Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):"And theheaven He raised and imposed the balance. Thatyou not transgress within the balance. Andestablish weight in justice and do not makedeficient the balance.” [Quran 55:7-9]These verses of the Quran, which are mentioned inthe chapter Ar-Rahmaan, or “(God) the All-Merciful” stand out in their emphasis of theimportance of justice because they unite justicewith the important theological principle of Allaah’sKhalq and Amr or His “Creation and Command.”These verses make justice both the basis of thecreation and its source of continuity (bycommanding justice). This is true because, inessence, the balance is the symbol of justice andits means of realization at the same time.Heavens and earth were originally created withjustice in a balanced way and they can only (orwere meant to) continue with it.Muslims acceptedthis magnificent guidance and ultimate value of life,more than 1400 years ago. The great Commentatorof the Quran, Imaam Abu Ja'far At-Tabari (d. 310AH) expounded the aforementioned verses, saying,“Allaahcreated Heavens and Earth by (and in)justice so that all things in them exist (and interact)by (and in) justice.”And there is not a single nation, past or present, butthat it has asserted its claims of honoring justiceand being just. Yet, the justice they claimed, attimes, meant nothing more than what the “powersthat be” wanted. Or sometimes justice representedwhat is recognized and utilized by a majority or acertain religion or ethnicity. What humans mean byjustice, in other words, may differ in its meaningand means from one nation to another. It isinteresting to note that Socrates (killed in 339 BC)defined justice as the, “Will of the powerful,” and itis also interesting that this applies the vast majorityof the time in situations when religious values areabsent or weak. It is even more interesting thatsome of the theories man has, overtime, developedusing ‘rationality' and empiricism, and whichexceedingly tilt the balance of justice in favor of thepowerful or the rich, still flourish in modern timesand continue to find advocates or even unabashedsupporters who will kill or die for them.In one of the 100 or so verses which deal withthe essentials of justice and fairness, the Quran tellsus of this perversion of justice that sometimesoccurs in the course of human events. Verse 25 ofthe chapter (57) Al-Hadeed, “the Iron,” pregnantwith meanings and profusely poignant, lay bear thereality about the roots of injustice among people.Many people mention being motivated by hearingthis verse recited just once. Allaah Says (whatmeans): “ We have already sent Our messengerswith clear evidences and sent down with them theScripture and the balance that the people maymaintain [their affairs] in justice. And We sent downiron, wherein is great military might and benefits forthe people, and so that Allaah may make evidentthose who support Him and His messengersunseen. Indeed, Allaah is Powerful and Exalted inMight.” [Quran 57:25] So many points of benefit, somuch to learn and live by. For one, the balance ofjustice is mentioned along with the Books, guidancefrom Allaah, to indicate that true justice needs acompass to save itself from relativism and freejudgment from personal drive. This also means thatthe interpretation of Allaah’s Guidance must be freefrom whims and ignorance, and this effort to freeone’s self from whims and ignorance is whatMuslim scholars—who are the interpreters ofAllaah’s Final Message— term Ijtihaad. The point isthat Allaah’s Guidance entails that only people ofknowledge who are able and honest may interpretDivine texts. Ignoring this prerequisite has led—inmany times and places—to gross justifications andevil consequences. Without this guidance, man hasdone enough to give Socrates’ definition of justiceprecedence over any other.Another point worthy of our attention here is the factthat Allaah is reminding us that He has provided themessengers with iron to go along with the guidanceand the command to establish justice. Man hasknown, for untold centuries, that he cannot institutejustice in almost any walk of life, or protect justicewhenever needed, without the power of iron.But the intent of the message of this verse isunambiguous. Allmessengers from Allaah, whowere sent to various nations throughout history,came with the very same message.The implication of this is so profound, especially fortoday’s Muslims.We must acknowledge and respect that loving andestablishing justice is a human trait, not an attributeof the Muslim Ummahalone. In fact, our scholarshave long asserted, based on the aforementionedverses among many others, that Allaah grantssupremacy to a just government or nation eventhough it may be disbelieving, and He takes awaysupremacy from an unjust government or nationeven though it may be believing. This is how justthe Islamic worldview is.And a Muslim would not be completely truthful to hisbelief without accepting this view.Muslims shouldsupport justice and those who seek it and theyshould feel happy every time justice triumphs.But judging by the current situation of most Muslimcountries and communities around the world, it isnot difficult to see that we have strayed fromjustice.To lure it back home, we need to mend our waysand make them coincide with the guidance of ourKitaab (the Quran) first.
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