3.
Justice
Tawhid,
Unity is the central concept in Islam (Quran 112:1-4, 2:113, 4:171, 38:66, 39:4
etc.). Allah is One and what He has created is One and all things are in
proportion and harmony (54:49-50, 13:8, 67:3, 87:2). Unity implies that all
things form a single system and are inter-dependent and that the whole is more
than the sum of the parts owing to the order. Therefore, the parts are
dependent on the whole, have a function towards the whole and with respect to
each other, interact with each other, and the whole maintains the parts.
Changes in any part will affect others and produce compensatory changes. This
gives rise to the three important notions of Truth, Compassion and Justice.
Justice is one
of the most important concepts in Islam that is seldom mentioned in other
Scriptures. Most of that which, in the West, is understood under "human
rights" is included in the Islamic notion of Justice. But it has, a much
wider meaning than only a social or legal one. It has a moral, intellectual,
psychological and cosmic significance.
Allah, the Lord
of the Universe, is Just and carries out Justice:-
"Then are they restored to Allah, their
Lord, The Just. Surely, His is the Judgment. And He is most swift of
reckoners." 6:62
"Surely Thy promise is the Truth and Thou
art the Most Just of Judges." 11:45
Allah commands
justice:-
"Say: My Lord enjoins Justice. And set
your faces upright at every place of worship and call upon Him, making religion
pure for Him only. As He brought you into being, so return ye unto Him."
7:29
"I am commanded to be just among
you." 42:15
"Lo, Allah enjoins justice and kindness,
and giving to kinsfolk, and forbids lewdness and abomination and wickedness. He
exhorts you in order that you may take heed." 16:90
Note that here
we have three positive principles (we may call these Justice, Love and Kinship
where kinship recognizes the Truth of a relationship) and three negative things
(not to be confused with each other) and a seventh refers to heedfulness
regarding all the others. This is also a fourth positive principle. Here only
Justice is dealt with. Surrender to Allah (Islam) implies surrender to these
principles.
How is justice justified?
"Say: Who provides for you from the sky
and the earth, or Who owns hearing and sight; and Who brings forth the living
from the dead and brings forth the dead from the living; and Who directs the
course? They will answer: Allah. Then say: Will ye not then keep your duty unto
Him? Such then is Allah, your rightful Lord. After Truth what is there save
error? How then are ye turned away! Thus is the Word of thy Lord justified
concerning those who do wrong; that they believe not." 10:32-34
There appears to
be a misunderstanding in the minds of atheists as well as many religious people
regarding the nature of God. If the answer to the above question had been
"Nature", then many in the contemporary world may have understood
what is meant. But Allah refers to something much more fundamental and greater
than Nature. It refers to the Ultimate Reality (31:30). It is not the case that
Allah conforms to Justice - this would make Justice greater, but Justice is an
attribute of Allah.
The notion of
Justice is connected with the notion of Law, and this is connected with that of
Order, Force and with Interaction and Causation. It implies that:-
(a) Nothing is
isolated, so that things affect each other.
(b) Actions have
consequences or effects both external in the environment and by reaction within
the doer. A person is modified by his own actions. A difficult action, for
instance, becomes easier the more times it is repeated. This allows training.
(c) The same
actions have the same consequences within the same conditions.
(d) The
consequences vary proportionally with the action and the conditions.
(e) The law does
not change within the same conditions.
(f) The law
changes proportional to the changes in conditions.
(g) The laws
enable certain things but also disable other things.
There is, for
instance, a law of gravity. It enables you to walk on the earth. But if you do
not walk properly you will fall and hurt yourself. If you put your finger in
the fire it will burn. But you can use fire for cooking and manufacture.
As several of the verses show, there is a link
between truth and justice. The Word of God by means of which things were
created is defined as Truth.
"Perfected is the Word of thy Lord in
Truth and Justice. There is naught that can change His Words. He is the Hearer,
the Knower." 6:116
Things must be
ordered, regular and repeatable otherwise we cannot recognize anything and
nothing can be predicted or controlled. Creation implies that laws have come
into existence. They enable but also restrict. These Laws are the Commandments
or Words of Allah. They are certainly not matter or energy, but refer to
information, order or Truth. A Field of potentialities where anything whatever
can happen must be restricted or constrained in certain ways. Similars must be
treated similarly and dissimilars proportional to their dissimilarity.
Limitation
implies that there is a fixed quantity. Then, if you use a certain quantity of
material, energy, effort, time, or your mind for one thing, then it is not
available for another. Everything is in proportion and balance (54:49, 21:47)
then the increase or decrease of one thing will create compensatory effects in
many other things. Things are interdependent and there are feed back mechanisms
which regulate interactions. There are processes of reciprocity. When there is
a change or one thing A is converted into another thing B, then there is an
equivalence between A and B. It means that all gains have to be paid for in
some coin, and all losses are also compensated for. One kind of material or
energy can be converted into another in exact ways. It is possible to sacrifice
one's spiritual welfare or one's social well-being in order to gain material
wealth, power or prestige, or sacrifice these to gain the others. There is a
certain limited space and time for things. There is no vacuum. If a vacuum is
made something else will fill it.
"You will not attain unto piety until you
spend of that which you love. And whatever you spend Allah is aware of
it." 3:92
All existence,
from the Islamic point of view, has a purpose or goal.
"Did you think that We had created you for
naught and that you would not be returned unto us?" 23:115
"Have they not pondered upon themselves?
Allah created not the heavens and the earth and that which is between them save
with truth and for a destined end. But truly many of mankind are disbelievers
in the meeting with their Lord." 30:8 and see 38:28
"Unto Allah is the journeying." 3:28
See also 2:285, 5:18, 24:42, 31:44, 35:18 etc.
Since things
were created for a purpose, then Justice refers to the fulfilment of that
purpose. Order means that all parts have a function with respect to the whole,
and justice is connected with this function. Dis-ease can be defined as a
malfunction.
If at first
there was only the self-existing Allah and nothing outside Him, then the cause
of the creation of the Universe must have been within Allah. This is an
Intention, the ultimate cause. And the effects, the phenomena that arise, are
defined as having a purpose or function with respect to the Intention. The idea
of good and evil is connected with a goal or purpose - whatever facilitates the
goal is defined as good and whatever militates against it is defined as evil.
Punishment and reward refer to the consequences of actions with respect to the
goal. Connected with this are pain and pleasure, misery and happiness, and it
is these which give direction to the development of life. One attracts to one
pole and the other repels from an opposite pole. Thus both have the same
purpose.
But intelligence
tells us that it is not the pain and pleasure itself which is significant, but
that with which they are associated - pain and pleasure are indicators of what
is good or bad. For instance, we need food to live and the pangs of hunger
remind us of the need to seek food and the pleasure of eating indicates that
the need is being fulfilled. The pursuit of the pleasure itself, however, may
lead to over-eating and disease. When we injure ourselves, we suffer, but the
purpose of this is to make us aware of the injury and take actions to avoid
injury or heal it. Pain deters and cannot, therefore, be regarded as bad in
itself, but may become so if it leads to further harm. This, like excessive
pleasure, is normally caused by ignorance or habit formation, automatism. Truth
and Knowledge also come into the equation.
Cause and effect
is only possible if there is an interaction between things. There are three
types of causes:-
(1) Inner causes
which are due to the inherent nature of things. Religion concerns itself with
these.
(2) External
causes coming from the environment. Science usually concerns itself with these.
(3) Interactive
causes which are the resultant of inner reactions to outer conditions or vice versa.
These depend on the relationship between the two; e.g. gravitational effects
depend on the distance between bodies and not just on the mass of the body
considered and that of the other body. In this relationship any one can be
regarded as the observer with respect to the other, which is the object. The
observation or knowledge is then the result not only of the nature of the
object and the observer, but also of the relationship between them. The
variation in any of these three will alter the observation.
We could also
distinguish between three equivalent things by the words spirit (or
consciousness), life (or mind) and matter. These could be regarded as being
equivalent to the notions of order, energy and mass respectively. There are
said to be 7 levels of being - mineral, plant, animal, man, jinn, angel,
archangel, though nothing is generally capable of recognizing anything above
its own level. (These higher levels may perhaps be thought of as electronic,
electromagnetic and spiritual organizations.) Note that plants consume minerals
to convert some of it into plant matter using solar radiations, animals convert
some plant into animal matter also using solar energy, and human beings convert
animal matter into that which functions in the truly human way. There are
different laws operating at each level. But obviously animals and plants are
also materials things, and animals have vegetative aspects, so the laws at each
of these levels are also operating in them. The further up the levels we go the
greater is the importance of the inner cause. Man occupies the centre of this
series and can be said to consist of all seven levels, though the three higher
lie in the sub-conscious or unconscious region of his mind or are dormant
possibilities. E.g. he is made of mineral but also contains the spirit (32:9)
and this combination produces the mind. But there may be either a harmony or
conflict within him between the lower and upper triads. This defines his
function in relation to the Cosmos.
"Ye have charge of your own souls. He who
errs cannot injure you if you are rightly guided. Unto Allah ye will all return
and He will inform you of what you used to do." 5:105
"Whosoever does right, it is only for the
good of his own soul that he does right, and whosoever errs, errs only to its
hurt. No laden soul can bear another's load." 17:15
But,
"There is no strength save in Allah."
18:40
"Unto Allah falls prostrate whosoever is
in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows in
the morning and the evening hours." 13:15
"And surely We shall try you with
something of fear and hunger and loss of wealth and lives and crops; but give
glad tidings to the steadfast who say when misfortune strikes them: Lo! we are
Allah's and lo! Unto Him are we returning." 11:155-156
"Every soul must taste of death, and We
try you with evil and with good for ordeal. And unto Us will you be
returned." 21:35
"And even so do We try some of them by
others." 6:53 See also 5:48, 6:165, 11:7, 18:7, 20:131
"If He will He can remove you O people and
produce others in your stead. Allah is Able to do that." 4:133
"Systems have passed away before you. Do
but travel in the land and see the nature of the consequences for those who did
deny." 3:137
It will be seen
from these that the Islamic view differs from both Scientific Determinism and
the Eastern view of Karma. There is a plan according to which the Universe
unfolds. Within the Universe are sub-systems, each having further sub-systems
and so on. Each has a degree of autonomy. It has to adjust to the system to
which it belongs as that system has to adjust to the higher system to which it
belongs. The capacity for adjustment can be called Intelligence.
Law from the
Islamic point of view has the following features:-
It is flexible -
There is a degree of tolerance. "Allah is Forgiving."
There is a
balance between opposite forces, and a periodic cyclic shifting of balance and
rhythms throughout nature. e.g. Day and Night
It is possible
to flout a law by overcoming one law by another - i.e. flying takes place
despite gravity. But there is a cost of energy involved. It does not mean that
something is inevitable but that some kind of payment has to be made or
consequences will follow.
The notion of
cause is different from that of science - the cause is not prior to effect in
time, but exists at a higher level in the higher system. The causes of events
on earth, for instance, are in the Solar system or the sun, which is the
nucleus of it. The events in Solar system are due to causes in the Galaxy. And
so on. Ultimately, the cause is in Allah.
Thus, given the
law, and people know that it exists, and have control, then the punishment or
reward which people receive is the consequence of their own efforts - their
action, motives and knowledge. But this requires not merely knowledge about the
external world (science, resources and their possibilities), but also social
knowledge (about legal, political, administrative and cultural matters) and
inner self-knowledge (about ones nature, motives, needs and abilities). All
require awareness. The consequences may also be either in the material
environment on which a person depends, or in the community, or wholly within
himself. There is an interaction and inter-dependence between these. The inner
nature of people affects their behaviour that affects others in the community
as well as the material environment with which they deal, and these affect the
psychology of the people. Every action by a person produces effects in his
environment but also modifies the person himself. And every inner effort by
which a person modifies himself directly will produce changes in behaviour that
affect the environment. It is not true that there is anything which is strictly
private and of no concern to others. The fate, welfare and development of each
individual is connected with that of the whole society and the rest of the
world. Thus, whether we see things from the point of view of a community or of
any individual or of the planet the case is the same. It is this that imposes a
responsibility on everyone in proportion to the blessings, their abilities,
qualities and the guidance, they have received.
"Thus Allah makes clear His revelations
unto you that haply you may be guided and there may spring from you a nation
who invite to goodness and enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency. Such are
they who are successful." 3:104 See also 3:110,114
"O ye who believe! Be staunch in justice,
witnesses for Allah, even though it be against yourselves or your parents or
your kindred, whether the case be of a rich man or a poor man, for Allah is
nearer unto both. So follow not passion lest ye lapse from truth and if ye
lapse or fall away, then lo! Allah is ever informed of what ye do." 4:135
Thus we see that
Justice for the sake of Allah takes priority over all things and that it is
equivalent to strict objectivity.
Justice has a
(1) natural (2) mental (3) social (4) spiritual meaning.
(1) Natural Law.
"Maintaining His creation in Justice,
there is no God save Him, the Almighty, the Wise." 3:18
It is not
possible that if there were several independent centres of control that the
regularity and justice of the Universe could be maintained.
"If there were therein gods besides Allah,
then verily both the heavens and earth would have been disordered." 21:22
"Who has created seven heavens in
harmony..." 67:3 and 71:15
"Lo! We have created everything by
measure." 54:49 See also 13:8, 25:2, 55:7, 65:3, 87:1-3
"And there is not a thing but with Us are the
stores thereof. And We send it not down save in appointed measure." 15:21
See also 23:18
"For everything there is a time
prescribed." 13:38
"So set thy purpose for religion as a man
by nature upright - the nature made by Allah, in which He has created man.
There is no altering the laws of Allah's creation. That is the right religion,
but most men know not." 30:30
" Hast thou not seen that unto Allah pays
adoration whosoever is in the heavens and whosoever is in the earth, and the
sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the hills, and the trees, and the beasts,
and many of mankind, while there are many unto whom the doom is justly due. He
whom Allah scorns, there is none to give him honour. Lo! Allah does what He
will." 22:18
The word
"adoration" refers to a type of behaviour that is also expected from
man - surrender. The implication is that we must always assume an inner or
psychological dimension to what in science is regarded as purely mechanistic -
things are not dead. But as the verse indicates, it is only man who is not
necessarily in submission.
(2) Mental Law
Justice implies
that we should always be impartial and objective and apply the same measures.
If, for
instance, we measure one length in inches and another length in centimeters,
then no fair comparisons can be made. If we advance an argument using certain
words, but change their meanings as the argument proceeds then correct
conclusions cannot follow. If we play a game or organize any activity whatever
but constantly change the rules or vary their application, then again nothing
can be achieved or decided. Logical or rational thinking is not possible
without justice. Nor can a legal or political system function without it. An
economic system, too, requires that things should be measured with the same
scales.
"Say: Allah's is the final argument. Had
He willed He could indeed have guided all of you." 6:150
Obviously, man
was required to exercise his own faculties and sense of responsibility, and was
to be tested as to what he did with the faculties given to him.
To say that
Allah is final Judge could imply one of four things:-
(a) That nature
created by Allah or the Historical or Evolutionary process or the final outcome
of actions will be the real judge.
(b) A scientific
question is answered not by debate but by experiment. We let Nature decides as
to what is true.
(c) But,
nevertheless, it is human beings who select facts, interpret experiences,
invent concepts and organize data according to certain assumptions, interests
and activities, and these are affected by social interactions. It is human
activities that elicit reactions from the environment and this becomes data.
These are all human contributions and will vary with the quality of the human
being. The advance of knowledge is not independent of the development of man,
particularly his consciousness. The world as seen is relative to the level of
consciousness. Nor are facts independent of values - there are no facts which
have not been interpreted. These are objective truths that must be taken into
consideration. Therefore, it is recognised that human beings must undergo a
self-discipline within an educational system in order to develop the
appropriate faculties. This must be one that is effective in bringing human
beings closer to reality. This is also the religious view and techniques exist
in them to do just this.
"Allah, He is the Real, and that which
they invoke besides Him is the False." 31:30
"Seek a way of approach unto Him."
5:35
(d) The
revelations of God to those who have become highly conscious of reality, as
incorporated in the Scriptures, particularly the Quran, are, therefore, taken
as the criterion. Judgment refers to facts as well as values and to meanings.
It is also these that contain the developmental techniques.
"Whoso judges not by that which Allah has
revealed, such are evil-livers." 5:47 See also 5:45
"Mankind were one community, and Allah
sent Prophets as bearers of good tidings and as Warners and revealed therewith
the Scriptures with the truth that it might judge between mankind concerning
that wherein they differed." 2:213 and 4:105
See also 3:23
5:47, 4:65,141, 22:64, 24:48-51, 26:118 32:25 39:69 45:17
(3) Social Law
Islam is
sometimes accused of treating men and women unequally. But, though a Democracy
regards its citizens to be equal, nevertheless it does not treat the more
intelligent or able person as the less able, the criminal the same way as the
good citizen, children as adults, those at the top of a hierarchy as those at
the bottom. It does not try to equalise differences. The demand for justice and
equality cannot apply to natural differences but only to equal or equivalent
standards.
The fact is that
men and women are seen, in Islam, objectively as being equal but different. The
principle of justice requires that differences should be treated proportional
to these differences.
"Covet not the thing in which Allah has
made some of you excel others. Unto men a fortune from that which they have
earned, and unto women a fortune from that which they have earned. (Envy not
one another) but ask Allah of His Bounty. Lo! Allah is ever Knower of all
things." 4:32
Earning refers
to any kind reward material, social, mental or spiritual. The verse also
establishes a general relationship between all people.
A feature of Islam
is the ban on Usury - the lending or borrowing of money for interest. This
interest stands for no productive work and transfers resources from those who
are need to those who have a surplus. It is not only unjust but the very
opposite of charity:-
"Allah has blighted usury and made
almsgiving fruitful. Allah loves not the impious and guilty." 2:276
"Those who swallow usury cannot rise up
save as he arises whom the devil has prostrated by his touch. That is because
they say: trade is just like usury, whereas Allah permits trading and forbids
usury." 2:275
The question is:
Does charity flout Justice? It means that something earned by one person is
given to another who has not earned it. In fact, however, since everything has
consequences, the act of charity produces inner or outer results or reactions.
It can increase friendship and mutual help for those who are charitable, and it
frees them from greed. The recipient of charity finds himself under obligation
which creates an incentive to return a charitable act or else he is obliged or
compelled to suppress or get rid of his sense of obligation in other ways.
The consequences
of usury has been the arising of a social system based on greed and
selfishness, on taking instead of giving and sharing, on division, competition,
conflict, tension, anxiety, suspicion, secrecy, and isolation instead of
friendliness, compassion, true cooperation, mutual help and unification. It
also produces the cult of coercion and exploitation.
Coercion,
compulsion, oppression and persecution are not allowed not only because they
interfere with the laws of exchange, but also because these militate against
the very purpose of man as vicegerent in the service of Allah, and of religion
which is to increase the capacity for responsibility and self-determination,
the growth of the soul.
"Fight in the way of Allah against those
who fight you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! Allah loves not
aggressors...Persecution is worse than slaughter....and fight them until
persecution is no more and religion is for Allah. But if they desist, then let
there be no hostility except against wrongdoers." 2:190-193
"Squander not your wealth among yourselves
in vanity; except it be a trade by mutual consent and kill not one another. Lo!
Allah is ever merciful unto you. Whoso does that through aggression and
injustice, We shall cast him into the Fire and that is ever easy for
Allah." 4:29
All affairs must
be conducted with mutual consultation.
"So pardon them and ask forgiveness for
them and consult with them upon the conduct of affairs. And when thou art
resolved then put thy trust in Allah." 3:159
"And those who answer the call of their
Lord and establish worship, and whose affairs are a matter of counsel, and who
spend of what We have bestowed on them." 42:38
Spending
equalizes the interaction between man and his environment and maintains the
circulation of materials and energy.
"There is no compulsion in religion. The
right direction is henceforth distinct from error." 2:256
It is necessary to
remember that for Islam, religion means the way of life and includes all
aspects of living.
Islamic law
allows retaliation because this is a deterrent, but it also equalizes or
compensates - the hurt done to one has to be relieved while the person who does
the harm has to be paid an equivalent amount.
"Retaliation is prescribed for you in the
matter of murder; the freeman for the freeman, and the slave for the slave, and
the female for the female. And for him who is forgiven somewhat by his injured
brother, prosecution according to usage and payment unto him in kindness. This
is an alleviation and a mercy from your Lord. He who transgresses after this
will have a painful doom. And there is life for you in retaliation, O men of
understanding that ye may ward off evil." 2:178-179 See also 5:45
Those who are
too cowardly or weak to retaliate or those in whom compassion outruns their
wisdom will tend to make conditions worse by allowing evil to multiply. Indeed,
the resulting increase in suffering contradicts compassion itself.
Truth and
justice are linked:-
"And of those whom We created there is a
nation who guide with Truth and establish justice therewith." 7:181 also
7:159,
"Say: Our Lord will bring us all together,
then He will judge between us with Truth. He is the All-knowing Judge."
34:26
"And who is more unjust than he who hides
a testimony which he has received from Allah?" 2:140
"Allah judges with Truth, while those to
whom they cry instead of Him judge not at all." 40:20
The recognition
of truth is a recognition of regularities, order and law and, therefore, of the
consequences of actions. It is the recognition of Justice and leads to the
doing justice not only because one knows the consequences to others and their
reactions, but also the consequences within oneself of one’s actions. However,
charity or love also has the same basis, the recognition that we all have a
function with respect to the totality and interact with each other and are
inter-dependent. Justice and charity are not independent.
Surrender and
Injustice are opposites:-
"There are some among us who have
surrendered (to Allah) and there are some among us who are unjust. And
whosoever has surrendered to Allah such have taken the right path purposefully.
And as for those who are unjust, they are as firewood for Hell." 72:14
See also:-
2:113,168,172,187,228-230,267 3:55, 4:9,58, 5:4-5,48,87 6:151-153, 7:87, 11:85,
16:114-116, 25:68, 28:85 48:23 49:9
A deeper study
of the implications of the Islamic view of justice shows that the conditions of
life established by all political, economic, social and legal systems in the
West or East are really quite incompatible with Islam.
A human being should function through his
natural conscience according to the laws by which he was made. (see 91:7-8 and
30:30) But he became prone to the fantasies, prejudices, greed and
rationalisations based on these and lost contact with the divine spirit within
himself (59:19) and went astray. Prophets were, therefore sent to teach them a
Law and techniques by which they can regain contact with Allah. The Islamic Law
is based on the nature of man. When this is obeyed a human being behaves
"as if" he were normal. The Law is a bridge between a person’s
external behaviour and his inner dormant nature which will hopefully reactivate
his inner spirit. It is also designed to produce a social system in which it is
possible to follow the spiritual discipline and into which the discipline is
integrated.
(4) Spiritual
Law
"O ye who believe! Be steadfast witnesses for
Allah in equity, and let not hatred of any people seduce you that you deal not
justly. Deal justly, that is nearer to your duty. Observe your duty to Allah.
Lo! Allah is informed of what you do." 5:8
The mind itself
works on the principle that likes should be treated alike and unlikes should be
treated in proportion to their unlikeness. Suppose now that we do not do this.
The mind will tend to treat others like we treat ourselves and ourselves as we
treat others because it recognizes that human beings are in the main alike. If
then you are unforgiving to the weaknesses of others you will be the same to
yourself and vice versa. When you look inwards and see some defects in yourself
associated with certain kinds of behaviour, then when you see the same behaviour
in others you will infer the same inner defects.
But we have been
made as a self-consistent whole, in which all things function in harmony with
one another in a just balance. Thus disease, error, defects or malfunctions
refer to something which disrupts the harmony, causes inner conflicts and,
therefore, tensions and suffering. Guilt feelings arise from such inner
conflicts. If we see a defect within ourselves, the pain of this experience
causes us to repress it out of consciousness. This narrows down our
consciousness and our capacity for perception. We do the repression by creating
a barrier by false rationalization. This damages the faculty for rational
thought. We might make excuses for ourselves. We might project our defects and
blame others for them. We may punish ourselves unconsciously, through what is
called "accident proneness", or deliberate but sub-conscious mistakes
and failures. We may persecute others for our own defects, especially if their
virtuous behaviour or words remind us of our defects which we wish to forget.
This is why Prophets and foreigners were persecuted. They become scapegoats.
Slavery, class
and race differences are based on the rationalizations that consist of
inventing differences between people. It becomes necessary to assume superior
qualities for oneself and to suppose the absence of those qualities in the
others - in short, to suppose that they are less than human or evil. The
faculties for perception and thinking are then damaged. False ideas are
invented and this leads to further conflicts between ideas. These contradictory
ideas have to be kept separate. The psyche disintegrates into several smaller
centres or egos between which there is little communication. They can only
function one at a time and different events may trigger different ones. This
makes man unstable and variable. Each may feel constrained or compelled by the
others, and the person may then be said to be obsessed or possessed. They may
even be perceived as separate external persons, thus giving rise to
hallucinations. All this tends to lead to reduction in ability and
maladaptation, which multiplies problems.
"Allah coins a similitude: A man in
relation to whom are several part owners quarrelling, and a man belonging
wholly to one man. Are the two equal in similitude? Praise be to Allah. But
most of them understand not." 39:29
When there is no
central "I" then there is nothing in man which gives him self-control
and he is then controlled by the accident of circumstances, social conditioning
or impulses such as greed.
"Allah coins a similitude: On the one hand
a mere chattel slave who has control over nothing, and on the other hand one on
whom We have bestowed a fair provision from Us, and he spends thereof secretly
and openly. Are they equal? But most of them understand not." 16:75
"Allah coins a similitude: two men, one of
them dumb, having control of nothing, and he is a burden on his owner (i.e.
Allah or the inner spirit); wheresoever he directs him to go, he brings no
good. Is he equal with one who enjoins justice and follows a Straight
Path." 16:76
It is not
difficult to see that the experience and concept of Unity of Allah must be
introduced into a person in order that the multiple egos are removed and the
soul or "I" of the individual is restored.
"Be not as those who forgot Allah,
therefore he caused them to forget their own souls. Such are the rebellious
transgressors. " 59:19
It is necessary
to understand the significance of "most of them understand not" in
both the above verses. A person who listens to the recitation will get the
distinct feeling that there is by far much more to these and other verses than
a superficial reading would suggest.
Human beings
construct themselves. They are, therefore, judged by their own actions:-
"Is he who founded his building upon duty
to Allah and His good pleasure better; or he who founded his building on the
brink of a crumbling, overhanging precipice so that it topples with him into
the fire of Hell. Allah guides not wrong doing folk." 9:109
"And every man's augury have We fastened
to his own neck, and We shall bring forth for him on the Day of Resurrection a
book which he will find open, and it shall be said: Read thy book. Thy soul
suffices as reckoner against you this day. Whosoever goes right, it is only for
the good of his own soul that he goes right, and whosoever errs, errs only to
its hurt. No laden soul can bear another's load. We never punish until We have
sent a messenger." 17:13-15
"But of mankind is he who prays: Our Lord!
Give unto us in this world, And he has no portion in the Hereafter. And of them
is also he who says: Our Lord! Give unto us in this world that which is good
and in the Hereafter that which is good, and guard us from the doom of Fire.
For them there is in store a goodly portion out of that which they have earned.
Allah is swift at reckoning." 2:201 Also 42:20
"Take ye pleasure in the life of the world
rather than in the Hereafter? The comfort of the life of the world is but
little in the Hereafter." 9:38
"And he who has done good works, being a
believer, he fears not injustice nor begrudging of his wages." 20:112
"We are your protecting friends in the
life of the World and in the Hereafter. There you will have all that your souls
desire, and there you will have all for which you pray." 41:31
"Whoso is blind here will be blind in the
Hereafter and yet further from the road." 17:72
"In that day their excuses will not profit
those who did injustice, nor will they be allowed to make amends." 30:57
"And for every nation there is a messenger.
And when their messenger comes on the Day of Judgment it will be judged between
them fairly and they will not be wronged. And they say: When will this promise
be fulfilled, if you are truthful? Say: I have no power to hurt or benefit
myself save that which Allah wills. For every nation there is an appointed
time. When their time comes, then they cannot put it off an hour, nor hasten
it. Say: Have you thought, when His doom comes unto you as a raid by night, or
in the busy day, what is there of it that the guilty ones desire to hasten. Is
it only then, when it has befallen you that you will believe? What! Now, when
until now you have been hastening it on through disbelief?" 10:48-52 see
also 10:55
We see from this verse that apart from a Day of Judgment or Reckoning which might come to individuals or to Mankind, there is also a Day of Judgment for nations or communities. And indeed, the promised doom has overtaken many Muslim communities.
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