Do Justice

There is another sahih hadith, in which RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says, “If you give victory to your brother in his absence, Allah will give you victory on the day of judgment.” What does this mean? You are in a meeting, and a very righteous brother of yours is absent. People start saying bad things about him that are not true, and you stand up for him, Allah will give you victory on the day of judgment, when you are in need. We shouldn’t allow our brothers, or the righteous scholars, to be backbitten when we are around. We should defend them. For example, approving or defending someone just because he is part of your party, etc.

The jahiliyyah Arabs had this wrong rule of “I will assist my tribal brothers even if I know he is wrong.”

RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or he is an oppressed one.” People [the sahabah] asked, “O Allah’s Apostle! It is all right to help him if he is oppressed, but how should we help him if he is an oppressor?” The Prophet said, “By preventing him from oppressing others.” [Bukhaari, 3/43/624]

Justice is a virtue that should be practiced by everyone. All of us have responsibility, and as long as you have responsibility, then you have to be just. We mentioned that justice is the law of the universe. Allah subhaana wa ta’aala has established the heavens and earth on justice. Wherever justice is missing, everything will go wrong.

RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says in a hadith in Muslim, “AlMuqsiteen (the just) are sitting or standing on pulpits of light on the Right Hand of Allah subhaana wa ta’aala, and both Hands of Allah are right. They are just in their judgment and among their families and among their responsibilities.” An example of these could be: a judge or an arbitrator, the ones who are just among their families.

An area where there is a lot of injustice is in the family – with children, with wives, with younger siblings, etc. We need to realize that having justice brings a lot of reward, and being unjust brings with it a lot of punishment. We know that one of the most severe punishments is against oppression – dhulm. Allah subhaana wa ta’aala says that nothing is between him and the supplication of the oppressed, even if the person is a non believer. RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam specifically mentions in the hadith that the prayers and supplication of the oppressed will reach Allah immediately, even if they are coming from a disbeliever.

If you have power, it is very tempting to abuse it, especially when there is no opposition. Children and the weak are prone to oppression from the stronger. This will not go unnoticed, however, and Allah subhaana wa ta’aala will make the oppressor pay the price on the day of judgment. Allah will not let anything go, otherwise, that is injustice. One of Allah’s names is The Just. Allah will make everyone pay for their injustices, even to the extent that the animals will have to sort things out.