justice, a key principle in islam

Discussion in 'Tafsir' started by Aqdas, Nov 29, 2021.

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  1. Aqdas

    Aqdas Staff Member

    Excellent.
     
  2. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

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    RasulAllah sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam said: "fear [committing] injustice, oppression. because injustice will lead to [or inflict] darkness on the day of judgement. fear greed; for greed destroyed those who came before you - greed incited them to kill one another and convert the forbidden into lawful.


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    RasulAllah sallALlahu alayhi wa sallam said: "oppression, injustice, tyranny [will result in] darkness on the day of judgement.


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    RasulAllah sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam said: "beware of oppression. for indeed, oppression is darkness on the day of judgement. beware of profanity, indecency; for indeed, Allah ta'ala does not like a profane, indecent person. beware of greed, for greed incited those [nations] who were before you to shed blood and to [unjustly] change the forbidden to lawful."

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    RasulAllah sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam said: "whoever has trespassed the rights of his brother - whether because of impinging on his honour or something else, then let him hasten to have them forgiven before that day when neither gold nor silver will avail him. if he has any good deeds, those will be taken as compensation for his injustice; if he does not have any good deeds, the bad deeds of the person will be taken [from the victim] and laden on the [unjust].


    there are many hadith one can learn from this incident. on how one should not look down upon a fellow-muslim. "a muslim is another muslim's brother. he does not oppress him, nor disdains him, nor humiliates him".

    and the hadith:
    "it is enough evil for a man to bear contempt for his brother muslim; the rights of one muslim are forbidden to trample upon by another muslim - whether in his blood, his property or his honour." [literal: it is enough evil for a man to disdain his brother muslim. a muslim is forbidden to be unjust with another muslim's blood or property or honour]

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    nas'alu Allah al-aafiyah.
     
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  3. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

    Allah ta'ala says [surah naHl, 16:90]:
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    indeed, Allah commands you to do justice and to do good; and giving to the kin.
    and prohibits you from indecency, evil and rebellion.
    Allah gives you counsel, mayhap you will heed it.

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    imam baghawi in ma'alim al-tanzil:

    {adl} justice, fairness. {iHsan} doing good to people.

    ibn abbas said: {adl} monotheism, tawHid {iHsan} fulfilling obligations [i.e., adl means to have the correct aqidah, iHsan means to discharge our duties as muslim in fulfilling obligatory acts; whether in worship or transactions; and to be mindful of the rights of Allah upon us and the rights of fellow beings].

    muqatil said:{adl} is tawHid; having the correct aqidah. {iHsan} is to forgive people.

    { faHsha'a = forbids you from obscenity, indecency} abominable and odious actions and words. ibn abbas said: it refers to adultery.

    {munkar= evil} that which is not accepted by the shariah, nor found in the sunnah.

    {baghy= rebellion, transgression} haughtiness, arrogance and oppression. [kibr and zulm]

    ibn uyaynah said: adl means that one is righteous in private and public; his state is the same whether he is alone or in a crowd. iHsan means that he is more pious and cautious in private than in public [i.e., than he displays in public]. faHsha'a and munkar mean that he is righteous in public but not so in private.
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    imam nasafi in madarik al-tanzil:

    {Allah commands you to do justice} that you have equal rights amongst yourselves; and to refrain from oppression and to respect the rights of others. [be mindful of others' rights].

    {and do good, iHsan} to be kind and do good to those who harm you.

    or they refer to farD [obligatory actions] and nadb [supererogatory actions]; because shortcomings in discharging farD are compensated by the nadb.

    {and giving to the kin} to give to relatives, and this is maintaining relationship [silatu al-raHm]

    {forbids you from indecency} forbids you from committing sins, which are extremely ugly; abominable. [but not a license to commit lesser sins]

    {and munkar = evil, morally repugnant, objectionable} that which is rejected by sane people.

    {and rebellion} seeking to subdue by oppression and arrogance.

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    it is this principle of justice that underpins a believer's actions.

    what stops us [muslims] from doing what we like and living as we please? yawm al-faSl. judgement day. when you will be held to account and every little thing that you did, or did not do will be brought out.

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    whoever does a speck's worth of good will see it.
    and whoever does a speck's worth of evil will see it.
    [surah al-zalzalah,99:7-8]​

    and one cannot, but acknowledge one's deeds. there can be no denying it:

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    read your record [of deeds]! on this day, you are enough to hold yourself to account! [al-isra'a. 17:14]​


    and every person will be imprisoned by their own deeds:

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    every soul is pledged for its own deeds [al-mudath'thir, 74:38]​


    where one cannot threaten or bribe or deceive or influence the Judge.

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    imam sahl ibn abdullah al-tusturi is reported to have said: "when i was about six, my uncle taught me to repeat (and learn): "Allahu haDiri, Allahu naZiri, Allahu shahidi, Allahu ma'yee" - Allah is ever Present with me; Allah is ever Watching me; Allah is Witness to everything i do; Allah is with me always."

    our actions and behaviour must be routinely checked against this principle and judged by the shariah. anything we say or do, we should ask ourselves - can we justify this on judgement day? when Allah is the Witness. Allah Sees everything we do AND what is buried in the deepest recesses of our hearts. Allah ta'ala will hold you to account especially in the matter of rights.

    do not trample on the rights of others - for that is the definition of zulm or oppression.

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    and fear that day, when no soul will recompense another soul; nor will any intercession be accepted [for disbelievers], nor any compensation taken, nor will they be helped. [al baqarah, 2:48]
    note that shafa'ah or intercession will be accepted for muslims; mu'tazilah used this verse to deny intercession - and many fools in our time without any knowledge of tafsir or history of sects follow the mu'tazilah in rejecting shafa'ah. however, the rights of men will be demanded and justice will be done. even though, a muslim will eventually find his way to jannah. but imagine: being retained for questioning, being held to account, embarrassment and remorse in front of everyone and possibly a period of time in hell [howsoever short] is worth being unjust and carefree, all the while deluding oneself that "i will be saved by shafa'ah."?

    the greatest intercessor, the leader of all intercessors, sallALlahu alayhi wa sallam said:

    "fear hell. even if it is [for being unjust in] a piece of a date."
     
    Last edited: Aug 4, 2020
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