell out what's fairand unfair or right and wrong. The Balance refers to our ability to measure andcalculate so we can follow the path shown by the Book and explained by theProphets. Together these sources taught us what are therights of Allah, of other people, and of our own persons on us and how tobalance them. A life lived in obedience to Allah, then, is a continuousbalancing act, both individually and collectively. Under normal circumstances many people can bejust. But Islam commands its followers to be just even in the face of strongconflicting emotions. In dealing with other human beings, two major impedimentsto justice are love and hatred. See how the Qur'an teaches us to overcome thefirst impediment when we are dealing with our closest relatives or evenourselves. "O ye who believe! Stand out firmly forjustice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, oryour kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protectboth. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort(justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well-acquainted with allthat ye do." [An-Nisa 4:135] Here is the resolution from the Qur'an of theperennial conflict between self-interest and justice. Be just, even if it isagainst your narrowly defined self-interest or of those very close to you.Ignorant people think they are protecting their self-interest by being unjust toothers. Their decision to be just or unjust may be based on a cold calculationof self-interest. But real faith in Allah elevates one beyond thatnarrow-mindedness. These verses remind us that the real protector of interestsof all people is also Allah and He will protect us when we follow His command tobe just. The justice demanded by Islam permits no favoritism. The other equally potent impediment is hatred.Here again Qur'an commands: "O ye who believe! Stand out firmly forAllah, as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to youmake you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just: that is next toPiety: and fear Allah. For Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do."[Al-Maidah 5:8] In other words you cannot do injustice evenwhen you are dealing with the enemy. The natural, uneducated, and uncivilizedtendency is to treat the enemy as less than a human being; one who has no rightsand deserves no justice or fairness. It was as true in the pre-Islamic tribaljahilya (based on ignorance) society as it is today. See how Islam directlycurbs it. It is a command to the believers, with a reminder that Allah iswatching you, that enmity of others cannot be used as an excuse for committinginjustices against them. Justice does require retribution and Islamdoes call for, "an eye for an eye." But it does not mean an innocent eye for aninnocent eye; it means the eye of the perpetrator for the eye of the victim. Itis amazing how those who call the latter as barbaric, actually rally for theformer when a real crisis develops. Fourteen hundred years ago these commandscreated a society where rich and poor, friend and foe, Muslim and non-Muslim,the ruler and the ruled, were all treated equally and all of them could count onreceiving justice. The qazis (judges) were independent and no one, including thekhalifah was above the law. If a dispute arose between the Khalifah and anordinary person, both had to appear in court and provide their evidence. Islamichistory is full of stories of this justice that filled the earth whereverMuslims ruled in their golden era. Even during their period of decline, we findsporadic incidents that are just unparalleled. One example from recent historymay suffice here. During the British Rule in India, once a dispute arose betweenHindus and Muslims over a piece of land. Hindus claimed it belonged to a templewhile Muslims claimed it to be mosque. Emotions were high on both sides and thepossibility of a riot was real. The English judge could not find any means ofascertaining the truth. It was one group's words against the other's. Finallythe Judge asked both groups if they could trust the testimony of any person.They could. It was a particular Muslim imam (religious leader) who was known forhis piety. The person was requested to come to the court as a witness in a verycharged atmosphere, with the entire community urging him to help them win thecase through his testimony. His testimony was brief. "The Hindus are right," hesaid. "The Muslim case is baseless." He had not betrayed the community. He hadonce more affirmed its unflinching commitment to truth and justice above allelse. That is the justice the world needstoday. "Allah doth command you to render back yourTrusts to those to whom they are due; and when ye judge between man and man,that ye judge with justice: verily how excellent is the teaching which He givesyou! For Allah is He Who hears and sees all things." [An-Nisa 4:58] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawah Team ColonelHardstone Posted March 20, 2013 Dawah Team Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 Asslamo Allaikum, The other way to look at the situation is through the eyes of the victim. Sayyidina Yusuf (AS) was slandered and accused of something which he didn't commit so he refused to come out of Jail until his character was cleared. He didn't simply "Forgive & Forget"! Today, people give lessons of forgiveness to the victim but forgiveness is enocuraged for the victim but justice is his/her right (due) so if the victim has been wronged its his/her right to seek justice. In Islam we are supposed to refute the oppressor and ensure that he/she moves away from oppression whether it is verbal or physical abuse. Very important point. Many people in our times have no regards to these matters. We asked Shaykh (Mufti) Zubair Dudha (RA) to summarise Tassawuff and he stated Shaykh (Maulana) Ashraf Ali Thanwi (RA) said its to prevent usurpion of rights of others and not necessarily just Dhik'r and every other paraphanalia which goes with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now