Living By The Qur'an Brings About Real Justice
Living By The Qur'an Brings About Real Justice
Justice is one of the essentials
maintaining social
order. Every country employs its individual judicial system.
However,
owing to the persistent difficulties experienced in the
contemporary
judicial systems, the quest for an ideal model has never
ended.
There is one essence of the ideal judicial system aspired to
across
the world: the establishment of a judicial mechanism in
which each
and every person is fully repaid for his acts without being
subject
to any form of prejudicial discrimination. Despite new
methods, different
approaches, and projects and solutions devised to attain
this ideal
model, however, exercising justice remains a steep road yet
to be
taken.
The moral deterioration of society accounts for these
unfavourable
situations. Deterioration, a simple consequence of
non-adherence to
the values commanded by Allah, brings harm to societies in
all domains
of life.
Again, this deterioration accounts for swindling, bribery,
cheating,
injustice and many social evils. Daily life abounds with
examples
of this sort. A frequently encountered situation in business
life,
for instance, is businessmen who cheat on their partners and
deceive
them by embezzling their money, houses or cars. Meanwhile, a
longstanding
friendship and the material and spiritual losses the other
party suffers
do not mean anything to the swindler. Primarily concerned
about his
self-interests, values such as friendship, family ties,
spirituality,
social cohesion and good morals have no meaning whatsoever
to the
swindler.
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All relations this person establishes with anyone else will
be under
the influence of such a rationale since he fails to reflect
that Allah
is aware of all that he does, and that he will account for
every act
he commits. Never remembering that swindling is an unfair
gain and
unjust behaviour contributes to this crooked rationale.
The following example will contribute to a better
understanding: a
person who believes that swindling is a horrible crime, will
strictly
avoid it throughout his life. Once, however, someone thinks
he can
derive personal benefit, the same person may bear false
witness against
another or slander him for something of which he is
completely innocent.
Meanwhile, he may find refuge in some excuse: that
conditions compelled
him or his responsibilities to his family laid the ground
for such
a crime… No matter what these excuses are, the fact remains
that
slander is wicked under all circumstances.
This aforementioned pattern appears particularly at times
when people
feel their interests are at stake. This rationale also holds
true
for thieves, swindlers and oppressors. In a society riddled
with people
with vested interests, the existence of injustice, interest
conflicts
and chaos is unavoidable.
Nevertheless, no matter what compelling forces there are, a person living by the Qur'an would never stoop to these wicked deeds and never display attitudes inconsistent with its values. Someone having strong fear of Allah never forgets the fact that one day he will meet each and every deed in which he engages and each and every word he utters. Injustice, which is an outcome of moral deterioration such as only pursuing one's own interests, hoarding possessions, ignoring the needy and those in trouble, has a unique solution: the dissemination of the values of the Qur'an among people. That is because in the Qur'an, Allah commands His slaves who believe and live by these superior values to be just:
You who have iman! Be upholders of justice, bearing witness for Allah alone, even against yourselves or your parents and relatives whether they are rich or poor, Allah is well able to look after them. Do not follow your own desires and deviate from the truth. If you twist or turn away, Allah is aware of what you do. (Surat an-Nisa': 135)
Allah commands justice and doing good and giving to relatives. And He forbids indecency and doing wrong and tyranny. He warns you so that hopefully you will pay heed. (Surat an-Nahl: 90)
In a society where people have an understanding of justice as described in the aforementioned verse, injustice does not prevail. That is because in an environment where the values of the Quran and the Sunnah are observed, the strict exercise of justice is essential. In the practice of this justice, one's kinship, wealth, status or other factors allow for no exceptions. Nevertheless, current implementations of systems of justice around the globe are rather varied. In some cases, in consideration of someone's wealth, status and social environment, his crimes are simply ignored or his punishment is alleviated. This is unlikely to happen in a society where real justice prevails. Factors such as kinship, wealth or status never become reasons to deviate from justice.
Peace: The Natural
Consequence
of Securing Real Justice
Once all these facts are considered, we arrive at the
conclusion that
only living by the Qur'an will ensure a completely fair
social structure.
That is because only the morality of the Qur'an brings moral
conduct
and wisdom. Selfish, egotistical, heedless people will
change into
merciful, just people who think for the good of others and
thus provide
solutions. This simply means the end of many problems.
In societies enjoying real justice, people do not stoop to
moral weaknesses
such as pursuing vested interests, fraud or violating
other's rights.
The basic Qur'anic teachings command matters such as
co-operation
and mercy, which are the essence of a just society. In such a
society,
everyone safeguards each other's interests and thus the
rights and
interests of all are secured. This is what brings overall
peace and
security to society. In this sense, the responsibility of
all believers
is to communicate the values praised by Allah and the just
religion
to the whole world. This is one of the most important
attributes of
the believers:
Let there be a community among you who call to the good, and enjoin the right, and forbid the wrong. They are the ones who have success. (Surah Ali 'Imran: 104)
Those who make tawba(repent), those who worship, those who praise, those who fast, those who bow, those who prostrate, those who command the right, those who forbid the wrong, those who preserve the limits of Allah: give good news to the believers. (Surat at-Tawba: 112)
Allah mentions the existence of people who live by these values and accordingly summon people to them. Only those making people avoid wicked deeds will attain salvation:
Then when they forgot what they had been reminded of, We rescued those who had forbidden the evil and seized those who did wrong with a harsh punishment because they were deviators. (Surat al-A'raf: 165)
