Divine Justice [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Divine
Justice

By

Dr. Hamid Algar

Opinions
Concerning God's Justice

The problem of justice as one of God's attributes has had
its own distinct history. Various schools of thought in Islam have held
different views on the subject, interpreting it in accordance with their
own distinctive principles.

Some Sunnis who follow the views of the theologian Abu'l
Hasan Ash'ari do not believe in God's justice as a matter of faith, and
they deny that justice is accomplished by the divine acts.

In their view, however, God treats a certain person, and
whatever punishment or reward He gives him, irrespective of what he might
appear to deserve, will represent justice and absolute good, even though
it might appear unjust when measured by human standards.

These Ash'aris, thus, distinguish God's attribute of
justice from His acts and they, therefore, regard as just whatever can be
attributed to God. If He rewards the virtuous and punishes the sinful,
this is justice, but so would be the reverse; it would still be in the
broad sphere of His justice.

Their claim that the very terms "justice" and "injustice"
are meaningless when applied to God is no doubt intended to elevate God's
most sacred essence to the position of the highest transcendence. But no
thoughtful person will regard these superficial and inadequate notions as
having anything to do with God's transcendence. In fact, they involve a
denial of order in the world, of the principle of causality both in the
general order of the world and in the conduct and deeds of individual
men.

The followers of al-Ash'ari believe, moreover, that the
bright lamp of the intellect is extinguished whenever it is confronted
with the perceptions and problems of religion, that it is unable to
benefit man or light up his path.

This claim conforms neither to the teachings of the Quran
nor to the content of the sunnah. The Quran considers disregard for the
intellect to be a form of misguidance and repeatedly summons men to
reflection and meditation in order to learn divine knowledge and religious
beliefs. Those who fail to benefit from this bright lamp within them are
compared to the animals. The Quran says: "The worst of creatures in the
sight of God are those persons who are deaf and dumb and do not
reflect."(8:22)

The Prophet of Islam says: "God has assigned two guides
to man: one external to him, the messengers of God, and the other
internal, his own power of thought.

The Mutazilites and Shi'ast and in opposition to
al-Ash'ari and his school. Out of all the attributes of God, they have
selected justice to be a principle of their creed. Relying on both
transmitted and rational proofs, they have also refuted and rejected as
incompatible with the principle of justice, the doctrines of the
unmediated effect of divine destiny and the predetermination of man's
acts.

They believe that justice is the basis of God's acts,
both in the ordering of the universe and in the establishing of laws. Just
as human acts can be weighed according to the criteria of good and bad,
the acts of the Creator are also subject to the same criteria. Since the
logic of reason determines that justice is inherently praiseworthy and
injustice inherently reprehensible, an object of worship whose
characteristics include infinite intelligence and spirit, will never
undertake an act that reason regards as impermissible.

When we say that God is just, it means
that His all-knowing and creative essence does nothing that is contrary to wisdom and
benefit. The concept of wisdom, when applied to the Creator, does
not mean that He chooses the best means for attaining His goals
or remedying His deficiencies, for it is only man who is called on
to move from deficiency toward perfection. God's concern is to make
beings emerge from deficiency and impel them toward perfection and the aims
inherent in their own essences.

God's wisdom consists of this, that He first implants a
form of His favor within each phenomenon, and then, after bestowing existence
upon it, impels it toward the perfection of its capacities through a further
exercise of His generosity.

Justice has, then, an extensive meaning, which naturally
includes the avoidance of oppression and all foolish acts. Imam Ja'far
as-Sadiq, peace be upon him, says in explanation of God's justice:

"Justice in the case of God means that you should not
ascribe anything to God that if you were to do it would cause you to be
blamed and reproached."[href="divine-justice#1">1]

With man, oppression and all the forms of corrupt
activity in which he engages, derive, without doubt, from ignorance and
lack of awareness and need coupled with innate lowliness; sometimes, too,
they are the reflection of hatred and enmity, which leap forth from man's
inner being like a spark.

Numerous are those people who are disgusted with their
own oppressiveness and corruption. Nonetheless, because of ignorance about
the final outcome of their deeds, they continue, from time to time, to act
with injustice and pollute themselves with all kinds of shameful, corrupt
deeds.

Sometimes man feels that he needs something that he does
not have the resources or ability to acquire. This is the root cause of
many evils. The feeling of need, hunger and greed, the prevalence in ma n
of a desire to harm or dominate-all these are factors leading to
aggressive behavior.

Under their influence, man loses the reins of
self-control. He concentrates all his efforts on fulfilling his desires
and violating all ethical restrictions, he starts squeezing the throats of
the oppressed.

The unique essence of God, that infinite being, is free
of all such tendencies and limitations, for nothing is hidden from His
knowledge without bound, and it is inconceivable that He should suffer
from impotence vis-a-vis anything-He, the Pre-Eternal One Whose eternal
rays bestow life and sustenance on all things and Who assures their
movement, variety and development.

A subtle essence that comprehends all the degrees of
perfection stands in no need of anything so that its absence might induce
anxiety in Him when He conceives a desire for it His power and capacity
are without any doubt, unlimited and they do not fall short of anything so
that He might then be led to deviate from the path of justice and
transgress against someone, or take vengeance in order to quieten his
heart or undertake some inappropriate and illsided act.

None of the motivations for unjust behavior can be found
in God, and, indeed, the very concepts of oppression and injustice are
inapplicable to a being Whose generosity and mercy embrace all things an d
the sanctity o f Whose essence is clearly manifest throughout
creation.

The Quran repeatedly negates all idea of injustice by
God, considering Him in His sanctity utterly removed from all unworthy
acts. It says: "God never considers it permissible to act unjustly
toward His servants; it is rather men who commit oppression and
injustice."(10:44)

In this verse, God dissociates Himself from all notion of
injustice, something repugnant to men, and, instead, attributes it to
them.

In addition, how is it possible that God should call on
men to establish justice and equity while at the same time staining His
own hands with unrighteous deeds? The Quran says: "God commands men to
act with justice and virtue and enjoins upon them generosity to kinsfolk.
He forbids them evil deeds and oppression. He admonishes you out of His
mercy, so that you may accept His advice."(16:90)

Islam values justice so highly that if one group of
Muslims wish to deviate from the path of justice and start engaging in
oppression, they must be repressed, even if this involves war. This is the
command of the Quran: "If two parties of believers fight with each
other, make peace between them. If one of them has committed aggression
against the other, then make war on the aggressor until he returns to
observance of God's command. Once he has so returned, then reconcile them
and make peace in utter justice. Certainly God loves the just."(49:9)

The interesting point that emerges from this verse is
that the mediator is strictly instructed to make sure, when bringing about
reconciliation, that the dispute is settled in accordance with justice,
without showing lenience to the aggressor. It may happen, in cases where
war has been started for aggressive purposes, that a mediator tries to end
the dispute by insisting on leniency and the overlooking of faults, and,
ultimately, persuades one of the parties to renounce its claim in favor of
the other. This lenient approach, although legitimate in itself, may
reinforce the spirit of aggressiveness existing in those who gained by
starting the war. It is, in fact, conventional to satisfy the aggressor in
such cases by granting him some concession.

Although the voluntary renunciation of one's claim is a
desirable act in itself, it will, under such circumstances, have an
undesirable effect on the mentality of the aggressor. The aim of Islam is
to uproot force and injustice from Islamic society and to assure its
members that no one can gain anything by aggression and force.

If we look at the order of creation, we can see that a
vast and comprehensive equilibrium prevails among all physical phenomena.
This is evident in the regularity of the atoms, the haste of the
electrons, the rotation of the planets, and the movements of all bodies.
It is visible in the mineral and vegetable realms, in the precise
relations that exist among the organs of a living being, in the balance
among the inner components of the atom, in the equilibrium among the vast
heavenly bodies and their finely calculated forces of attraction. All
these forms of balance and equilibrium, together with the other precise
laws that science is still seeking to explore, bear witness to the
existence of an undeniable order in the universe, one which is confirmed
by mathematical equations.

Our veracious Prophet has expressed this universal
justice and comprehensive equilibrium-the fact that nothing is irregular
or out of place-in this concise and eloquent statement: "It is true
equilibrium and symmetry that maintain the earth and the heavens."

The Quran attributes the following words to Moses, peace
be upon him and our Prophet: "Our God is the one who endowed all things
with the needful and then guided them for the continuation of their
existence."(20:50)

In this short sentence, Moses expounds to the Pharaoh the
manner in which the world was created together with its orderliness and
beauty, which are among God's signs. His aim was to save him from his
erroneous thoughts and help him perceive the existence of a just and
divinely instituted order in the universe.

One of the norms ruling ineluctably over nature is,
therefore, order and justice, and all things, by virtue of their
subordination to the norms and laws of nature, are engaged in the process
of evolution toward perfection that is specific to each of them. Any
deviation from this universal pattern of order and the relations founded
upon it would result in confusion and chaos.

Whenever some irregularity occurs in nature, phenomena
themselves evince a reaction, and inward or outward factors emerge to
remove the barriers to development and re-establish the order needed to
continue on the path to perfection.

When the body is attacked by microbes and other factors
of ill ness, white globules begin to neutralize them, in accordance with
ineluctable norm. Whatever medicine may be prescribed is an external
factor aiding the white globules in their task of neutralization and
re-establishing equilibrium in the body.

Finally, it is impossible that God, Whose love is
infinite and Who unstintingly grants His favors to His servants, should
perform the slightest unjust or inappropriate act. This is, indeed, what
the Quran proclaims: "It is God Who has made the earth a place of abode
for you, Who has raised the heavens, created you in the best of forms, and
given you delicious and pleasing foods as sustenance. This is God, your
Lord."(40:64)

name="An Analysis of Misfortune and Hardship">

An Analysis
of Misfortune and Hardship

The question o f God's justice involves certain problems,
such as the existence of disasters, loss and evil in the natural order,
and inequalities in the social order. This question arouses, in fact, a
whole storm of questions and objections in the minds of many people. The
problems they face are so fundamental that what start out as doubts and
hesitations, ultimately become an indissoluble complex.

Such people ask how it is possible that in a world
created on the basis of intelligence and wisdom, so much suffering, pain
and evil should prevail; that the world should be subjected constantly to
the successive blows of hardship and misfortune, with loss and deficiency
always in the ascendant.

Why is it that in various parts of the world, terrible,
overwhelming events assault mankind, resulting in untold loss and
destruction? Why is one person ugly and another beautiful, one healthy and
another sick? Why are all men not created equal, and does not their
inequality point to an absence of justice in the universe?

Justice in the order of things depends on its being free
of oppression, discrimination and disaster, or the absence from it of all
defect, sickness, and poverty; this, they say, alone would result in
perfection and justice.

We must begin by admitting that our evaluation of the
affairs of the universe does not permit us to penetrate the ultimate
depths of phenomena; it is inadequate for the analysis of the ends and
purposes of things.

Our initial understanding of unpleasant events and
disasters is bound to be superficial; we are not prepared to recognize any
truth lying beyond our initial impression. We cannot, at the outset,
delineate the ultimate aims of those events, and we, therefore, regard
them as signs of injustice. Our feelings become aroused and lead us into
the most illogical analyses.

But if we reflect more profoundly, we will see that this
one-sided evaluation of events we label injustice comes from making our
interests or those of people to whom we are directly or indirectly
related, our criterion and yardstick. Whatever secures our interests is
good, and whatever harms us is bad. In other words, our judgment of good
and bad is based on a short-eyed perception, narrow horizons of thought,
and a lack of precise knowledge concerning the norms of creation.

Is our existence the only issue involved in every
occurrence? Can we make our own profit and loss into the criterion of good
and evil? Our material world is constantly engaged in producing change.
Events that did not exist today will occur tomorrow; some things will
disappear and others will take their place.

It is obvious that what is useful and beneficial for some
people today will cease to exist tomorrow. But for us who are human beings
and attached to our own existence and the things of the world, the
acquisition of things is good and their loss is bad. But despite man and
his attachments, the changing nature of the world produces constantly
changing phenomena. If the world did not comprehend the possibility of
change, phenomena themselves would not exist, and, therefore, there could
also be no question of good and evil.

In such a hypothetical, unchanging world there would be
neither loss and deficiency nor growth and development, no contrast or
differentiation, no variety or multiplicity, no compounding or motion. In
a world without deficiency or loss, there would also be no human, moral or
social criteria, limits, or laws. Development and change are the result of
the motion and rotation of the planets; if they ceased to exist, there
would be no earth, no moon and no sun, no day, no month and no year.