Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem
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).For an Entity to be Just, injustice must also exist, so that what is injust, can be severed from Justice. It is only then that the justice, can only be done, or be seen to be done.
The devil (shaytan), existed in paradise before he was cast down on earth. His duty was to teach all the angels, of the existence of the Almighty. He had the greatest knowledge amongst all creation, and was regarded as the leader of all creation. But when he was asked to prostrate in front of Hadrat Adam (
alayhis salam), he refused on the grounds that he was made of fire, and that Hadrat Adam (
alayhis salam) was made of clay. The Qur'an al kareem states:
'wa idh qulna lil mala'ikatis judu li Adama fa sajadu illa iblis'
'and (recall) when we ordered the angels to prostrate before Adam, they all prostrated, except Iblis.'
(al Qur'an, 2:34)
The command for this prostration is not like the one for the legal (shar'i) prostration, as the legal (shar'i) prostration have been conveyed and taught through a prophet. Thus angels are free from carrying out religious laws. Also this was the only one prostration, which was commanded for the angels, no other command of prostration was ever given to them.
This verse in no way expounds that there was prostration in the religion of Hadrat Adam (
alayhis salam). Prostration of respect was as a permissable act, because at the time of the order to the Angels, the religion of Adam (
alayhis salam), had not been proclaimed upon man.
Thus the command of Allah the Almighty is regarded upon man, as that which is correct and just, as refusal or sometimes mockery, intimidation, excuse, and doubt is what is regarded as either sin, or injustice. The Qur'an al kareem further states:
'aba wastakbara wa kana minal kafirin'
'He refused and was arrogant, and became of the infidels.'
(al Qur'an, 2:34).
Allah the Almighty destroyed the devil, after he was made a devotee and a learned. He was disgraced from the position of loftiness, so that it remains a lesson for all the learned and the sages that hurl an insult to a prophet, let alone the Beloved Messenger of Allah (
Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam). They have been the cause of destruction who have attempted this, as the status and position of prophethood, is a most delicate, and sensitive issue.
From the above verse, and it's commentary, it remains quiet clear that the Devil was injust to the Command of Allah the Almighty. This was the reason why he was cast down to earth, so that he may spread evil, hardship, turmoil, bad, and injustice amongst men. The Almighty Allah, had given him the freedom to do this, as the devil challenged Him, thinking that by judgement day he would have more followers behind him, than those who would follow Allah the Almighty.
So again Islam is a religion as it stands, which has a constant fight with the Devil, trying to eradicate happenings which are evil, that had even been prohibited in previous nations. Such prohibitions lie in the prevention of killing men without any excuse, committing adultery, fornication, and lying, claiming a piece of land or country to be yours, when in reality you do not have the authority to adjudicate upon it, claiming the wealth of others to be yours, when you do not own it, going against the will of a messenger or laws that have been brought down to man, in the form of revelation, in order to gain succession in life, and having the freedom of responsibility towards ones children, parents, neighbours, and fellow human beings.
All of the above mentioned things, are all those things that have been regarded as injust, although the list is exhaustive. However previous nations had been given the punishments where they had purposely not observed the commands that were brought down to them in the form of revelations. Examples, of these can also be seen in the bible and the Qur'an al kareem, the Isrealites, or the Bani Isra'il, the nations of 'Ad and Thamud and Hud, the People of Nuh etc.
These were the people who when referred to, can be seen as the injust ones, who did no justice to themselves, nor did they do any justice to the One who created them. They were the ones who finally had to meet their fate, in the form it came down on them. Is there then a doubt as to why God is unjust, when He himself has given us the code of life, by which we should abide by?
Then there is also a belief that Allah the Almighty has the power (
qudrah) to proceed to hell whomever He wills, and proceed to heaven, whomever He wills. There is no limit to what He has, as power. He may let someone carry out His punishment for so long, and later, be Merciful towards them, by rewarding them with heaven. Or He may do the opposite of this. It is not God who is unjust, but the people who bring injustice upon themselves. God is just, as He is Merciful, as His Mercy surpasses everything, even His own Wrath.
At this point, I would like to refer to a Hadith in the Book of Bukhari, that the Beloved Messenger of Allah (
Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam) said:
'A man from the previous nations told his children that when I die, take my body, burn it, turn it to dust, and scatter half of it amongst the skies, and half of it amongst the waters. When he died, they did this, and when he was brought before Allah the Almighty, after being questioned 'why was it, that you did this?', he replied 'because, I had sinned so much in life, and feared your punishment, I decided to have the best hiding possible, after my death, in order not to face you'. Upon listening to this answer, Allah the Almighty granted the man paradise, as he feared Him, and remembered Him, and knew that one day he had to face Him', which was very pleasing to Allah the Almighty.'
Although in Islam, being cremated is forbidden, and burial is the best process after death, nevertheless, what was pleasing to Allah the Almighty was the rememberance of the man, towards Him, his fear, and ressurection. If this kind of belief can be observed by everyone, then I think we will be more just amongst ourselves, and Allah the Almighty will be more just towards us. Just as a court of law finds those who are not guilty, as the innocent ones, and those who are guilty, as those who have committed a crime.
Furthermore, it is not one of the attributes of Allah the Almighty to be vengeful, or jealous, as jealousy is created within men, by the devil, just as the devil was jealous of Adam (alahyhis salam), when he refused to prostrate to him. Nor has God any children, as He is all alone, the One, the Eternal.
If He did have children, then there would have been the doubt that He also have a mother or father, or be created, when it is He who creates without mother or father, whom He wills. These are one or two of the examples, that I have quoted, in relation to the Justice of the Almighty, although the subject is a very extensive one, and its examples are numerous also.
May Allah the Almighty keep us firm upon what is true, and may we be served His Justice on the Day of Judgement.Wallahu A'lamu BiththawaabM. Waseem Ashrafi
