While Tawhid means belief in the perfection of the Being of Allah, Adl (Divine Justice) means belief
in the perfection of the actions of Allah.
We call Allah Almighty (Aadil),
which means He never does an act which may be unjust. In other words Allah's acts are always good, and He does not do them out
of compulsion at all. Whatever Allah does is good, right, and proper.
WHY THE DISCREPANCIES THEN?
There is a system of equity in this world, it is a Divine Equity. All of us are endowed with various degrees of needs and capacities,
with various capabilities and temperaments, but all of this falls within the framework of the "Equity". Like the balance of
nature, one thing depends upon the other, and if that balance is disturbed then some dire consequences may occur.
Allah (swt) wants the welfare of humanity, and He has placed an exquisite balance which involves every deed and action, whether it is the
action of an individual, the community, or society. This balance also relates to the resources of the earth and in nature.
One who does something wrong does it either because he or she is ignorant of its impact and consequences, because he or she is under the
influence of some mistaken ideas, or perhaps one finds oneself forced to do so.
Allah (swt) is All-Perfect, All-Knowing, and All-Capable. Because of His perfection and limitless knowledge, He knows what would be best
for every act. Therefore, He will do what is best all the time.
SCOPE OF DIVINE JUSTICE
The scope of Divine Justice can touch upon many points. For one thing it means that no evil can come from Allah whatsoever. Not only
that, but Allah does not make people commit evil and mischief, yet He will punish them for their evil thoughts and deeds. Nor
can we think that Allah will ill-compensate the true believers, or reward them unfairly. Allah will neither punish unnecessarily
nor give less than what a person deserves.
Allah is strictly Just. He compensates in a fair and equitable way, forgives when He wishes to do so, and fulfills His promises fully and
completely.
MORE ABOUT ALLAH'S JUSTICE
Allah's justice is perfect and absolute. He is fair in His judgment. This means He is never unjust to anyone. The Justice of Allah is
an extremely important attribute.
Because Allah is very just, the following points are important:
1. Allah never asks us to do things beyond our
capacity. He says in the Holy Quran (Surah
2: Ayah 286)
لاَ
يُكَلِّفُ اللّهُ نَفْسًا إِلاَّ وُسْعَهَا لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا اكْتَسَبَتْ
ALLAH DOES NOT PLACE A BURDEN ON A SOUL BUT TO
THE EXTENT OF ITS
ABILITY..
2. Allah will hold us responsible for our
actions only, and nothing else.
3. Allah will not hold us responsible for
actions of other people before us or after us.
4. Allah will forgive us if we do something
wrong and sincerely ask for His forgiveness.
Let us see how the Almighty describes Himself in His Book, the Holy Quran
(Surah 4: Ayah 40):
إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يَظْلِمُ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ وَإِن تَكُ
حَسَنَةً يُضَاعِفْهَا وَيُؤْتِ مِن لَّدُنْهُ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا
VERILY, ALLAH DOES NOT DO INJUSTICE (EVEN) TO THE SLIGHTEST EXTENT,
AND IF A GOOD DEED IS DONE, ALLAH WILL MULTIPLY IT AND
GIVE OF HIS OWN A GREAT REWARD.
IMPORTANCE OF DIVINE JUSTICE
Because of divine justice Allah (swt) sent Prophets to numerous communities. This was true from the time of the appearance of the first
human on earth to the last Prophet, Muhammad (pbuh). They were sent to people to teach them Allah's Directives. Anyone who
follows these Directives and does right will be compensated through the divine justice of Allah. Anyone who commits evil and
mischief will also be given the compensation he or she deserves, which will be very distressing and agonizing.
It is also because of divine justice that Allah created Heaven and Hell, the Day of Judgment, and the Hereafter. In other words, the
consequences of Divine Justice have enormous ramifications, such as creating places for reward and punishment, and all the
numerous events and undertakings that will lead to the permanent abode in the Hereafter. Therefore, because of divine justice,
man's actions, fate, and all that he goes through will be tied to this point, the point of divine justice. Divine justice is a
foundation-stone of Islam.
SCOPE OF DIVINE JUSTICE |
|
1. DIRECTIVES TO THE PROPHETS |
| 2. THE PROPHETS TAUGHT MAN TO APPLY ALLAH'S DIRECTIVES |
| 3. HUMANS WILL BE JUSTLY JUDGED ON DAY OF JUDGMENT |
| 4. THE RIGHTEOUS WILL BE AWARDED PARADISE |
| 5. MEN OF EVIL WILL BE PUNISHED IN HELL |
FREE WILL VERSUS PREDESTINATION.
For every action there is a reaction, and for everything that man does there are possible consequences. Man has free will, but only to a
certain extent. Man uses his mind to decide on the course of action, and his intentions, emotions, needs, and desires can all
enter into this decision. Man may do things that are good and proper, or he may do things that are evil and mischievous. Man is
totally responsible for his acts, and on the Day of Judgment he will stand to account for his deeds.
▪ But man also is the prisoner of his genes, his upbringing, his family, his circumstances, his
culture, and his mental capacity, among other things. These play a significant role in determining his behavior and the course
he takes in life. So, is he predetermined?
▪ The answer is that man is in between, neither completely of free will nor completely
predestined. Only Allah knows the extent of the influencing factors on man, and this, of course, will be considered when a
person is judged.
▪ Allah has many ways of opening avenues for us, and He usually gives us many alternatives for
everything we want to do. Each of these alternatives has its own course and can lead to certain consequences or results. We are
to choose our way using Islamic guidelines so that we can reap what Allah has promised, which will be a blissful, plentiful, and
abundant abode in the Hereafter.
▪ Man is neither completely the master of his acts, nor is he completely powerless to do what
Allah leads him to do. Man is thus between these two extremes to a greater or lesser extent.
ALLAH (swt)
GIVES SEVERAL CHOICES (ALTERNATIVES)
TO EVERY HUMAN DEED |
|
MAN IS FREE TO CHOOSE |
1. EXCELLENT CHOICE
2. GOOD
CHOICE
3. FAIR
CHOICE
4. BAD CHOICE
5. EVIL
CHOICE |
THEREFORE MAN WILL EARN EITHER PARADISE OR HELL |
DIVINE JUSTICE VERSUS MAN'S DEEDS
Every act of Allah (swt) has a purpose. Allah is positive and He participates actively and continuously in the affairs of all, in the
affairs of this earth and of the whole universe.
The reason for His doing so, is that Allah is good and desires goodness for His creatures. Allah wants our welfare, He wants our good,
and He steers things and gives us alternatives so that we can choose the best route toward Him.
WHY IS THERE SO MUCH EVIL THEN?
Divine justice is absolute, and Allah (swt) does what is fair and proper. Allah created man with certain qualities, many of which can
lead to nobility, goodness, dignity, and integrity while others can lead to grief, trouble, misfortune and evil. These qualities
are dormant, and for them to be developed, religious directives nurture man's good qualities and make them fruitful, they can
also control or subdue the bad qualities. Goodness of character will then predominate and the individual as well as the society
will benefit.
Man is created sinless, then he accumulates sins through his own actions
When a baby is born, it is completely sinless. As he or she grows up and matures, man is to choose between what is good and what
is bad. His is the choice, and it is up to him to develop goodness, nobility, and integrity; however, if he or she chooses the
bad and prefers the path of evil, he or she stands to lose. Religious directives always are very necessary to show man the right
path.
PRACTICAL BEARINGS OF DIVINE JUSTICE
What does divine justice demand from us? It demands goodness of character along the directives of Islam, and justice in our everyday
affairs.
Every person has rights and obligations. It is a give and take situation, and to do things with a sense of fairness and justice is a basic,
fundamental requirement for the welfare of our society. Trespassing these limits means aggression
and this is doomed in Allah's eyes.
Having faith in Adl (Divine Justice) transcends the differences between the rich and the poor, the strong and the weak, which are
transitory and insignificant in the eyes of Allah. The rich man should neither be conceited, nor the poor man depressed.
Nobility of character and piety should be the hallmark of the blessed. Nobility and goodness
of character along the guidelines of Islam is what counts in the eyes of Allah.
Those who believe in Adl (Divine Justice) must therefore be just and fair, for this virtue means character of goodness, humility,
generosity, love, kindness, and greatness of heart.
Laws and injunctions given in the Holy Quran and Sunnah of Muhammad (pbuh) are based on the basis of divine justice. Therefore Divine Justice
for the most part deals with Divine Commandments and jurisprudence.
Questions
Adl:
What is meant by Divine Justice?
What is the scope of Divine Justice?
Mention 4 points about Allah's Justice.
What is the importance of Divine Justice?
What is meant by free will?
What is meant by predestination?
Explain what is meant by saying Allah gives several alternatives to every choice we have.
What are the practical bearings of Divine Justice?
