Justice in the Embrace of Wisdom and Compassion
by
Shaykh Seraj Hendricks
Part
1
Justice: A Moral Imperative
There
are many more texts to reinforce the imperative nature of justice:
“And
be fair, for Allah loves those who are fair and just.” (49:9)
“Allah
commands justice and excellence in conduct, freely giving to kinsfolk; and He
forbids lewdness and abomination and rebelliousness. He instructs you so that
you may take heed.” (16:90)
From
the Prophetic sources we have the following:
“There
are seven types who will enjoy standing in the shade of Allah on a day that
there will be no shade except that provided by Allah…” and amongst those
will be, as the Tradition states “…a just ruler”. (Muslim).
Against
oppression and unfairness we have the following sacred Tradition (Hadith Qudsi
– a hadith in which Allah speaks in the first person): “O my slaves, I have
prohibited oppression upon myself, and I have prohibited it amongst yourselves
so do not oppress one another…” (Muslim).
To
further imprint the imperative nature of justice the Prophet (SAW) in a rare
moment of invoking retribution upon another said: “O Allah, he who takes
charge of an affair of the affairs of my community (ummah) and treats them
severely, be severe towards him. But he who takes charge of an affair of the
affairs of my community and acts graciously towards them, be gracious towards
him.” (Muslim)
These
however, were not only words uttered by the Prophet. They found visible
expression in his daily life. Amongst a number of hadiths - to be mentioned
later - it might be worth noting at this point what the Prophet did on a day
when he was gravely ill and close to his death. He managed to go out to his
Companions and included in his speech the following words: “O people, if there
is anyone whose back I whipped then here is my back so requite yourselves…and
if there is anyone whose character I violated, then here I am, requite
yourselves…and if there is anyone from whom I took money, then here is my
money so take what is due to you. Do not fear rancour on my part, for rancour is
not of me.”
The
Prophet never whipped anyone in his life, nor insulted anyone, nor unjustly took
anyone’s money. The lesson here for us is quite clear.
Nevertheless,
to obtain a deeper and more profound understanding of this imperative we need to
elaborate on two important virtues in the quest to realize the Islamic ideal of
justice viz. wisdom and compassion.
Wisdom,
as we generally understand it, and as our dictionaries indicate to us, is the
ability to make correct or good use of knowledge. It is also normally the
product of experience, intelligence, and sound thinking and reasoning. It also
manifests itself in sound advise, insightful guidance, and admirable conduct. It
is also the mark of a mature person.
Towards
a realization of wisdom four important qualities may be extrapolated from our
Prophetic standard: insight, foresight, patience, and sensitivity towards
others. Let us look at these in greater detail.
As
an example of the Prophet’s (SAW) insight – if we understand by that the
ability to not only see, but also to choose the best option in the resolution of
a problem from a diversity of possibilities – then the creation of the
“Treaty of Madinah” provides an excellent case. When the Prophet (SAW)
emigrated to Madinah its inhabitants were not only Muslim. Along with a few
polytheists, there was a sizeable Jewish population. The city of Madinah, as the
newly established “Abode of Islam”, was bound to be the target of a
belligerent foe in Makkah. Right from its inception, the city was under threat.
Given the fact that the Muslims were still greatly outnumbered at the time, any
form of dissent, opposition, or revolt within Madinah could quite irreversibly
have damaged any chance the fledgling community had of establishing and
consolidating itself. In the face
of a real external threat, and the uncertainties posed by the large non-Muslim
community within, the Prophet was faced with a number of options. He could have
asked them to leave, weakened them through any of a number of forms of
subjugation available to him – political, economic etc., or even simply choose
to ignore and later deal with them as events unfolded. Instead he opted for the
principle of inclusivity in which the rights of all the inhabitants were
officially documented in the famous “Treaty of Madinah”. All were guaranteed
equal rights and, for as long as they respected the terms of the treaty, full
protection by the law.
Two
clauses from this treaty may suffice to illustrate the point. The one is the
clause stating:
“The
Jews who may follow us will have our support equally, without suppression, nor
do we intend to combine and turn against them.”
The
other one states:
“The
Jews of Banu Awf form a nation with the believers. The Jews shall have their own
religion, and the Muslims shall have their own religion.”
Where
in the history of humanity, more than fourteen hundred years ago, do we find
humanitarian principles articulated at this level? But our purpose here is to
illustrate the point of insight. While the treaty was certainly a principled one
it paid dividends during the “Battle of the Trench” which was, for the most
part, fought along lines of intrigue and deception of the enemy. The Jewish
tribe of Banu Nadir was the only tribe to betray the Muslims during this battle.
Justifiably the Prophet set out to discipline them, but yet maintained a state
of peace with all the other tribes. Through political insight, anchored in a
principled set of beliefs, the Prophet secured the integrity of Madinah.
As
an instance of his foresight in leadership we turn to the “Battle of Muta”.
Khalid ibn Walid was the general of the Muslim army. He saw that the Muslim
forces were completely outnumbered by the Romans. In a clever ruse of military
manoeuvring he managed to withdraw the Muslim army without any loss of life. He
stalled the Roman attack by giving them the impression that they were far more
numerous than they actually were. Nevertheless, when they returned to Madinah
they were greeted with shouts of “Furrar” i.e. “You deserters”. The
Prophet (SAW) intervened and contradicted them by saying that they were in fact,
and contrary to their claims, “Kurrar” or “men of advancement”. Against
their simplistic and unfair allegations of desertion he explained to them the
possible advantages that could be gained by recognizing one’s weaknesses and
then regrouping to consolidate one’s strengths. This is precisely what
happened three years later. A strengthened and rejuvenated Muslim army
demolished the Romans.
Examples
of the Prophet’s sabr, or patience, under the most trying conditions are
numerous. This virtue is manifest in the character of the Prophet (SAW) from the
day he received the first revelation. If patience, or endurance, is that unique
ability to live in the long term coupled with the conviction that it is not
always the habit of success to hasten in one’s direction, then the “Treaty
of Hudaibiya” is an instructive example. How many of our most sincere attempts
at doing good have not whittled into oblivion through haste? Against the
Prophet’s better judgement we are often prone to ignore his statement that
“haste is inspired by Satan.”
During
the seventh year of the Hijra the Prophet and his Companions were prevented from
performing their Umrah (the lesser pilgrimage). After days of a tiresome and
difficult journey they arrived at a place called Hudaibiya on the outskirts of
Makkah just a few kilometres from the Kaba. Here they were informed that they
would not be permitted to enter. After some negotiations ensued between the two
parties a treaty, heavily weighted in favour of the Makkans, was concluded. The
terms of the treaty were to last for ten years. A concession was made though
that the Prophet and his Companions could perform an Umrah the following year.
It was a deeply disgruntled group of Companions who conceded to the terms of the
treaty. So upset were they that when the Prophet (SAW) ordered them to slaughter
a sheep and cut their hair in recompense for a prevented Umrah, they initially
failed to comply with the order. This was an instance of the human element,
naturally stripped of all prophetic forbearance, which dominated at that moment.
One
of the terms of the treaty stated that the Banu Bakr, a polytheistic tribe in
Makkah who allied themselves to the Muslims in the treaty, had to be respected
and treated fairly and without prejudice. If they were not then the Muslims
would be obliged to come to their assistance. Hardly two years elapsed after the
conclusion of the treaty, when Quraysh, in a fit of aggression, turned onto Banu
Bakr. The patience of Quraysh had collapsed. That of the Prophet triumphed. True
to his word he came to the assistance of Banu Bakr and opened the gates of
Makkah to Islam. We shall return to this momentous event, known as the “Fathu
Makkah” later on.
Sensitivity
means to understand, acknowledge, and allow for the needs and legitimate
expectations of another.
Once
again in the Sunnah (the Prophetic Norm) we have a repository replete with
examples. Probably one most familiar to many of us is the story of the A’arabi
(Bedouin) who engaged his wife in sexual intercourse during the day of a
particular Ramadaan when he was supposed to be fasting. The Prophet explained to
him that the penalty, in order of priority, was either to free a slave, to fast
for two consecutive months, or to feed sixty poor people. The A’rabi replied
that he did not own a slave, that he was too weak to fast for a period of two
consecutive months, and that he did not possess an amount of food with which he
could feed sixty people. The Prophet (SAW) then supplied him with some dates and
ordered him to distribute them amongst the poor. A while later he returned to
the Prophet and said that he could find none poorer than himself in Madinah. The
Prophet smiled and told him to feed his own family with the dates. There can be
little doubt that this is a classic illustration of recognizing and being
sensitive to the genuine needs of another.
Insight,
foresight, patience, and sensitivity may be counted amongst the key elements
that marked the Prophetic spirit of wisdom. We need to add though that this
level of wisdom can only be attained through a life devoted to contemplation and
reflection (fikr) - in other words, a life in which the Intellect is restored to
its rightful place at the centre of our affairs. We know from the life of the
Prophet that he was a contemplative even before his prophethood. He even made a
special point of detaching himself from society. For five years before the
revelation he spent every month of Ramadaan in the cave of Hira. The Quran too,
is filled with exhortations encouraging us to think and reflect deeply: “Will
they not then ponder upon the Quran?”(4:67), “Will they not then
understand?” (36:67) etc.
Important
to mention here too, as Imam al-Ghazali so ceaselessly reminds us, is that a
requirement of the proper functioning of the intellect is to subdue the
passional self - the passional “self” being nothing other than the reckless
instrument of our hawa. If it is that we wish to align ourselves in equilibrium
– as a balanced community (ummatan wasatan) - with the Truth…with the sacred
and divine…then we need to take charge of our hawa. Justice, as the following
verse implies, depends on it: “And stand steadfast as you are commanded, nor
follow their vain desires (hawa); but say: “I believe in the Book that Allah
has revealed; and I am commanded to judge justly between you.” (42:15)
And blessed is the wise we might say, for “he to whom wisdom is granted receives indeed a benefit overflowing.’ (2:269)