Living Islam/ Justice

In Islam,

justice is to be applied to everyone rich and poor, young and old, ally and enemy, Muslim and mon-Muslim and so forth…

When the Muslim is setting right his own soul (nafs ) he is then on the best way to strive for justice and what is right in his society and community.

The concept of justice in Islam is rooted in Allah’s Divine nature. The Qur’an states:

{Verily, Allah does not do even an atom’s weight of injustice.} 4-40

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ quotes Allah as saying:

“O My Servants, I have forbidden injustice upon Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not commit injustice.”

Islamic View on Peace and Justice in Society

Justice and Compassion

The Shari’ah is compassion and justice, it is the basis for behaviour and it seeks the welfare of human beings. If its application leads to the opposite, then our understanding and interpretation needs to be re-evaluated in the light of the Texts.

This is so because the interpretation of the Law is a human endeavor (ijtihād ) for those scholars who have the intellectual requisites for it.

The Shariʿah: Mercy to Mankind

The science of the religious law (Shariʿah ) has an internal as well as an external aspect and inculcates inward as well as outward actions. … The inward aspect of religion is the necessary complement of the outward aspect, and vice versa.
Abu Nasr ʿAbdallah b. ʿAli al-Sarrāj al-Tūsī

Tasawwuf - Sufism in Islam

Ethical & Moral Principles

Shari’ah refers to wide-ranging moral and broad ethical principles drawn from the Quran and the practices and sayings (hadith) of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

Allah says in the Holy Quran:

{We have established for you a code of conduct and a religion. Follow it, and follow not the vain desires of those who know not.}
45-18

Benefit/ Harm

”Everything that Allah has legislated has benefit for us in this life or the next, or in both lives. And everything Allah has forbidden there is harm if we did it, either in this life or the next, or in both lives.”
Al-ʿIzz Ibn ʿAbdus-Salām

Shari’ah: Guidance

The word shari’ah (الشَرِعَة ) means "way" and defines the guidance that came with the Qur'an and the life pattern of the Prophet (sallAllāhu ʻaleihi wa sallam). To follow the shari'ah should lead to al-haqīqah (the essential reality). This means following this exact guidance would lead to an unveiling (al-kashf ) of the Real (The Supreme Reality), with Allah's permission (bi-idhniLLāh ).

Consequently, anyone who neglects or raises objections to the shari’ah can never reach this unveiling. This is because there is no act or withholding of an act except the shari'ah has a special wisdom about it and because every act has certain consequences for the spiritual journey towards God (or the Absolute Reality), as explained by Muhyiddīn Ibn Arabī (Futūhāt Ch. 262). The signification of the shari’ah for a Muslim is that he/she observes the attitude of a true servant (’abd ) and that he/ she follows in the footsteps of the Prophet ﷺ.

Qur'an: {Say: If you love God, follow me, and God will love you and forgive your sins, for God is all-forgiving, all-merciful.} (Sura 3, verse 31)

Adhering to the shari’ah without fanaticism is thus the greatest charisma according to Muhyiddīn Ibn Arabī.

Imam Ahmed Vâlsan (rh)

Clear & Profound

Shari’ah: It is a clear path (a code of conduct and a religion) by which Allah leads people to the truth, warning man (and woman) not to erect their desire as a god (45-23), and also by not going along with the caprices (hāwa) of the nihilists, not even of the people of the Book. Following them or the disbelievers in their desires and expectations would empty the heart of the faithful and it would seal it up and cover his sight (45-23).

Such a great calamity when the empty souls will be blown into the abyss of the raging fire (hāwiyya) like scattered moths or other debris. (Sura 101)!

How Government Works

Restatement of the Classical, Even Medieval Islamic Understanding

- 1. The Sunnah validates alliances with non-Muslims. This is witnessed by the Constitution of Madina, which the Prophet (the blessings and peace of Allah upon him) forged for Jews when he arrived there, and there are plenty of other examples: you can collaborate politically with non-Muslims.

- 2. Muslims are people of faithfulness who keep their promises and are honourable neighbours.

- 3. The Muslims belong to the land (they are not legacy of outsider conquest)
A Muslim is basically at home anywhere on earth. The Prophet (Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) has said that the whole earth was created pure (tahur ), and as a place of worship (or a mosque - masjid ), for him and his followers.

Also dividing the population of any country into their religious groups will weaken their resistance against the proponents of neo-liberalism and greedy global corporate forces.

Hussain Ahmed Madani – Abdal Hakim Murad: Paradigms of Leadership - YouTube, @1:13:40 From the classical Islamic sources - three principles that should be guiding the ulama.