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Justice: The Master Of Virtues. - KingoftheAvenge - 04-14-2010 01:27 AM
Forms of Justice
1. Man’s justice towards God
This is the brightest form, the highest concept, and the title of credibility of justice. How is it possible for anyone to fulfill the obligations of God so justly since God is the All-benefactor Whose graces are innumerable and favors are incalculable? It is impossible to achieve justice towards the Lord Who is absolutely Self-Sufficient except through confessing of shortcoming.
Justice towards God stands for the believing in Him, being sincere with Him, believing in His messengers and representatives, and responding to the necessities, such as the love for Him, having the honor of worshipping Him, persisting on the obedience to Him, and being away from the acts of disobedience to Him.
2. Man’s justice towards the society
This form of justice can be achieved by observing the individuals’ rights, refraining from maltreating them, dealing with them through noble traits, and courtesy, and sympathizing the poor as well as the other matters of social justice.
In the holy Quran, God summarizes the factuality of the public justice by saying
“Allah commands (people) to maintain justice, kindness, and proper relations with their relatives. He forbids them to commit indecency, sin, and rebellion. Allah gives you advice so that perhaps you will take heed. (16:90)”
Imam Ali (A.S.) depicted the course of the social justice so briefly and eloquently
“My son, make yourself the measure for dealings between you and others. Thus, you should desire for others what you desire for yourself and hate for others what you hate for yourself. Do not oppress as you do not like to be oppressed. Do good to others, as you would like good to be done to you. Regard bad for yourself whatever you regard bad for others. Accept that (treatment) from others, which you would like others to accept from you. Do not talk about what you do not know even though what you know be very little. Do not say to others what you do not like to be said to you.”
3. Justice towards the dead
The alive should be just towards the dead who departed this life leaving fortunes and gaining nothing in their everlasting journey except a few yards of clothes and narrow spans of the inside of the earth.
It is just for the alive to feel sympathetic to the dead and reward them equitably by implementing their wills, defraying their debts, doing charitable and righteous deeds for their sake, and seeking God’s forgiveness to them.
Imam Sadiq (A.S.) said “The dead feels happy for seeking Allah’s mercy and forgiveness for him in the same way as the alive feels happy for the presents gifted to him.”
“As for Muslims who do a charitable deed for the sake of a dead, Allah will double their rewards and will reward the dead for that deed, too.” 4
4. Justice of the rulers
Because of their being the leaders of people and the guardians of nation, the rulers are the worthiest of being characterized by justice. On that account, the rulers’ justice represents the highest concept of justice and the most influential. Through the rulers’ justice, security is achieved, peace predominates, luxury prevails, and the subjects become happy.
Advantages of Justice
The sound souls are created on the nature of the love for justice and hate for wronging. Over the existence on this earth, all human beings agreed unanimously, despite their different trends and courses, on glorifying justice. Furthermore, they have gone on praising its virtues and dedicating themselves to the doing of justice. It is then the secret of the existence of nations and the symbol of virtues. Only was it because the loss of justice, the great powers collapsed and the glorious civilizations reduced to rubble.
The Ahl ul-Bayt (A.S.), the holy Prophet Muhammad’s family (S), were high examples of justice. Their deeds and words were immortal lessons that light for humanity the courses of justice, right, and guidance
In his final days, the Prophet (s) asked people to retaliate upon him if he had made mistake with any of them intentionally or unintentionally. Suwada ibn Qays said
“God’s Messenger, once, you were riding your she-camel and having a cane in the hand when I received you after you had been in Ta’if. As you were trying to beat your riding animal with your cane, you hit my belly.”
The Prophet (s) ordered him to retaliate. “Show me your belly,” asked Suwada, and the Prophet did. “May I put my mouth on your belly, God’s Messenger?” asked Suwada. The Prophet permitted, and Suwada said “I seek the guard of the Prophet’s place of retaliation against fire of Hell.”
The Prophet then asked him to retaliate or forgive. “I will certainly forgive, God’s Messenger,” said Suwada. The Prophet prayed “Allah, forgive Suwada ibn Qays, for he forgave Your Prophet Mohammed.” 5
Abu Saeed al-Khidri narrated the following
A Bedouin asked the Prophet (s) demandingly to defray the debt that he owed him. The companions interfered and reproached the Bedouin, saying, “Woe is on you. Do you know to whom are you addressing?” “I am only demanding with my right,” said the Bedouin.
The Prophet (s) said to his companions “You should have been with the right party.” He then summoned Khawla bint Qays and asked her to loan him some dates and promised he would repay her when his share would come to his hand. She did, and the Prophet (s ) gave the Bedouin his due in full after he had invited him to a meal.
The Bedouin said “You have given the due in full. God may give you your due in full.” The Prophet commented “Those who give the due in full are the best of people. Woe to the nation whose individuals do not give the weak his due in full.”
It is said that the Bedouin embraced Islam after he had seen the high morality of the Prophet, and said “God’s Messenger, I have never seen such a fair individual.” 6
Thus was Imam Ali (a). Imam as-Sadiq (a) narrated the following.
When he hold the position of caliphate, Ali (a) scaled the mimbar and said “All praise and thanks be to Allah. I will not seize a single dirham (like a dollar) from your shares so long as a single bunch of my dates in Yathrib (city of Medina) is available. Be sure. Do you think I will prefer you to myself?”
Aqil, Imam Ali’s brother, stood up and said “This means that you will put me and the black ones of Medina on the same level, does it not?” The Imam (a) asked him to sit down, and said, “You have no preference to the black ones of Medina except by means of a virtue in Islam or piety.” 7
The following narration in recorded by Ibn Hagar in his book titled ‘As-Sawaaiq ul-Muhriqa’ page 79
(Ibn Asakir narrated that) Aqil asked Imam Ali (a) to give him some money because he was poor. The Imam told him to wait until his share of the public treasury would come out. As Aqil insisted, the Imam asked a man to take Aqil to the market and lead him to the locks of the stores so that he would unlock and take from them. “Do you want me to be thief?” asked Aqil. The Imam (a) said “And do you want me to be thief as you ask me to give you the shares of Muslims?” Aqil then threatened he would join Muawiya (the unjust ruler of Damascus).
As soon as Aqil asked him, Muawiya gave him one hundred thousand dirhams and asked him to take the mimbar (the podium) and tell people his story with his brother.
Aqil ascended the mimbar and said “People, when I tried to make Ali give up his religion, he refused and preferred his religion to me. But when I asked Muawiya to prefer me to his religion, he did.” 8
Ibn Abbas narrated the following
I, once, visited Imam Ali (a) and found him repairing one of his old slippers. As he finished, he added it to the other and asked me to evaluate. “It is valueless,” I answered. As he insisted, I said “They may be half a dirham.” He (a) commented “By Allah I swear, these slippers are favorable for me to my leadership to you unless I constitute the right or reject the wrong.” 9
On another occasion, Imam Ali (a) said “By Allah, I would rather pass a night in wakefulness on the thorns of as-Sadan (a plant having sharp prickles) or be driven in chains as a prisoner than meet Allah and His Messenger on the Day of Judgment as an oppressor over any person or a usurper of anything out of worldly wealth. And how can I oppress any one for (the sake of a life) that is fast moving towards destruction and is to remain under the earth for a long time.” 10
The Opposite:
Semantically, justice means putting a thing or a matter in its right place.
With the same token, injustice is to put a thing in an inappropriate place. Conventionally, injustice stands for the seizure of rights, and the words and deeds of hostility against others, such as revilement, backbiting, confiscation of property, crimes of beating or murder, and the like forms of wrongdoings.
Injustice, however, is one of the bad characteristics that are deep-rooted in most of the mentalities. All over history, humankind suffered various kinds of tragedies that made life seem depressing. It therefore is right to say that injustice is the comprehensive of sins, source of evils, and incentive of corruption. Polytheism is grave injustice because instead of believing on one and only one God, it promotes the worshipping of several gods. God says:
The unjust will certainly have no happiness. (6:21)
Allah does not guide the unjust. (6:144)
Allah does not love the unjust. (3:57)
The unjust will face a painful punishment. (14:22)
We destroyed certain generations who lived before you because of their injustice. (10:13)
Do not think that Allah is unaware of what the unjust people do. (14:42)
(On the Day of Judgment) to redeem oneself of one's injustice, one would gladly spend the wealth of the whole earth if it were possible. On seeing the torment one will try to hide his regret. They will all be judged fairly and no wrong will be done to them. (10:54)
Imam Ali (a) said: By Allah, even if I am given all the domains of the seven (stars) with all that exists under the skies in order that I may disobey Allah to the extent of snatching one grain of barley from an ant, I would not do it. For me, your world is lighter than the leaf in the mouth of a locust that is chewing it. What has Ali to do with bounties that will pass away and pleasures that will not last?
Abu Bassir narrated the following:
Two parties of litigation filed their case before Imam as-Sadiq (a). After he had listened to both of them, the Imam spoke: It is quite true that he who seizes something by wrong means is not seizing goodness. Certainly, the oppressed party seizes from the religion of the wronging party more than that which the wronging party seizes from the oppressed party’s property. He who does evil to people should not show loathing towards the evil that is done to him. As a matter of fact, man will harvest nothing but that which he sowed. No one will harvest sweetness from the bitter, and no one will harvest bitterness from the sweet.
These words of the Imam (a) made the two parties settle their litigation before they left him. 1
Imam as-Sadiq (a) said: He who seizes his brother’s property wrongfully will consume a flame of fire on the Day of Resurrection. 2
As for him who wrongs others, Allah will cause him, his descendants, or the descendants of his descendants to be wronged by absolute persons.
When the Imam was asked how it is acceptable for God to cause somebody to wrong the descendants of the wrongdoer, he referred to God’s saying:
Those who are concerned about the welfare of their own children after their death should have fear of Allah and guide them properly. (4:9)
To punish sons for their fathers’ crimes is restricted only to those who accept and welcome their fathers’ wrongdoings so that they would inherit such usurped properties. To punish such sons is a reproach that discourages the wrongdoers from aggressions out of their care for their dear sons. It is also a good tiding for the oppressed individuals that their oppressors will be punished eventually.
The Prophet (s) said: For anyone who begins his day without having the intent to oppress anybody, Allah will forgive his sins that he committed against his Lord-.
http://www.islamicwisdom.net/injustice-the-worst-of-virtues
RE: Justice: The Master Of Virtues. - Judahideen - 04-14-2010 07:44 AM
you aint even writing anything any more....
i can hit the random button on Wikipedia if i want useless information