Social Justice in Islam

Social Justice in Islam

Islam has emphasized on numerous principles that organize
relationships among members of the society. One of the most important
principles is social justice with all important values that it involves like
peace, love, brotherhood, and prosperity. Justice in Islam is not only
practiced on Muslims. Rather, it is practiced on every human being regardless
to his/her beliefs or religion.

Justice as a concept refers to equality in giving rights and in
abiding by obligations without discriminations for any reason, either for
religion, race, color, etc…[ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]

TThe importance of justice is manifested in being one of God's
names in Islam. It is considered among the most important values underlined by
the Quran and repeated in a number of its verses. God has required justice to
be a necessary part of the behavior of every Muslim. It covers every aspect in
life and has to be practiced with every person in the world, including rivals
and enemies. As God said, "Lo! Allah Commandeth you that ye restore
deposits to their owners, and, if ye judge between mankind, that ye judge
justly. Lo! Comely is this which Allah admonisheth you. Lo! Allah is ever
Hearer, Seer. (Sourat al Nesa'a, 58) He also said, "O ye who believe! Be
steadfast witnesses for Allah in equity, and let not hatred of any people
seduce you that ye deal not justly. Deal justly, that is nearer to your duty.
Observe your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is informed of what ye do. (Sourat al
Ma'eda, 8).

Social justice means giving each individual what he/she deserves,
the distribution of financial benefits in the society, providing equally for
basic needs. It is also the egalitarianism in opportunities, i.e. each person
has a chance to climb up the social ladder.

Social justice is one of the most important aspects of justice in
Islam. As was clarified by Dr. Sayed Qotb, in Social Justice in Islam,
there are three basic elements of social justice in Islam. These are the
absolute freedom of conscience, the complete equality of all men, and the
social interdependence among members of the society. Considering the first
element, which is freedom of conscience, social justice can not be achieved
except with a totally free human conscience that purely believes that there is
no superior authority over any individual except God. Power is only in the hand
of God, and nobody can work as a mediator between Him and His creatures, even
if he is a prophet. As God said concerning Prophet Mohamed "Say: Lo! I
control not hurt nor benefit for you" (Sourat Al Gen, 21) and said,
"O people of the Scripture! Come to an agreement between us and you: that
we shall worship non but Allah, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him,
and that none of us shall take others for lords beside Allah. And if they
retrun away, tehn say: Bear witness that we are they who have surrendered (unto
Him). (Sourat Al Imran, 64) With this freed soul, man lives with no fear of any
creature since nobody but God can benefit or harm his life, livelihood, or
position. However, this attempt to totally free the man's soul from the fear of
any object or creature except God cannot be fully realized since humans are
still bonded to basic instinctive needs, the most important of which is food.
Therefore, in order for Islam to realistically achieve this freedom of soul,
God has put a set of social laws that provides the human being with his basic
needs and, in turn, guarantees the liberalization of the human soul. One of the
most important laws is the complete equality among human beings. Nobody can
assert his superiority over the others by having blue or noble blood running in
his veins or by claiming that he is coming from the race of gods. As Qotb
states, Islam ''taught the unity of the human race in origin and in history, in
life and in death, in privileges and in responsibilities, before the law and
before Allah, in this world and in the world to come.'' This is manifested in
Quran when God said, "O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who
created you from a single soul and from it created its mate and from them twain
hath spread abroad a multitude of men and women. Be careful of your duty toward
Allah in Whom ye claim (your rights) of one another, and toward the wombs (that
bare you). Lo! Allah hath been a Watcher over you." (Sourat el Nesa', 1).
God also said, "O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female, and
have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. Lo! The noblest
of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Lo! Allah is Knower,
Aware." (Sourat el Hogorat, 13) Therefore, human dignity is preserved for
every human being; the only difference among people is their morals, not their
race nor their colors.

The second important law that guarantees the human freedom is the
social interdependence. [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]
Social interdependence means the man's sense of duty and responsibility towards
his society. It doesn't only mean the emotional sympathy towards the others,
but it also means taking pragmatic actions to help the needy in the society to
the degree that sufficiently covers their basic needs. This is through paying
zakat; if it doesn't fulfill the basic needs, additional money should be taken
from the rich to fill the needs of the poor.

The Prophet Mohamed was the best example to great morals and
ethics, including justice. His model was also followed by his friends,
particularly the second Caliph Omar Ibn el Khattab whom the Prophet called as
the sagacious or the wise because he was always able to differentiate between
the just and the unjust. When Omar Ibn el Khattab became the second caliph, he
asked the publics in one of his speeches to reform him if they find him unjust
to them. He was putting himself in an equal level with the common publics since
he knew that God perceives human beings as equal with no difference between the
rulers and the ruled.[ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]
In another speech that was attended by leaders who were appointed by him to
govern the Islamic cities he said, "I didn't hire them as rulers to
mistreat you or to take your money … If any of you faces injustice by any of
them, raise it to me, and I will give your rights back to you."
Besides equality, the friends of the Prophet Mohamed played the best examples
of unlimited giving and social interdependence. For instance, Abu Bakr el
Sediq, the best friend of the prophet and the first caliph, spent 35,000 Dirham
from his 40,000 Dirham fortune to spend on the poor Muslims who faced lots of
torture and mistreatment due to their conversion to Islam. Another example was
that of Ali Ibn Aby Taleb who donated three loafs, which were all what he
owned, to a needy, an orphan, and a captive.

Hence, social justice with what it requires of equality and social
interdependence by all members of the society, either rulers or ruled is
considered as one of the most important values of Islam. It was widely
practiced by the Prophet Mohamed and his friends, which led to build a strong
and united society. Because of the lack of these concepts in our world of
today, it is of great significance to revise what Islam has taught us in order
to rebuild a healthy society full of love and security.

Helping words

1-emphasize
: means give special importance .
2-discrimination : means the differance between people .

3-manifest :
clearly . 4 - egalitarianism : equality .