Topics/Justice

Justice

12 items across 3 content types

Questions (4)

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Jihad & Terrorism

Is fighting and warfare prescribed only in Islam, or do other religions also permit it?

Fighting for a just cause has been prescribed in virtually all major world religions, not only Islam. The Bible commands killing in multiple passages (Ezekiel 9:5, Exodus 32:27-28). Jesus told his followers to buy swords (Luke 22:36). The Hindu Bhagavad Gita contains 18 chapters centered on Lord Krishna commanding Arjuna to fight and kill his own relatives in battle. The Qur'an commands justice even against one's own self and family.

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Common Misconceptions

Does Islam support violence against non-Muslims?

No. The Qur'an explicitly states 'there is no compulsion in religion' (2:256) and permits fighting only in self-defense. Verses about warfare were revealed in specific historical contexts of persecution and self-defense, not as blanket commands.

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Theology & Belief

How can you prove the existence of the Hereafter, i.e., life after death?

Belief in the Hereafter is supported by multiple lines of reasoning: the Qur'an as a divine source affirms it, the concept of ultimate justice requires it (since many wrongs go unpunished in this life), and it provides the necessary moral framework for human civilization. Without accountability after death, there would be no ultimate consequence for evil and no reward for good, making moral behavior merely optional rather than meaningful.

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Jihad & Terrorism

Why are most of the Muslims terrorists?

The premise of the question is false. The word 'terrorist' means someone who causes terror. A policeman is a terrorist for a criminal. Labels depend on perspective — the British called George Washington 'Terrorist No. 1,' and Nelson Mandela was labeled a terrorist before winning the Nobel Peace Prize. The Qur'an commands Muslims to verify information before acting on it.

Qur'an Verses (3)

Qur'an
Surah An-Nahl (16:90)

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِٱلْعَدْلِ وَٱلْإِحْسَـٰنِ وَإِيتَآئِ ذِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلْفَحْشَآءِ وَٱلْمُنكَرِ وَٱلْبَغْىِ ۚ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ

Innallaha ya'muru bil-'adli wal-ihsani wa ita'i dhil-qurba wa yanha 'anil-fahsha'i wal-munkari wal-baghyi. Ya'izukum la'allakum tadhakkarun

Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.

Ibn Mas'ud called this 'the most comprehensive verse in the Qur'an for good and evil.' In a single sentence, it establishes three divine commands — justice (adl), excellence (ihsan), and generosity to kin — and three prohibitions — immorality (fahsha), wrongdoing (munkar), and oppression (baghy). The Umayyad Caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz ordered this verse to be recited at the end of every Friday sermon, a practice that continues across much of the Muslim world to this day.
Qur'an
Surah Al-Isra (17:33)

وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا۟ ٱلنَّفْسَ ٱلَّتِى حَرَّمَ ٱللَّهُ إِلَّا بِٱلْحَقِّ ۗ وَمَن قُتِلَ مَظْلُومًا فَقَدْ جَعَلْنَا لِوَلِيِّهِۦ سُلْطَـٰنًا فَلَا يُسْرِف فِّى ٱلْقَتْلِ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ مَنصُورًا

Wa la taqtulun-nafsa allati harramallahu illa bil-haqq. Wa man qutila mazluman fa qad ja'alna liwaliyyihi sultanan fa la yusrif fil-qatl. Innahu kana mansura

And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden, except by right. And whoever is killed unjustly — We have given his heir authority, but let him not exceed limits in the matter of taking life. Indeed, he has been supported by the law.

This verse establishes the inviolability of human life as a divine command, complementing 5:32 (the sanctity of life verse). It adds a crucial legal dimension: even when seeking justice for wrongful killing, the victim's heir must not 'exceed limits' — prohibiting collective punishment, disproportionate retaliation, and vigilante justice. The phrase 'except by right' (illa bil-haqq) means only through proper legal process. This verse became foundational to the Islamic jurisprudence of qisas (legal retribution) with its strict evidentiary requirements.
Qur'an
Surah Az-Zalzalah (99:7)

فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُۥ ﴿٧﴾ وَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهُۥ

Fa man ya'mal mithqala dharratin khayran yarahu. Wa man ya'mal mithqala dharratin sharran yarahu

So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it. And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it.

These two verses (99:7-8) are among the most quoted in the Qur'an for their stunning moral clarity. The word 'dharrah' (atom/dust-speck) represents the smallest conceivable quantity — nothing escapes divine accounting. The Prophet Muhammad said this is 'the most comprehensive and encompassing verse for good and evil' (al-Hakim). The parallelism is striking: no good deed, however small, is wasted; no evil deed, however small, is overlooked. This establishes perfect divine justice that extends to the minutest of actions.

Hadith (5)

Hadith
Sahih al-Bukhari 6484
Sahih

لاَ يَحِلُّ دَمُ امْرِئٍ مُسْلِمٍ يَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَأَنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلاَّ بِإِحْدَى ثَلاَثٍ النَّفْسُ بِالنَّفْسِ وَالثَّيِّبُ الزَّانِي وَالْمَارِقُ مِنَ الدِّينِ التَّارِكُ لِلْجَمَاعَةِ

La yahillu damu imri'in Muslimin yash-hadu an la ilaha illallah wa anni Rasulullah illa bi ihda thalath: an-nafsu bin-nafs, wath-thayyibu az-zani, wal-mariqu min ad-din at-tariku lil-jama'ah

The Prophet said: 'The blood of a Muslim who testifies that there is no god but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah is not lawful except in three cases: a life for a life, the married adulterer, and the one who abandons his religion and separates from the community.'

Narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud

This hadith establishes the sanctity of human life as a fundamental principle in Islamic law. The default state is absolute inviolability — taking a Muslim's life is forbidden. The three exceptions listed are narrow legal categories that historically required extensive judicial process and evidentiary standards.
Hadith
Sahih al-Bukhari 3461
Sahih

كَانَ رَجُلٌ يُدَايِنُ النَّاسَ فَكَانَ يَقُولُ لِفَتَاهُ إِذَا أَتَيْتَ مُعْسِرًا فَتَجَاوَزْ عَنْهُ لَعَلَّ اللَّهَ أَنْ يَتَجَاوَزَ عَنَّا فَلَقِيَ اللَّهَ فَتَجَاوَزَ عَنْهُ

Kana rajulun yudayinu an-nasa fa kana yaqulu li fatahu: idha atayta mu'siran fa tajawaz 'anhu, la'alla Allaha an yatajawaza 'anna. Fa laqiya Allaha fa tajawaza 'anhu

The Prophet said: 'There was a merchant who used to lend to people, and he would say to his servant: If you find someone in hardship, forgive his debt — perhaps Allah will forgive us. When he met Allah, Allah forgave him.'

Narrated by Abu Hurairah

This hadith illustrates the Islamic principle that mercy begets mercy. A man's habitual generosity toward debtors in difficulty earned him divine forgiveness. It encourages financial compassion and demonstrates that economic ethics in Islam are tied directly to spiritual reward.
Hadith
Sahih Muslim 2699
Sahih

مَنْ نَفَّسَ عَنْ مُؤْمِنٍ كُرْبَةً مِنْ كُرَبِ الدُّنْيَا نَفَّسَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ كُرْبَةً مِنْ كُرَبِ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَمَنْ يَسَّرَ عَلَى مُعْسِرٍ يَسَّرَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ

Man naffasa 'an mu'minin kurbatan min kurab id-dunya naffasa Allahu 'anhu kurbatan min kurab yawm il-qiyamah, wa man yassara 'ala mu'sirin yassara Allahu 'alayhi fid-dunya wal-akhirah

The Prophet said: 'Whoever relieves a believer of a hardship of this world, Allah will relieve him of a hardship on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever makes things easy for one in difficulty, Allah will make things easy for him in this world and the Hereafter.'

Narrated by Abu Hurairah

This hadith establishes a divine reciprocity: acts of compassion in this world are met with divine compassion in the next. It motivates social responsibility by connecting worldly kindness directly to eschatological reward, making charity and aid not just ethical duties but spiritually transformative acts.
Hadith
Sahih Muslim 49
Sahih

مَنْ رَأَى مِنْكُمْ مُنْكَرًا فَلْيُغَيِّرْهُ بِيَدِهِ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِلِسَانِهِ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِقَلْبِهِ وَذَلِكَ أَضْعَفُ الإِيمَانِ

Man ra'a minkum munkaran falyughayyirhu biyadihi, fa in lam yastati' fa bilisanihi, fa in lam yastati' fa biqalbihi, wa dhalika ad'af al-iman

The Prophet said: 'Whoever among you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; if he cannot, then with his tongue; if he cannot, then with his heart — and that is the weakest of faith.'

Narrated by Abu Sa'id al-Khudri

This hadith establishes a three-tiered framework for social responsibility in Islam. The highest level is direct action (changing evil by hand — through authority or physical intervention), followed by verbal opposition (speaking against it), and finally internal rejection (condemning it in one's heart). The descending order reflects both capability and circumstance. Critically, even passive internal disapproval is presented as a minimum requirement of faith — no believer may be indifferent to injustice. Imam al-Nawawi included this as Hadith 34 in his famous 'Forty Hadith' collection, calling it 'a great foundation of Islam.' This hadith is one of the most frequently cited narrations in discussions of civic responsibility, social justice, and the obligation to speak truth to power.
Hadith
Sahih Muslim 2577
Sahih

يَا عِبَادِي إِنِّي حَرَّمْتُ الظُّلْمَ عَلَى نَفْسِي وَجَعَلْتُهُ بَيْنَكُمْ مُحَرَّمًا فَلاَ تَظَالَمُوا يَا عِبَادِي كُلُّكُمْ ضَالٌّ إِلاَّ مَنْ هَدَيْتُهُ فَاسْتَهْدُونِي أَهْدِكُمْ يَا عِبَادِي كُلُّكُمْ جَائِعٌ إِلاَّ مَنْ أَطْعَمْتُهُ فَاسْتَطْعِمُونِي أُطْعِمْكُمْ يَا عِبَادِي كُلُّكُمْ عَارٍ إِلاَّ مَنْ كَسَوْتُهُ فَاسْتَكْسُونِي أَكْسُكُمْ يَا عِبَادِي إِنَّكُمْ تُخْطِئُونَ بِاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَأَنَا أَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا فَاسْتَغْفِرُونِي أَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ

Ya 'ibadi inni harramtu az-zulma 'ala nafsi wa ja'altuhu baynakum muharraman fa la tazalamu. Ya 'ibadi kullukum dallun illa man hadaytuhu fastahduni ahdikum. Ya 'ibadi kullukum ja'i'un illa man at'amtuhu fastat'imuni ut'imkum. Ya 'ibadi kullukum 'arin illa man kasawtuhu fastaksuni aksukum. Ya 'ibadi innakum tukhti'una bil-layli wan-nahari wa ana aghfiru adh-dhunuba jami'an fastaghfiruni aghfir lakum

The Prophet said that Allah said: 'O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another. O My servants, all of you are astray except those whom I have guided, so seek guidance from Me and I shall guide you. O My servants, all of you are hungry except those whom I have fed, so seek food from Me and I shall feed you. O My servants, all of you are naked except those whom I have clothed, so seek clothing from Me and I shall clothe you. O My servants, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness from Me and I shall forgive you.'

Narrated by Abu Dharr al-Ghifari

This is one of the greatest and most comprehensive Hadith Qudsi (divine sayings transmitted through the Prophet). Imam al-Nawawi included it as Hadith 24 in his 'Forty Hadith' and described it as 'a great foundation of Islam.' It begins with God's absolute prohibition of oppression — starting with Himself, then extending it to all creation. The successive declarations ('all of you are astray... hungry... naked... sinning') establish complete human dependence on God, while the corresponding invitations ('seek guidance... food... clothing... forgiveness from Me') reveal God as the ultimate source of all provision, guidance, and mercy. The hadith dismantles human arrogance and self-sufficiency while simultaneously opening infinite doors of divine accessibility. It is one of the most frequently cited narrations in Islamic theology and spirituality.