Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): "And the
heaven He raised and imposed the balance. That
you not transgress within the balance. And
establish weight in justice and do not make
deficient the balance.” [Quran 55:7-9]
These verses of the Quran, which are mentioned in
the chapter Ar-Rahmaan, or “(God) the All-
Merciful” stand out in their emphasis of the
importance of justice because they unite justice
with the important theological principle of Allaah’s
Khalq and Amr or His “Creation and Command.”
These verses make justice both the basis of the
creation and its source of continuity (by
commanding justice). This is true because, in
essence, the balance is the symbol of justice and
its means of realization at the same time.
Heavens and earth were originally created with
justice in a balanced way and they can only (or
were meant to) continue with it.
Muslims accepted
this magnificent guidance and ultimate value of life,
more than 1400 years ago. The great Commentator
of the Quran, Imaam Abu Ja'far At-Tabari (d. 310
AH) expounded the aforementioned verses, saying,
“Allaah created Heavens and Earth by (and in)
justice so that all things in them exist (and interact)
by (and in) justice.”
And there is not a single nation, past or present, but
that it has asserted its claims of honoring justice
and being just. Yet, the justice they claimed, at
times, meant nothing more than what the “powers
that be” wanted. Or sometimes justice represented
what is recognized and utilized by a majority or a
certain religion or ethnicity. What humans mean by
justice, in other words, may differ in its meaning
and means from one nation to another. It is
interesting to note that Socrates (killed in 339 BC)
defined justice as the, “Will of the powerful,” and it
is also interesting that this applies the vast majority
of the time in situations when religious values are
absent or weak. It is even more interesting that
some of the theories man has, overtime, developed
using ‘rationality' and empiricism, and which
exceedingly tilt the balance of justice in favor of the
powerful or the rich, still flourish in modern times
and continue to find advocates or even unabashed
supporters who will kill or die for them.
In one of the 100 or so verses which deal with
the essentials of justice and fairness, the Quran tells
us of this perversion of justice that sometimes
occurs in the course of human events. Verse 25 of
the chapter (57) Al-Hadeed, “the Iron,” pregnant
with meanings and profusely poignant, lay bear the
reality about the roots of injustice among people.
Many people mention being motivated by hearing
this verse recited just once. Allaah Says (what
means): “ We have already sent Our messengers
with clear evidences and sent down with them the
Scripture and the balance that the people may
maintain [their affairs] in justice. And We sent down
iron, wherein is great military might and benefits for
the people, and so that Allaah may make evident
those who support Him and His messengers
unseen. Indeed, Allaah is Powerful and Exalted in
Might.” [Quran 57:25] So many points of benefit, so
much to learn and live by. For one, the balance of
justice is mentioned along with the Books, guidance
from Allaah, to indicate that true justice needs a
compass to save itself from relativism and free
judgment from personal drive. This also means that
the interpretation of Allaah’s Guidance must be free
from whims and ignorance, and this effort to free
one’s self from whims and ignorance is what
Muslim scholars—who are the interpreters of
Allaah’s Final Message— term Ijtihaad. The point is
that Allaah’s Guidance entails that only people of
knowledge who are able and honest may interpret
Divine texts. Ignoring this prerequisite has led—in
many times and places—to gross justifications and
evil consequences. Without this guidance, man has
done enough to give Socrates’ definition of justice
precedence over any other.
Another point worthy of our attention here is the fact
that Allaah is reminding us that He has provided the
messengers with iron to go along with the guidance
and the command to establish justice. Man has
known, for untold centuries, that he cannot institute
justice in almost any walk of life, or protect justice
whenever needed, without the power of iron.
But the intent of the message of this verse is
unambiguous. Allmessengers from Allaah, who
were sent to various nations throughout history,
came with the very same message.
The implication of this is so profound, especially for
today’s Muslims.
We must acknowledge and respect that loving and
establishing justice is a human trait, not an attribute
of the Muslim Ummahalone. In fact, our scholars
have long asserted, based on the aforementioned
verses among many others, that Allaah grants
supremacy to a just government or nation even
though it may be disbelieving, and He takes away
supremacy from an unjust government or nation
even though it may be believing. This is how just
the Islamic worldview is.
And a Muslim would not be completely truthful to his
belief without accepting this view.
Muslims should
support justice and those who seek it and they
should feel happy every time justice triumphs.
But judging by the current situation of most Muslim
countries and communities around the world, it is
not difficult to see that we have strayed from
justice.
To lure it back home, we need to mend our ways
and make them coincide with the guidance of our
Kitaab (the Quran) first.
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