Dilly Hussain – Justice in Islam Imperial College London
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My dear brothers and sisters and friends.
Let me begin by first thanking, Imperial College
London Islamic Society for
inviting me today and giving me the honor
to deliver this
brief address to you all about a very
important topic,
one amongst many important
topics which is affecting the Muslim community, and
that is the concept of justice in Islam.
Now before we even attempt to begin
whether these two things are inseparable entities,
we first must ask ourselves a very important
question.
And that is why are we even discussing
this?
Why are we even discussing
the centrality
or the alleged centrality of justice within Islam?
And the truth be told is that the
reason why we're discussing the concept of justice
amongst many other topics, be it jihad, be
it sharia, be it women's rights,
is because
Islam
is being widely presented
as a worldview on a religion which is
essentially
oppressive,
unjust,
and backward.
And
many of its values, beliefs, rituals
are perceived as archaic,
outdated, and regressive.
In addition to this undeniable reality,
we also find ourselves
in a situation
where increasing number of Muslims
are seeking
definitions
of Islamic concepts
elsewhere.
And we know that at a time where
it is very fashionable and trendy to be
part of a number of social justice causes,
we are seeking our definitions and our paradigms
from real,
ideologies and philosophies
that are alien to Islam. And if you
scratch beneath the surface, you'll find that it
is in, clear contradiction
to the Islamic,
framework and ethical,
moral framework.
So it is in this context I understand
that we are having this conversation today.
Why else would you have chosen
the concept of justice to be discussed from
an Islamic perspective?
Now
before I proceed with today's,
presentation,
is important to understand
how the concept of justice
fits into Islam.
And generally speaking, it has been agreed upon
by the juries and the scholars
that
justice was known as a Adal
in Islam is centered around 3 things.
Rights,
which is then broken into 2 things, the
rights of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and the
rights of mankind.
Responsibilities
of
institutions,
governments,
individuals,
wherever it may be.
And then retribution.
What happens in the case when rights and
responsibilities
are either transgressed upon or abandoned?
This is how generally the concept of justice
falls into
the Islamic paradigm.
Rights,
responsibilities
and retribution.
I want
to cite to you all some verses from
the Quran
and some prophetic statements
which emphasizes the centrality and the importance of
justice within Islam.
Allah
says in surah,
Allah does not forbid you from those who
do not fight you because of religion and
do not expel you from your homes,
from being righteous towards them and acting justly
towards them. Indeed, Allah loves those who act
justly.
Allah says in Surah An Nisa,
Oh, you have believed be persistent in standing
firm in justice,
witnesses for Allah, even if it be against
yourselves,
your parents and relatives.
Whether one is rich or poor, Allah is
more worthy of both. So follow not your
inclination
lest you not be just.
Allah says in the same verse,
verily Allah commands you to render trust to
whom they are due. And when you judge
between people to judge with justice.
And Allah says in Surah Al Maidah or
you have believed, be persistently standing firm for
Allah,
witnesses in justice, and do not let the
hatred of a people prevent you from being
just.
Be just.
That is nearer to righteousness.
Allah says in Surah An Nahal,
Verily Allah orders justice and good conduct and
giving to relatives and he forbids immorality and
bad conduct and oppression.
In a hadith narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar
our
beloved prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said,
verily,
those who are fair will be in the
presence of Allah upon pulpits of light near
the right hand of the merciful, the exalted,
and both of his sides are right. Those
who practice justice in their rulings and with
their families and in all that they did.
In another hadith, Nurayba Abu Hurayra
the Prophet said, whoever seeks to be a
judge over the Muslims, such that he acquires
it and his justice outweighs his tyranny, he
will have paradise.
However, if his tyranny outweighs his justice,
he will have hellfire.
Mentioned in Sunan Abu Dawood.
In another hadith narrated by Amari bin Yasir
The prophet said,
whoever has three qualities has completed the faith.
A sense of fairness in yourself,
spending in charity despite difficult circumstances,
and offering peace to the world. This hadith
was mentioned in Musannaf ibn Abi Shayba.
These are just some verses of the Quran
and some prophetic statements which explicitly emphasize the
importance and the centrality of justice within Islam.
There are many others.
There are many others which are very direct
and very explicit, and there are others which
are quite indirect and not so explicit.
In fact, all the verses of the Quran
and all the prophetic statements which talk about
oppression, whether it be the oppressed or the
oppressor,
is alluding to the concept of justice because
the opposite of
justice is injustice and oppression.
However, it's all good and well.
It's all good and well for me to
reel off verse after verse and hadith after
hadith
about justice in Islam
without actually understanding how these verses and these
prophetic statements actually manifested within Islamic civilization.
But before I get to that,
it's also very important
that
justice in Islam has 2 dimensions.
Dimension and realm number 1, this life.
Dimension and realm number 2, the hereafter.
And there are 3 types of justice.
There's the justice which is between mankind from
an individual basis.
How you deal with your friends, your neighbor,
your family
and those around you. How you deal with
yourself
that your own body has rights over you,
and whether you are just or unjust in
terms of your relationship with Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala
and the rest of society.
Another type of justice
is social justice.
Some ulama,
in fact, many ulama throughout contemporary and classical
have
consistently
said
that this justice
is perhaps the most important
and is one which is systematic.
The laws, the institutions,
the prohibitions, the commandments of Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala and his messenger sallallahu alaihi wasallam
have set up for mankind.
This is to do with how society is
governed
and how the affairs of mankind is governed.
And last but not least, it is the
justice of the hereafter
and that's Allah's justice.
Now Allah's justice may well meet
and may be delivered in its life, but
without a shadow of a doubt, it will
be fulfilled in the hereafter
at a time when all disputes
will be resolved.
Let's look at some examples from Islamic history.
Because if we were to engage non Muslims,
whether it be in our Dawah stores or
our peers or our friends, we can, you
know, cite some of the verses that I've
just mentioned or some of the statements of
the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. They can easily
counter by saying, okay, that's all good and
well. But give me some examples about how
these central tenants and values
manifested for our Islamic civilization.
Example number 1.
After the battle of Badri,
there were many
prisoners of war from Quraysh
that were taken to Madinah.
And whilst they were held captive,
they were given sustenance,
bread and dates,
in which even the Qurayshi
prisoners
were discussing amongst themselves.
The Muslims have given us better bread and
better dates than the ones which they're consuming.
It was narrated in the sila that
the Sahaba, they gave the prisoners of war,
men who had fought them and killed their
companions,
better bread and better dates than the ones
which they were consuming themselves.
Example number 2,
during the conquest of Makkah,
when the treaty of Hudaybiyyah
was breached by Quraysh,
and the prophet
came to Makkah with around 10,000 soldiers.
The people of Makkah
feared
that Rasulullah
Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was seeking retribution.
He was seeking revenge,
that it was going to be a day
of slaughter.
One could even argue that there was a
basis
for the Prophet to have even taken this
action. Why?
Because it was the people of Makkah who
persecuted the Muslims, who oppressed them, who tortured
them, who exiled them, who boycotted them, who
waged war against them, who breached a treaty
with the Muslims.
Yet when Rasulullah salallahu alaihi wasallam entered Makkah,
and he gathered the people of Makkah around
him, and he asked them, What do you
think I will do today?
And they said that you will show mercy
because we have always known Muhammad to be
a man of mercy.
And indeed that is what the Prophet did.
He granted safety and security explicitly
to the house of Abu Sufyan.
Now,
even though he explicitly mentioned Abu Sufyan, who's
the leader of Quresh at that time,
he extended security to all the pagans
of Makkah
because Abu Sufyan was their leader, and anyone
who's upon the religion of Abu Sufyan
was given safety and security.
And even the Sahaba at that time were
baffled.
They questioned the Prophet, why are we showing
mercy?
Why are we not seeking retribution for the
many wrongdoings that they had done against us?
Yet Rasulullah
had that wisdom
to see the future and within years
the entirety of Makkah had accepted Islam.
When we look at Umar treaty,
his treaty in Jerusalem,
which protected and preserved the rights of the
Christians,
which is still cited by academics and historians
today to have been an embodiment of religious
tolerance at that time that had not been
witnessed anywhere else in the world.
Anywhere else in the world, for centuries even
after that,
where the rights of the Limnis, the people
of the book, the non Muslim citizens of
the Islamic State were afforded rights and security
like no other place on earth.
And where did this treaty find its basis
from? From the hadith of the Prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam where he said, the one
who harms
has harmed me. And there are other narrations
where the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said, that
the one who transgresses the rights of the
dhimmi, I would take him to account on
the day of judgment.
The centrality and the importance of the protection
of non Muslim citizens within Islamic societies is
something which was safeguarded and upheld for centuries.
Even the rules of Jihad,
even rules pertaining to military engagement on warfare
is centered around
justice and mercy.
And I'm gonna give you 8 rulings,
which there is a near consensus
when it comes to military engagement.
Rule number 1, there is a clear prohibition
of the killing of women and children.
There's a clear prohibition of killing noncombatants,
be it monks, priests,
workers, and the elderly.
There's a prohibition of killing the disabled and
the sick.
There's a prohibition of mutilating the dead bodies
of combatants.
So you're not allowed to mutilate the bodies
of the people that you're fighting.
We
have to show mercy to combatant who willingly
surrender.
We have to treat prisoners of war with
dignity like we saw in the example of
Badr and many other wars that followed after.
You cannot even cut trees
and kill animals without a legitimate reason.
And last but not least, there is no
compulsion in faith when it comes to taking
prisoners. There is no forced conversion.
Brothers and sisters, these are just 8 rules
of Jihad fee, Sabeelullah and military engagement
that were revealed and established 1400 years ago.
Think about it for a moment with regards
to modern warfare.
Think about Iraq.
Think about Afghanistan.
Think about World War 1 or World War
2, were any of these things regarded as
sacred?
Whether it is enacted by non Muslim armies
or the armies of Muslim majority countries,
none of these sacred rules and laws were
ever respected.
Forget about respecting the life of the elderly
and the sick and the children.
Right?
Hospitals and civilian populations are specifically targeted in
today's modern warfare,
where even the rules of engagement of jihad,
a concept which has been bastardized in our
times. One which has become synonymous with terrorism,
violence, minus criminality.
Yet, there are profound rulings, strict rulings when
it comes to military engagement, which is centered
around justice and mercy.
Another example.
When Ali
was the Khalifa of the Muslims,
he was once walking through the marketplace,
and he saw a Christian man with an
armor which he believed was his. Remember, this
is the Khalifa of the Muslims,
perhaps one of the most powerful men on
earth at that time. He took the Christian
man to the Islamic courts, and there was
a very famous judge called Adi Shurei,
and the mediation began.
Bring forth your witnesses against this man to
claim that this armor is yours.
When Alire Dayna'an's
witnesses were not regarded as
enough to have won the case, the Christian
man won that case.
This story is narrated in Ibn Kathir Al
Bidaya.
But the fact
that a Christian man,
a dhimmi,
a non Muslim citizen,
was taken to the Islamic courts by the
Khalifa himself and he lost that case
shows the level of balance and mercy and
justice within the Islamic legal code.
Moving on some centuries forward,
and we look at the liberation of Jerusalem
by
and we compare how he entered Jerusalem
to how the crusaders took Jerusalem
97 or 95 years prior to that.
Chroniclers have consistently testified both from the Muslim
and the non Muslim side. Even crusader chroniclers
have said that when we entered Jerusalem, there
was a bloodbath.
We smashed babies heads against the walls. We
raped women, we killed them, we slashed pregnant
women, we smashed their fetuses. There was a
bloodbath in Masjid Al Aqsa where they said
that the blood had come up to the
knees.
It was a * affair, 3 to 5
days
of genocide.
Yet when salahuddin alayubi
entered Jerusalem,
yes, he fought passionately against the Knights Templars.
But those Crusaders
who wanted to leave without war, he gave
them safe passage.
And those Christians that remained within Jerusalem, he
did not implement attacks on them.
In addition to that, he welcomed back the
Jews who were exiled by the Crusaders.
Compare that to how the Crusaders took Jerusalem
90 or 100
years prior to that. Again, was there not
a basis?
Was there not a basis for salahuddin Ayub
to seek retribution,
to assault revenge?
But he didn't
because the justice of Islam
taught him that it was better to show
mercy to the residents, the Christian residents of
Jerusalem, and to get safe passage to those
who fought him.
When we look at Muslim Spain
towards its decline,
when the Castilian
monarchs had implemented
the inquisition,
which was a state policy of forced conversion
of Jews and Muslims to Roman Catholicism.
Many Muslims and Jews, if they did not
apostate from their faith and accept
Roman Catholicism.
They were either tortured,
imprisoned, or killed.
So there was a mass exodus of Jews
leaving Muslim Spain. Who was it that sent
rescue ships
to the Iberian Peninsula
to bring the Jews of Muslim Spain into
their lands? It was none other than the
Ottomans.
They had no reason to do this.
Muslim Spain was not within their domains. Why
did they feel the need to send rescue
ships to Jews who are facing exile or
death?
Yet they welcomed them with open arms, and
they flourished within the Ottoman state for over
400 years to the extent that they are
still Jewish quarters
in Istanbul and other parts of Turkey.
There was even poetry written by the Ottomans
mocking the the the Castilians in Spain, saying
how crazy I'm paraphrasing.
How crazy and how strange it is that
you exile a people who bought nothing but
benefit to your communities and your societies. We
will happily welcome them.
When there was the great famine in Ireland
round about the 18 sixties, 18 fifties,
and
it got to an extent where thousands of
people in Ireland were dying out of starvation.
Who was it that sent a ship full
of aid
to the Irish?
It was none other than the ottoman khalif,
Abu Majid, the first rahimahullah.
I then ask you again,
what was the need for him to send
a ship of aid to the Irish
who forget about the word even within his
domains, they weren't even within his proximity.
Yet he felt the need when he heard
the news that there were thousands of people,
children, women, elderly dying of hunger.
He sent a ship of £10,000
worth of aid.
At that time,
it was intercepted by Queen Victoria
because she was embarrassed.
She goes, how can the caliph of the
Muslims
send more aid than me? I only said
2,000.
So she intercepted that ship
and forced the Ottomans to just give £1,000
worth of aid
so it didn't embarrass her when it was
a manufactured famine by the English at the
time.
Brothers and sisters, these were just some examples
from Islamic history.
These were just some examples
where
the concept of justice had manifested consistently throughout
our civilization.
But at the same time,
I encourage you all and I strongly advise
you all that when we engage and discuss
Islamic history and Islamic civilization,
that we do not present it as a
utopian society
because it wasn't.
Islamic history had many instances
of shortcomings,
of unjust rulers,
of civil wars, of power disputes,
of the incorrect implementation
of the sacred law. We had all of
that without a shadow of a doubt. However,
when we discuss Islamic history and Islamic civilization,
never ever fall into the trap of likening
it to European colonialism or the conventional understanding
of empires.
Let me explain to you why that is.
When you look at
the lands in which
Islam reached and Muslims had ruled, you'll find
in many cases that Muslims were ruling as
minorities
and there was no state policy of forced
conversions. It was unheard of.
It was unheard of. When Islam came to
Egypt and when it came to Syria, when
it went to Central Asia, when it went
to India, when it went to,
the Balkans,
you'll find that Muslims
were in many cases ruling as minorities.
The Mughals would rule India. They never even
claimed to be a caliphate or an Islamic
dynasty.
Even then they did not enforce Islam upon
the majority Hindu population.
Islam in India had always been a faith
and a system of the minorities.
The same with the West African Muslim kingdoms
of the Bantus and the Fulani people.
It was Muslim kings that were essentially ruling
over a majority non Muslim population.
In the Balkans,
it was predominantly
Ottoman Muslim rulers that are ruling amongst a
majority Christian population,
right? This is why when you go to
these lands today, you will still find Yazidis,
Dhrus,
Coptics,
Maronites.
You will still see these people in this
community is preserved
because
Islam had afforded
that security and that preservation of these respective
peoples.
We also have to look at
how
the Byzantine Empire
or the many kingdoms of medieval Europe
and even the dawn of European colonialism, what
kind of effect did that have
when it went
to other parts of the world?
How did the Europeans deal with the
native indigenous people of North Africa, North America?
How did Christopher Columbus deal with the people
of Mexico and the West Indies?
How did the British deal with the Aboriginal
people of Australia?
It was mass genocide.
Mass genocide.
The BBC carried out a research,
which they published last year and said that
the death and the pillage
of the indigenous people of North America was
so
intense.
It was so bad that it had an
effect
on the climate and the weather of all
the deceased bodies.
Then what followed genocide was forced conversions, and
we can see that.
Those of you who are from Africa, if
you look at African history
and see which countries today identify as predominantly
Christian,
it is those countries that had not accepted
Islam
remained as indigenous people of those lands until
the Europeans arrived.
I challenge anyone to give me an example.
Give me an example from history for 14
centuries
where when Muslims entered a land that there
was a
state policy of forced conversions.
You won't find it.
You'll find an invitation to Islam.
You'll find certain policies and laws which according
to the Sharia may be perceptively seen as
favoring Muslims over the dhimmis. That could be
argued to some degree if you look at
from a secular point of view,
But you find it very difficult to find
an example where any dynasty or any emirate
or any caliphate for 14 centuries
had a policy of forced conversions.
The reason why I had to make this
comparison
is because
we're living at a time
where, as I mentioned at the beginning of
this talk,
where Muslims are experiencing
a plethora of external pressures.
Within the psyche and the mindset of Muslims,
we have been besieged by an inferiority
complex.
And it can even be argued that
it was inevitable.
20 years of the war on terror,
20 years of state Islamophobia,
wars, occupation, and so forth in the Muslim
world, it's just been relentless.
And naturally, when a faith community finds itself
in the situation that we do today,
we'll start
questioning our own deen. We'll start questioning our
own moral compass
and then we'll start seeking answers elsewhere.
Therefore, it is absolutely important brothers and sisters
that we have more events like this.
More events where we talk about these controversial
issues because they're not actually controversial.
They've been made controversial.
And that if we don't start educating one
another and start seeking education in these topics,
how else are we gonna be able to
defend it and articulate it and convey the
truth?
I wanna conclude
by another piece of advice,
one which I alluded to earlier on in
my talk.
Whether it be the concept of justice,
equal rights, women's rights, marital rights, property rights,
whatever concept it may be within Islam, which
is
increasingly being scrutinized in today's times,
That it is very easy to seek a
justification
and explanation from outside of the framework and
the paradigm of Islam.
It is very easy to seek solutions and
answers beyond the Quran and sunnah
Because it's presented as something again as archaic,
as outdated, that requires reformation,
that requires for it to conform to the
predominant secular liberal values of today.
But this is very dangerous.
This is very dangerous because it never really
happened
for 14 centuries.
And this century and the ones to follow
are no different.
Islam is a very robust faith.
It is here for all times and all
peoples.
Hence, why it flourished for over a millennia.
This is the testimony of non Muslim academics
and historians who
one after another, whether they are talking about
Muslim Spain, whether they're talking about Abbasid Mesopotamia,
whether they're talking about Umayyad al Sham, whether
they're talking about Ottoman Europe or Mughal India
or Bantu
or Fulani West Africa.
Over a 1000 years,
Islam flourished
when it was when it manifested comprehensively.
That there was no issue with the advancement
of intellectual studies, whether it be geometry,
math, science.
That Islam and Islamic civilization was flourishing at
a time where there was barely any lighting
and drainage system in Europe.
Where women forget about being seen as second
class citizen, they were seen as witches, right,
in medieval Europe.
So we need to instill within ourselves this
confidence
because
if
we start
adopting ideas
and adopting
justifications
from beyond our tradition,
we will find ourselves in a very dire
state.
If we do not instill within ourselves a
sense of confidence,
right? And remove this obstacle of fear from
our mindset,
right? We are setting a dangerous precedent for
the future generations of Muslims.
Can I see a show of hands to
see whose parents originate from Asia?
Whose parents originate from the Middle East?
Whose parents originate from Africa?
That's practically everyone.
If our forefathers and our predecessors
were people who did not have courage,
were people who are consumed by fear, will
not
have reached you. You've not reached your predecessors
and your forefathers.
We are living at a very unique time,
brothers and sisters. A very unique time.
I believe that future generations will come, and
they will look back at the many struggles
that this generation is facing.
And the struggle of the last 80 to
a 100 years.
And they will look back at this generation
with envy and jealousy
in that how we manage our affairs at
such difficult times.
I wanna conclude this talk on a very
promising hadith.
It's authenticity
is disputed amongst the scholars and there are
various narrations and versions of it.
In a gathering, the prophet
told his companions
that there will come a time,
there will come a time a group of
Muslims
after us,
and they will be
my beloved.
The companions were baffled.
They were like, you Rasulullah, how can they
be your beloved?
Were we not the ones who fought alongside
you? Were we not the ones who abandoned
our families and were with you shoulder to
shoulder throughout this struggle?
He said, no, you are my companions,
but they are my beloved. Because this generation
of Muslims will come at a time
in one hadith, it says when the Quran
has been abandoned. In another variation where they
are surrounded by enemies
who are seeking to oppress them, and they
are my beloved.
I don't know about you all, brothers and
sisters. I would like to be in that
honorable camp in the hereafter.
I pray to Allah
that every single person in this room
is a contributor and a protagonist for positive
change in society. Ameen. I pray to Allah
that all oppressed people, Muslim and non Muslims
all around the world,
who are facing hardship and difficulties as a
result
of the policies
and systems which seek to oppress them, that
they are that that difficulty is uplifted and
is replaced by by a system which is
just a one which takes into accordance
our creator and his revelation.