The Concept of Justice in Islam
by Charles Le Gai Eaton
Those who enquire about the basics of Islam are usually told about the
“Five Pillars” of the
religion. These relate to faith and to practice, but at a deeper level it
might be said that
there are two great pillars which sup****t the whole edifice. These are
Peace and Justice. They
are clearly connected since there can be no enduring peace without
justice. The very word
°Isläm comes from the same verbal root as saläm meaning “peace” and, since
the religion is
based upon total submission to the will of God, Muslims believe that real
peace is out of reach
unless it is based upon this submission within the universal order. They
believe equally that
there can be no real justice except as an aspect of submission to the
source of all that is
just and well ordered. Although God in Himself is beyond comprehension or
analysis, the Qur’an
gives us hints as to His true nature through what are sometimes called
“the 99 names” and one
of these is al-ªAdl, “the Just”. Another of these names is al-Muqsiö, “the
Dispenser of
Justice” or “He who gives to each thing its due”.
The Qur°än praises those who always act “in the light of truth” and tells
us: “Perfected are
the words of your Lord in truth and justice”. It tells us also: “Behold,
God enjoins justice
and good actions and generosity to our fellows….”, and it commands us
never to let hatred lead
us into deviating from justice: “Be just! That is closest to God
consciousness”. This, of
course, applies to all believers who must fear divine justice if
subjective factors or personal
emotions lead them to deviate from the path of justice which is also the
path of Islam, but it
weighs heavily upon those who are required to adjudicate in disputes or to
give judgement in
criminal cases. There were cases in the early history of the religion when
men whom the Ruler
intended to appoint as judges fled from Court rather than assume this
terrifying responsibility
and we read of one who did accept the burden that his whole body trembled
when he was called
upon to give judgement, believing that a single mistake might carry with
it the threat of
damnation. The divine Judge stands over the human judge, observing all
that he does, and human
justice, even at its best, can never be more than a poor imitation of
divine Justice. The
Prophet Muhammad himself when he was called upon to adjudicate in civil
actions warned the
litigants that one of them might be more eloquent in putting his case than
the other and
thereby achieve an unjust settlement. “In such a case,” said Muhammad, “I
will have given him a
****tion of hellfire”. This is clearly a grave matter indicating that those
who seek justice
must themselves practise it without deviation even to their own hurt.
Under all and any
cir***stances a victory which is contrary to justice is a poisoned
chalice.
Of special significance too is the relation****p between justice and wisdom
in the Arabic
language. The words åukm, “judgement”, and åikmah, “wisdom” come from the
same root, and
al-Åakïm (the “All-Wise”) is another of the names of God in the Qur°än.
In the Christian tradition St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that, among all human
pursuits, “the
pursuit of wisdom is more perfect, more noble, more full of joy” than any
other human
enterprise. The Muslim might amend this slightly by emphasising that one
cannot “pursue” wisdom
as one might a rare butterfly since it is a divine quality and out of
reach of the human seeker
as such. It is for us to lay ourselves open to this gracious gift by
making ourselves fit and
ready to receive it.
It is commonly said that Justice is or should be “blind”, in other words
rigidly objective, but
a Judge is required to possess the quality of insight in the most profound
sense and can
deserve no higher praise than to be described as “wise”, participating, as
it were, in “the
wisdom of Solomon”. Wisdom is as much a quality of character as an
attribute of the mind. It
has nothing to do with erudition which, however extensive, is necessarily
limited in scope. A
learned man can still be a fool when he steps outside the area of his
expertise. The wise man
is protected by his insight from folly – although not always from minor
errors in the worldly
context – because he possesses an inner yardstick by which to *****s the
situations he
encounters. For the Muslim this yardstick is the Qur°än together with the
example of the
Prophet and their reflection in the human heart. There is no higher aim
for the Muslim than the
cultivation of what is described as a “sound heart”. From the sound heart
comes sound
judgement. The same is true of sound governance and, in Islam, this
implies “ruling between” in
accordance with wisdom rather than “ruling over”.
The Qur°än always emphasises that Muhammad, though endowed with the
fullness of wisdom, was
only “flesh and blood”, capable like other men of error except when
inspired from above, but it
was his mission not only to convey with meticulous accuracy the revelation
which descended upon
him but also to offer the supreme example of what it meant to follow in
his personal and his
public life the full implications of the revelation no less meticulously.
When he was dying and
came for the last time to the mosque in Medina he said to the assembled
people: “If there is
anyone among you whom I have caused to be flogged unjustly, here is my
back. Strike in your
turn. If I have damaged the reputation of any among you, let him do the
same to mine. To any I
may have injured, here is my purse… It is better to blush in this world
than in the hereafter”.
A man claimed a small debt and was promptly paid.
Why is justice so im****tant in Islam? The core article of faith is the
oneness of God,
reflected in the unity of His creation in its totality. This unity is
reflected in harmony and
balance. Injustice destroys harmony and upsets balance thereby provoking
disorder. The Muslim
is commanded to give primacy to prayer throughout his life and, in all
that he does, to
remember God. It is true that people can maintain prayer and remembrance
under all conditions,
even in the midst of chaos, but the fact remains that spiritual life
prospers and flourishes
when it has a stable base, a firm platform from which the ascent to the
knowledge of God and
the love of God can, as it were, take off. A disordered society compounded
of danger and
distractions, unjust and troubled, provides no such security. The man who
has to watch his back
all the time is diverted from the remembrance of God as is the one who has
suffered injustice
and must struggle to eliminate feelings of anger and resentment. Moreover
injustice fractures
the brotherhood and sisterhood of the believers which is an essential
element in an Islamic
society. Above and beyond this is the simple fact that He who is called
“the Just” commands
justice both in society and in every aspect of human relations. Since, in
Islam, all things are
inter-connected – this is an aspect of unity – it might even be said that
every act of
injustice jars on the cosmos as a whole like a discordant note in a piece
of music.
Islam is a very realistic religion and the Qur°än itself recognises the
reality of human
weakness. Those who are injured are permitted to take retaliation but they
are reminded at
every turn that it is better to forgive and to seek reconciliation.
Muslims are commanded to
return good for evil, thus breaking the vicious circle of animosity; “to
do good to those who
have injured us” in the words of one of the classical commentators on the
Qur°än, but this
requires human qualities which are by no means universal although they
were characteristic of
Muhammad. In his dealings with the pagans who tried by every means to
destroy him and his
community he exemplified the rule of forgiveness and reconciliation,
forgiving even the most
vicious of his enemies when he finally re-entered Mecca in triumph,
providing them with gifts
so that their hard hearts might be softened and peace prevail after the
years of conflict.
Justice might have required their punishment, but there is no
contradiction here since there is
more than one way to achieve balance which, after all, is the ultimate
objective of justice.
Islam describes itself as “the middle way”, a religion of moderation in
everything except the
love and wor****p of God. Muhammad condemned extremism with the greatest
severity and today’s
Muslims have a greater need to be reminded of this than ever before as
they do of his saying
that “anger burns up good deeds just as fire burns up dry wood”.
Extremism and anger are both of them ugly in their manifestations. In one
of his inspired
sayings (these are quite separate from the revealed text of the Qur°än)
the Prophet said: “God
is beautiful; He loves beauty”. It is significant that the Arabic word
åasan means both “good”
and “beautiful”. The connection is clear since a good action or, for that
matter, a good
character has a quality of beauty which, in its turn, is related to the
idea of harmony, just
pro****tion and therefore of justice as such. It is worth noting that the
English word “fair”
means both just and beautiful. The Arabic verb ªadala, from the same root
as ªadl (Justice), is
usually translated as “to pro****tion”, “to create in symmetry” or “to be
equitable”. Here again
we have the idea of harmony which is dependent upon justice.
Muslim thinkers have always been interested in the science of numbers and
their significance,
and each letter of the Arabic alphabet has a particular number attached to
it. Words derived
from the root ‘DL, including ªadl, occur 28 times in the Qur°än, and, as
it happens, there are
28 letters in the Arabic alphabet. These are related to the 28 “mansions
of the moon” which
determine the Muslim calendar. This may seem somewhat esoteric but, in the
Islamic perspective,
there are no chance coincidences and, for Muslims, it is further proof of
the universal harmony
which is the pattern of creation and a sign that everything makes sense
when it is closely
examined.
In the Qur°än, which is for all Muslims the directly revealed Word of God,
He says: “We sent
down the Book and the Balance so that mankind might uphold justice”. Here
again the idea of
balance occurs, linked directly with the revelation itself. The “scales of
justice” are set up
and our actions are to be weighed in perfect equity. Regarding the Last
Judgement, we read in
the Qur°än: “That day mankind will issue forth in scattered groups to be
shown their deeds, and
whoso does an atom’s weight of good will see it then and whoso does an
atom’s weight of ill
will see it then”.
Actions which may appear to us completely trivial are cast into the
balance, but good and ill
are not alike in weight. The Qur°än tells us also that a good action,
however small in itself,
will be rewarded many times its own weight whereas the crimes or sins we
may have committed
will weigh no more and no less than what they are as such. It might even
be said that the
scales are themselves weighted in favour of the good and since God is the
source of all that is
good, all that is beautiful, all that is harmonious, this is in the nature
of things. So far as
human justice is concerned, the Prophet counselled all those who are
obliged to sit in
judgement over their fellows to “avert penalties by doubts” and this is
clearly in accordance
with the requirement of the British legal system that guilt must be proved
“beyond reasonable
doubt”.
In the present age, at least in the West, the notion of justice and, in
particular, of rights
has taken on a colouring that is specifically modern. People are unwilling
to accept that
misfortunes are a part of life and not necessarily the fault of someone
else or of the system.
Earlier generations in the West were taught the virtue of resignation, as
are Muslims still to
this day. The cry “It’s so unfair!” is heard now on every side and the
subjective conviction
that one has suffered injustice or that one’s rights have been infringed
is a source of
bitterness and unhappiness. The Muslim, while he must uphold justice so
far as he can, has no
right to such self-indulgence or to suppose that he can be judge in his
own case. To complain
against destiny is, in effect, to enter a complaint against Him who holds
all destinies in His
hand and whose justice is beyond questioning. Here certain Qur°änic verses
are particularly
apposite: “And surely We will try you with something of fear and hunger
and the loss of wealth
and lives and crops. But give good news to the steadfast who say, when
misfortune strikes them:
‘Truly we belong to God and truly to Him we return’. These are they upon
whom are blessings
from their Lord and mercy. Such are the rightly guided”. Life’s
vicissitudes test our metal and
reveal what we truly are in ourselves. The notion of “fair shares” can be
dangerous since few
people today are ready to accept that what life has given them is indeed
fair. In the Islamic
perspective ultimate justice puts everything in its appropriate place,
whether high or low, and
this is to be accepted since there is no place from which the ascent to
the Creator - “seeking
the Face of his Lord Most High” - may not be undertaken. This, rather than
wealth or good
fortune, is the priority of the Muslim who aims to fulfil the purpose of
his life.
Clearly the question of balance arises once again: on the one hand the
obligation to strive for
justice in this world, on the other to accept the injustices which are
woven into our earthly
life in a spirit of resignation. Cir***stances dictate which of these
alternatives is
appropriate. The story is told of a merchant in Muslim Spain who, when
told that his ****p had
sunk with all his goods aboard, looked down for a moment before
exclaiming: “Praise be to
God!”. Later a man came to tell him that the ****p had been saved. Once
again he looked down
before exclaiming: “Praise be to God!”. He was asked why he had looked
down. “I wanted,” he
said, “to be sure that my heart was untroubled”. Equanimity is a basic
virtue in Islam. Here,
perhaps, there is a clue to the reconciliation of the alternatives with
which we are so often
faced – to take up arms against the injustice we have suffered or to
accept it with
resignation. The right choice can only be made if we detach ourselves from
our emotions and
from all subjectivism.
This, of course, is an ideal not easily attainable but what matters is
that the ideal stands
clear of personal entanglements, is respected and is seen as the goal for
which the good man
should aim. History recounts that, during one of the battles in defence of
the Muslim community
in Medina, the Prophet’s son-in-law Ali, engaged in combat with one of the
pagans, brought his
enemy to his knees and was about to strike the killing blow when the man
spat in his face. Ali
sheathed his sword, knowing that to strike out of personal anger rather
than as an act of
dispassionate justice would be a sin.
So justice is a basic principle of Islam since it has its roots in God
Himself. To the secular
jurist who sees it as an end in itself this may seem an alien concept but
Islam is a
God-centred Faith which never permits anything to be detached from its
divine source, al-Åaqq,
one of the “99 Names”, which means “The Truth” but can also be translated
as “The Real”,
ultimate Reality itself. There is therefore a principle which over-masters
justice and this is
Raåmah, Mercy. According to another of the Prophet’s inspired sayings:
“When God completed the
creation He wrote the following, which is with Him above His Throne - My
Mercy takes precedence
over my Wrath”. Justice is, in a sense, a manifestation of Wrath unless it
is tempered by
Mercy. All but one of the chapters of the Qur°än opens with the words: “In
the name of God, the
Merciful, the Dispenser of Mercy”, and, among Muslims, these same words
initiate all human
actions. It is said that the instrument of creation was the “breath of the
Merciful” and
therefore that existence itself is a mercy for which we have a duty to be
grateful. Indeed,
ingratitude and unbelief are almost synonymous in the Islamic perspective.
Believers are warned again and again that if they hope for mercy from
their Lord – as all must
– then they have to show mercy to their fellows and to “every creature
that has a living heart”
including the beasts and the birds. “God gives a reward for gentleness
which He will never give
for harshness”, said the Prophet. It is clear that, for the Muslim, there
is a powerful
restraint upon justice if justice is understood merely as a weighing of
relevant facts and that
is why the human judge, fallible and himself in need of mercy, trembles
when he gives judgement.
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