Justice vs. forgiveness

[raisa]

Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

I have been struggling with a lot of questions about life lately. I hope that you can solve a few puzzles for me. I have been always taught to be forgiving, almost in every situation. It is always said that if you are a good muslim, you should be forgiving. If a person wrongs you, even if that person does it a million times, you must forgive him and leave punishment or justice to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.

Now I am wondering if the forgiving goes above justice. If someone wrongs you, should we always tolerate this? Is tolerating and being passive more important than being righteous and honest? I ask this question to myself a lot, because tolerating mostly gives a very bad feeling about oneself. People have always misused my forgiving, friendly and passive nature. Today I am questioning myself if what I have been taught is actually right? I have always had the feeling that justice is very important. I even have the feeling that justice goes above everything, especially in Islam. But I'm not sure about it, because I have never read any literature about justice in Islam. What does Islam say about justice? What is the value and significance of justice in Islam. Especially when we compare it to forgiveness, which one has a bigger value? Please give me some insight about this. Thank you very much for helping me out!

Allah Hafiz.

[Imam]

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

Wa'alaykum 'Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu


All Praise be to Allah who is the Lord of the Worlds, and may Endless Blessings be showered upon His Most Beloved, and Final Messenger of Islam, Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam


May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, give us all the tawfiq to serve his din, in the best manner possible.


I have read the first part of your paragraph, and agree quite clearly with what you have stated. That if a person has committed a wrong, and even if it is a million times, then that person should be forgiven. However, it must remain clear, that that wrong which has been committed, should not be out of the folds of the shar'iyyah, or contravening the principles of the din. If they do, then Allah the Almighty has already warned us of punishments, which will be inflicted upon a person, who contravenes the din. One such example of this is the verse:

'ara'aytalladhi yu kadh'dhibu fiddin'

'Well have you seen him who belies the religion?'

This means that all those people who belie the religion, meaning that those people who contravene the principles of religion, then do you not see what punishment we have made ready for them? This verse and all other similar verses, which warn what Allah the Almighty has stored for those who do wrong have clearly been stated in the Qur'an, especially in regard to those past communities, when they committed wrong against their Prophets, their Lord, and their religion.


The second part of your question is also something worth considering, that if a person does something wrong, then should we tolerate this, even though it goes above justice?


Since justice is in itself an attribute of Almighty Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, then this attribute also reflects in the Qur'an, the creation, and in people as a whole. It would be rather justifiable to say that the Qur'an itself is the ultimate Justice.


Since the creation is able to justify, and also differentiate between what is right and what is wrong, then it would be correct to say that man is also just. He is the one who uses this justice to differentiate what is right and what is wrong. He knows how to differentiate between what is good and what is bad. He knows how to justify between what is correct, and what uis unlawful. This is one of the reasons whay we have law. The law carries, or is supposed to carry justice. Only in the rarest of cases is it that the law will use it's power unlawfully, hence having the rule of law. Every organisation, from countries to cities and towns, associations, businesses, shops, households, right down to the individual including children have a set lot of rules, which they must abide by, otherwise they will be subject to fines, punishment, or being penalised, in one form or another.


The significance of justice in Islam hence, is to have the power and the value of being able to reckognise what it is that Allah the Almighty has prescribed us to do, and to withdraw from that which he has prohibited us from doing. All such things are known as 'ahkam'. These 'ahkam', or commandments must be followed by each and every individual so that not only can a perfect organisation be erected, and accepted, but also so that people have a guideline to what it is that is favourable towards them, in the eyes of Allah the Almighty.


Once it is known what it is that is just, and what is the prerequisite of being just, only then can we know how to forgive. One example of this, is that you will not impose a punishment upon a person who is a non Muslim, for not praying salah, although it is mandatory for a person to compel his wife, family, and children to observe the fundamental principles of Islam. Anything which is outside the scope of this criteria, is regarded as punishable. For example, lying, backbiting, cheating, swearing, telling tales and so forth, as each and every one of these not only contravene the principles of religion, but are subject to punishment, if and when reckognised by justice.


May Allah the Almighty protect us all from all those things which are punishable by Him, and may He help us to be just not only towards Him, but also to each other for the sake of His religion. (Amin)



Jazak'allah for your question.



Wallahu A'lamu Biththawaab


M. Waseem Ashrafi