Omar Suleiman – Social Justice – Episode 39 – Without Justice, There Can Be No Peace
AI: Summary ©
The Prophet peace be upon him has created a reputation for bravery and generosity, and the concept of "Logans" is the fruit of the Prophet's peace be upon him. The importance of peace and justice is emphasized, as it is the source of peace and the foundation of Islamic rule. The negative impact of drug use and the need for peace and justice in order to achieve peace and peace in the real world is discussed.
AI: Summary ©
It's hard to believe honestly, we're getting to the last two of this series. It's been a very long time since we've had this series. And as I said last week, I wanted to move away from the discussion about the particulars and go back to the concepts sort of wrapping up everything that we've studied over this last year, and some we started this class A little over a year ago. So all the particulars that we've talked about economic justice, environmental justice, different forms. And if you remember, we started off the first five to seven, I believe the first five to seven classes on concepts and sort of framing how justice operates in Islam, and today, or tonight, and next week,
we're going to go back to that. So framing really now with all of those particular issues in the rear view. So we've gone through so many of them. So now, how do we bring it all together? And I think there are a few questions that come to mind. And we'll address these questions within the next two weeks. The first one is the emphasis on justice versus the emphasis on peace.
Most of the time, movements for justice are actually shut down in the name of peace and reconciliation, right, where basically one party, usually the oppressed is compounded in the burden that is placed upon it and told to forego its rights for the sake of the greater picture. And there is less responsibility and burden placed upon the party that has the greater power in that situation. Okay. So usually in the name of peace, justice, is actually done an injustice. All right. Also the concept of how gradual reform should be, should reform the rapid, or should it be gradual, so how gradual should reform be?
We tend to have an absolutist mentality in regards to this, so to speak about it in regards to the graduality and the way that the Prophet peace be upon them operated in that sense. Another one is, you know, obeying unjust law, right? Or obeying an unjust ruler? That's a question that comes up many times and unjust authority. At what point do you cross the lines of disobedience, if you will? Alright. And the last one is priorities in morality and dealing with with justice, or dealing with morality. And what I mean by that is that well, many, particularly religious folk, particularly Muslims will say, Well, why are we dealing with this issue when we also have to deal with that
issue? And so how do you prioritize amongst issues in regards to seeking about a more just society? So these are the questions that I hope we'll actually be able to tackle within the next two weeks. And this week, in particular, what I want to focus on is this concept of justice and peace.
It's a very famous slogan, no justice, no peace, right? And I want to actually give that a firmer understanding beyond just the slogan and beyond just, you know, the protest motto, what does this actually mean? no justice, no peace, right? And of course, no justice, no peace. verbatim is not taken from the Quran or from the Sunnah of the Prophet peace be upon them. But at the same time, it does have a basis and I want to talk about it from that regard. And I think that Islam probably speaks to that idea, more so than any other system theological OR, or NOT theological. Islam really does highlight this idea of retributive justice and the concept that there can be no peace without
justice. So how do we understand this? So I started off with ahaadeeth an incident that took place with the Prophet peace be upon him. It's narrated from Earth monument. maroun. May Allah be pleased with me says that while the Prophet peace be upon him was sitting in the courtyard of his house in Mecca, as man passed by the prophet peace be upon him and he smiled at him. The Prophet peace be upon him, smiled back at him and told him Why don't you sit down? So this man is walking on the streets and the Prophet peace be upon him says Why don't you come join me? Why don't you sit down with me? So he said, Sure. So he came, and he sat with the Prophet peace be upon him facing him. And
while he was talking to the Prophet peace be upon him the Prophet peace be upon him looked up to the skies so in the middle of this conversation at some point the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him lost focus, if you will, on the conversation and started to look up. And as the Prophet peace be upon him did that
are smarter than Maroon said that I said to the Prophet, peace be upon him, I've seen you do something I've never seen you do before.
Why because the Prophet peace be upon him had a reputation. What was his reputation, his reputation that was what was when he spoke to you? He faced his entire body towards you. He was not distractible. Alright. In fact, the prophet peace be upon him once had a ring and he looked at his ring a few times in conversation and he felt bad
He said, You know, I feel like I'm looking at this ring too much. So he took the ring and cast it to the side. So imagine if the Prophet peace be upon him had a cell phone, right? And what that would mean in terms of distractibility in terms of conversation. So the Prophet peace be upon him had the habit of turning to you fully when he spoke to you, giving you his ear, not removing himself until you finish speaking to him, giving you his full undivided attention. So this was unlike the Prophet peace be upon him to look up in the middle of conversation or to seem distracted. So as monster I've seen you do something that I never saw you do before. And the Prophet peace be upon him said that
the angel Gabriel, Gabriel, just came to me so he descended upon me with a verse.
So jabril brought the Prophet peace be upon him revelation at that moment, and he said, What did he say to you? So he recited in the law yet Moreover, gladly will assign what eater it will corba Vienna and in fact shall he will, monetary will does he come to the Quran, the verse which is which which translates to, Verily Allah commands justice and doing good or performing excellence, right beauty in the La Jolla mobile it would sound so Allah commands you would justice as well as showing excellence, okay. In the law, you want to be somewhat at the quarterback and showing generosity to your relatives, while young hmm and in fact, shall he well in one carry well, belly and he forbids
you from indecency and wrongdoing and tyranny. So God commands you with three he commands you with justice, with excellence and with generosity to your relatives, and he forbids you from indecency and wrongdoing and tyranny and I'll talk about the difference between indecency and wrongdoing in this context, okay, fresh out with one cup, we are able to come to the Quran, he admonishes us so that you may pay heat. All right, so this verse was revealed to the Prophet peace be upon him at that moment, this hadith is narrated.
It's narrated in Abbey hatom, and some, you know, in Kathir comments on the chain and he says that it is a good Hadith meaning it's a sound narration. Now, this verse in particular from the Quran
is considered so comprehensive. Okay? That even Massoud the great scholar,
and the companion the Prophet peace be upon him says this is the most comprehensive verse that was ever revealed to the Prophet peace be upon him that the entirety of the religion is encompassed in this verse. The entirety of faith is encompassed within this verse. And by the way, it's chapter 16, verse 33, for those that want to take notes sorted out off chapter 16, verse 33, so it's the most comprehensive verse of the Quran, and it is the most it contains the entire faith within within it. And by the way, this is also the verse that was popularized to be mentioned in every single sermon every single hopa by Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Rahim Allah added the last of the rightly guided Holika the
last of the rightly guided caliphs that he started to mention this verse or recited every single hope but to Jumana every single Friday sermon, so it continued after Ramadan bin Abdulaziz Rahim Allah tada as a as a tradition amongst the scholars that they would recite this verse in the end of the hope by the end of the Friday Sermon the way that we do over here, okay, so the verse again says God commands you have three Allah commands you have three in the law yet little bill idly, but Exxon will, the corba He commands you to do justice, he commands you to show excellence, and he commands you to be generous with your relatives. And then he forbids you from three fascia with one cup with
a belly, he forbids you from
translation here is indecency, wrongdoing and tyranny. he forbids you from indecency wrongdoing and tyranny and he admonishes you, so that you may pay heat. So what does this have to do with the concept of justice versus peace? And this is really what I want to focus on in Charlottetown. For a while, well, first and foremost.
God does not command you with anything, except that he himself does it in his capacity. Allah does not command you to show mercy while he shows cruelty, right? So Allah is our hammer raha mean, he's the most Merciful of those who show mercy. All of the mercy that we show in this world is only a fraction of the mercy of Allah that He descends upon us so Allah Himself chose mercy, okay. Allah does not command you to do justice, but then he himself the unjust, right or be an oppressor. In fact, Allah says, Oh, my servants in the heroine to Luma and NFC, which Allah who bainer Mahatma, but that's available. Oh,
My servants, I have forbidden oppression for myself and I have made it forbidden amongst you. Meaning no one could restrict God. But Allah chooses for himself that oppression is not befitting to the creator of all. So he's the most just so when he commands you to do justice, he himself performs justice. Okay? So Allah does, Allah Himself is the Most Merciful in the most unjust. And this is also something that Mmm, no claim, and I'm sure I mentioned this in one of the first classes and no claim, may Allah be pleased with them. He said that the three components of Fitts law, have your natural disposition. Again, the three components of your natural disposition, meaning every human
being is created with three things, a sense of tawheed, which is monotheism, so a sense of a belief in one God, that we believe in Islam, that a child naturally has a belief in a higher power, they believe in a lot, they believe in God, right? They they're born with that natural Islam, that natural belief in God and submission to God. And that if a child was left alone in the desert with no other external influences, that they would not truly develop a relationship where they would know that there is a God, a one god that sees them, and they would connect. So that's Fitts law, that's your natural disposition. You believe in the oneness of God, you are born with a sense of justice,
and you are born with a sense of mercy. There are interesting experiments that have been done, you know, or tests that have been done to actually show that children have that sense, right? When children watch cartoons, someone sent me this long, and he was a doctor, I'm not a doctor, as you can probably tell, but he sent me this long study that was done on children and like the way children reacted to cartoons when they saw a clear wrongdoer and the victim in the cartoon and how children identified, right or felt a sense of injustice, even if they were watching, you know, an oppressor in the form of a fictional animal, okay. Children naturally have that. And then someone
says, Well, you know, I see many human beings that don't show any justice, show any mercy, and have no sense of belief in God. That is the nature versus nurture argument, what you are born with, versus what is nurtured inside of you. So you are born with a natural sense of monotheism, a natural sense of justice and natural sense of mercy. Also, the very first notion of justice, as we said early on in this class, is justice with a law justice with God Himself. And this is really, because the rights of God are greater than the rights of any one upon you. And Savannah, Marina, may Allah be pleased with him, he says something very beautiful. He says that in this context, first and
foremost, interpreting either an axon justice and excellence. So axon is beauty. It's excellent, it's a higher standard, Justice is the minimum standard. Excellence is a higher standard. So he said, the context of justice added an axon here, what it's referring to, is that in regards to God, at least, when you are alone, when it's just God that sees you, at least you show him the same amount of regard in private that you do in public. The mere, the bare minimum, so if you are, if you only honor the sight of God upon you, when other people are around, but then you disgrace that site when you're alone, then that's not just with Allah. So the first sense of added with God, the first
sense of justice was with God is that you have a consistency in the way that you honor his sight and honor his rights. You don't transgress in private, you don't transgress in public, and the standard you have in public is at least consistent with the one that you have in private otherwise, it's hypocrisy, right? Otherwise, if there is a discrepancy there, then it leans towards hypocrisy. So he said, that's either, he said, ehsaan excellence is that your private relationship with Allah is even better than your public relationship with Allah. Meaning when you are alone, you honor the sight of God even more, you stand up in secret prayer, you perform acts of secret charity, you privately
fast, you privately do things that would show him that you asked for his sight and his sake alone, that no one else interferes with that relationship that you have with Allah. Okay. So he said, That's excellent. That's excellent. And that's what the prophet peace be upon him taught as well. That when he, when he when he explained a son excellence in worship, he said that you worship Allah as if you can see him. And if you can't see him, then you know that he sees you. You worship a lot as if you can see him. And if you can't see him, then you know that he sees you. Meaning when you stand in prayer, even when you're all alone and private, not you know, the sight of other people's
irrelevant. You worship him as if you can see him. And if you can't see him, then you know that he sees you. So that's excellence in worship. They said first, you interpret this in regards to
The way that you the way that you deal with Allah And then he said and in regards to sin so again those those words get awkwardly translated sometimes well you inherited fascia you will carry well that Allah forbids
you know fascia which, which basically means indecency. Okay, one cap, which is a wrongdoing, and Buffy, which is tyranny. So how do we understand those things? So he goes on to explain that alpha Hush, alpha, which are the first indecency that God forbids you from. He said that these are the things that are forbidden from Allah, that what you do privately or that what you do publicly. So it, you know, it's not necessarily private, and not necessarily public, which is why Allah says in the Quran in the Mahabharata, the alpha hashmatullah hora minha, on a bottom that God has forbidden in decency that which is public of it, and that which is private, so it's any act of of sinfulness
and decency, whether it's public or private. One car
is a greater level of sin, it's when you proudly boast about your sin. Okay, when you are shameless, to the point that you proudly boast about your sin. So it's like the opposite of the standard of worship in terms of justice and excellence. You are even more aggressive in your disobedience of God or more boastful and proud of it in public. Well, buzzy. And the last thing which is tyranny is in regards to the creation of Allah that you are unjust to the creation of God or that you wrong. The creation of Allah subhanho wa Taala. Okay, so one alumnus is the Arabic translation of an ability which is to to oppress people. So getting back to the over, you know,
or I should say, the underlying principle here. So where do we get no justice, no peace from this? How does that make sense? And is this truly an Islamic concept? So there's a saying from Martin Luther King, Jr, which is a very powerful, saying, he says peace is not the absence of tension, but the presence of justice. Peace, is not the absence of tension, but the presence of justice. Is does that does that islamically hold up actually, it is, in the, you know, in the deepest meaning, and the most accurate meaning of the text? How do we explain that? Well, first and foremost, what's the word for peace? In Arabic, and it's not? So now, peace, right? That armonico peace beyond two so the
word is Salah. What does the word Salaam peace actually mean in the Arabic language?
Does anyone know?
Now you're talking about the definition of Islam. I'm talking about Salah I'm talking about the word peace
makes it whole. So the word peace actually means freedom from chaos and the Arabic language. Freedom from chaos. Really interesting. Alright, freedom from chaos. I'm not just making that up. All right. The Prophet peace be upon him said a Muslim woman. Sorry, man was the Mona melissani. He was a Muslim. A person who practices Islam, which comes from Salaam peace is the one from whom people feel safe from his tongue and from his hand. People feel safe from his tongue in his hand. So people feel at peace from his tongue and his hand. When you say a Salaam Alaikum peace beyond to you. That means no harm will come to you from my direction. Okay, so the word Salaam in the Arabic language means
freedom from chaos. That's why the word saline
means free from sickness free from harm, which is the intense version of setup, saline. A person who is saline is free from flaw free from harm. Okay. And that's why Paradise is called data set up the place of peace because it's free from any imperfection. It's free from anything that would disturb the peace. It's perfect. Okay, it's perfect by virtue of its freedom from disruption that is Marina de la one. In LA Salama, they will not hear it any disturbance. No one's gonna bother you. And Jenna and paradise. All right. It's all Salaam The only thing you hear is peace. meaning you're good here. You don't have to worry. In general, you don't have to worry in Paradise and that's why the scholars
mentioned actually, the true peace only exists in paradise because in Paradise, there will be perpetuity with no end complete satisfaction with no need and perfect honor. With no humiliation and perfect health with no disease. Okay, so Paradise is perfect in that sense, and allows name one of God's names is
Salam. Okay, the source of peace and why is he s Salaam because he is completely free from any defect or flaw. So Allah is a Salaam, he is the peace because he's free from any defect, or flaw. So in the very nature of the word peace, peace means the absence of harm. All right, in the definition in the Arabic language, and in the Islamic epistemology, it means free from harm. Alright,
so back to the concept, and there truly be the alarm in the presence of volume, can there truly be peace in the presence of injustice? All right, from an Islamic perspective? Of course not. That's why the Prophet peace be upon himself, the Muslim, the one who practices Islam, as a religion as a faith and of course, by extension, the peace of it. The peace that comes with that are those whom people feel safe from their tongues in their head, meaning people know that a Muslim will not harm them. A Muslim does not harm. Okay, a true Muslim does not harm that's how the Prophet peace be upon him described. So going back to the verse and the Hadith, of course, which is the long Hadith which
which gives the context of the verse, okay.
The lesson is you cannot have axon without other you cannot have excellence without justice. Okay. As the scholars mentioned, Aladdin and father, Justice before benevolence, Justice must come before benevolence, Justice must come before excellence justice is the standard before peace and a society of beauty. Okay, a society of excellence. Why because ugliness prevents true beauty from ever entering. Okay, ugliness prevents true beauty from ever entering. And that's why a lot of prioritizes just this before, Asana before excellence, because this is the bare minimum, it has to start with a sense of added, okay, so when people's rights are being taken away, you don't move to
embellishment of privilege. you fulfill the rights, you restore, what disturbs the peace. And that's the priority in Islam for society, is how do you restore people's rights and put everyone back in a position where then the embellishment can take place and the beauty can take place. And this is a deep concept in Islam, a very deep concept in Islam. Even at an individual level of spirituality, one of the great scholars named Phil Dale, filleted, he said that he prioritizes in his remembrance of Allah, so in his declared his remembrance of God, he said, he prioritizes his default over to his father seeking forgiveness, over words of glorification and praise he prioritizes seeking
forgiveness, to fought over words of tests via praise and glorification. He said, because if you have a garment, and the garment is dirty, you clean the stain, you don't accessorize the garment. So you start with undoing What's wrong, before you embellish? What is quote unquote, right and accessorize it. So that's true on an individual level of spirituality. It also refers to the society and even above the cousin of the Prophet peace be upon him, the great scholar of Quran had been abuzz, he said, how's this how this verse refers to society? He said I did, which is justice is to remove ugliness from society.
Son excellence is to promote virtue,
either is to remove ugliness, justice, is to remove ugliness, son, excellence is to promote virtue. Okay, so the priority is remove the hindrances. Remove the things that do not allow for peace to be realized in its true sense, theologically, spiritually, a societal sense. Okay. So this is this is how we understand, we understand the two, or we understand our notion of justice versus peace. This also, this also means that in regards to restorative justice, in regards to restorative justice, you do not tell someone who is facing an injustice, that you should relinquish your rights and accept your injustice.
Okay.
ie show excellent show. Excellent. You don't tell someone that you should let go of your rights, and instead show essential excellence. I'm gonna talk about that in a moment. Instead, you placed them in a position to show a son, you placed them in a position to show excellence. All right, so this is where we get into some deep theological
jargon By the way, all right, Islam course, we see ourselves as the continuation or the, you know that we attribute ourselves to the true Abrahamic way of you know the true Abrahamic way. There's this debate in Abrahamic theology, if you will. Is it an eye for an eye, a tooth for tooth? Or is it turned the other cheek?
All right, is it an eye for an eye? Or is it turned the other cheek? It would be inappropriate to suggest it would be inappropriate to suggest that God sent to prophets with opposing moral messages.
So it would be inappropriate to suggest that Isa that Jesus peace be upon him was refuting Moses peace be upon him. Instead, what's the reconciliation between the two? Because he saw it his setup Jesus peace be upon him, did not turn the other cheek when he saw injustice in the temple, and he flipped tables on the money chambers. All right, money changers. All right, that was not turning the other cheek. All right, that was a radical, a Saudis, radical Jesus peace be upon them. So that's more of an eye for an eye type thing, right and making sure that justice was being served in society or sorry, snob, was not passive about everything. So turn the other cheek, can be grossly exploited
as can be an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
And Islam, we actually say that they both hold true. They both make sense. How do they both make sense?
A person whose eye has been taken as the right to have an eye for an eye.
But you want to place that position that person in a position to where they choose after being given the choice to have retribution. To instead choose benevolence, I'm going to say that again.
The standard in society is that retribution
has to be the choice of the one who's been wronged.
But what you try to promote is virtue and benevolence so that that person after being in that position with no pressure where they get to make the choice, instead chooses to show benevolence. I'm going to highlight this a little bit more, okay.
In Islam, there is a sauce, which is retribution. And then there is Apple, which is part of
the sauce is established, retribution is established when there's any wrongdoing. All right, or the smallest matter of finances all the way to the greatest, the greatest transgression of murder, the family is empowered in the sense of when someone's murdered, the family is empowered to make a choice.
theologically, at least, of course, this is the way that it was applied in the time of the Prophet peace be upon them whether or not they would choose for the person that committed the murder, to also have their life taken. But after they're given that choice, they're encouraged to instead forgiven pardon.
So basically, you're encouraged to quote unquote, turn the other cheek. But
at the very minimum, you have to be given the right of the eye in return for the eye. So Islam actually does not see a conflict between those two messages.
But instead sees them both, to actually be in harmony with one another. That added, which is what Moses what most is now speaking about, Justice has to be established. A son, which is pardon an excellence and beauty is what is to be encouraged. But Sun is the standard you hold yourself to
pardon and excellence and forgiveness is a standard that you hold yourself to. It's not something that you force on someone else. I'm gonna talk about this from the poor Anne in a little bit. All right. And if you don't, if you if that's not really registering with you, yet, you uphold everyone else's standard to either meaning everyone else standard to justice, you yourself when you're in a position of power, and you make a decision between justice or retribution or forgiveness, you choose out of seeking that higher forgiveness and that benevolence of God, you choose benevolence because you're engineered in that way to want more from Allah. So you show more to people than what's
expected. But you have to be in that position. So society has to place the one who was wronged in a position where they get to make that choice of whether or not they show Exxon, they show excellence or whether they show justice. So it is just justice that those who have been wronged get to make the choice whether or not to show benevolence from a position of power, but you cannot shove a son down their throat without putting them in that position of power first. So what does that mean? This has implications
In marriages, this has implications in disputes, financial disputes. This has implications in regards to oppressed peoples by a state authority. This has implications in regards to literally life and death in Islam, that the one who is wronged always should be put in a position to where they have the choice of retribution or not. And then they are reminded that should you instead show benevolence, expect more benevolence from Allah? All right, should you show our full pardon and benevolence, expect even greater pardon and benevolence from Allah? Where do we take this from? It's actually in the Quran in surah assura, which is chapter 42. And I'll just go through very quickly,
I'm not going to go through the full Tafseer of this the full explanation, but it starts chapter 42 from verse 39, one levina, either a Saba huemul buzzing about you, homie unforseeable, those who when they are oppressed, they defend themselves. So a lot of praises. Self Defense, if you will, all right, those who when they are oppressed, they defend themselves. Why because if you're oppressed, and you don't defend yourself, in some capacity, you enable an oppressor to oppress someone else. And that, in fact, is a greater injustice and cruelty to society as a whole. You don't enable oppression.
Alright, which is why even in the case that you showed benevolence, the oppressor has to have the tools of oppression removed from them.
That's what Malcolm X was talking about.
What he found in the deep theology, if you will, of a person having the Liberty if you realize about Malcolm X, by the way,
Malcolm never used violence. He never used violence, he never hurt anybody who never used violence. But Malcolm found it wrong, that we should, as the oppressed people commit to non violence, out of principle, when those who use violence against us are refusing to commit to it, the burden should be placed on those who are showing cruelty from a place of power, not those who are being oppressed. So Malcolm did not was not calling for violence. He never once not even in the Nation of Islam days, never actually called for violence never said, Go hurt people or go attack people in the streets. Not one incident of violence can be attributed to Malcolm X, not even him secretly pushing people to
go do something and the FBI monitored Malcolm X for over 10 years. But what did Malcolm say? I am all for non violence. But it's wrong to ask us to commit to it. If we choose to commit to it as a means of strategy, it's different from committing to it as a principle when those who are oppressing are not committing to that principle. All right. I believe Malcolm was actually right in that regard. All right.
Why Allah says when Medina either assawoman, buddy homie and Basilan, above you, homie, unpossible, those who when they are struck with oppression, they defend themselves. And this is what he says. He says, what does that say he didn't say to mythical her, Southern Africa will have a Jew who Allah in the hula, you're humbled by the mean. And a lot then goes on to say, and the retribution for an evil act is an evil one like it, the retribution for an evil act is an evil one like it, but whoever parties and instead makes reconciliation, then his reward is from Allah. Indeed, Allah does not love the oppressors. I'm gonna say that again. Allah says the retribution for evil is an act that is to
the exact measure an eye for an eye, but the one who pardons and who makes right and chooses reconciliation instead, let him then depend on a lot for the true reward. A lot does not like the wrongdoers. Now, what's the what's the what what happens sometimes when you set that standard of ehsaan what happens is that those who choose retribution sometimes are blamed and looked down upon which defeats the purpose. So what is the law? Go back to? What do you mean impossible abandon the good mihika, Ola Kamara, him and Sabine and those who avenge themselves when they are oppressed.
They have upon them no case for blame. You cannot fault the oppressed when they choose retribution. You can set a standard of alpha and sand pardon and reconciliation and beauty. But at the same time, don't fault the person who actually asked for their rights. Okay? And then this is what Allah says, In Nima subito, Allah Lavina The only moon and NASA We are the owner of the belated happy hula ecola Hamada. When this is so powerful, he says the blame should be upon those who who oppress people
and show tyranny upon the earth without rights. So basically shift the blame towards those who actually oppress, not those who asked for their rights to be fulfilled to them. What happens is that a lot of times
A person who is already oppressed is burdened
by being told, Let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go. And if they don't let it go, then they get the blame and stuff.
Okay. There's a saying that I think is very powerful. It's not a Hadeeth. It's not a thing. It's it was a it was a famous speech by Jesse Williams at some award show where he said, if you don't have an established critique of my oppression, you don't have a right to an opinion on my resistance. If you don't have an established critique of my oppression, you don't have a right to an opinion on my resistance. This is exactly how we should approach oppression.
You put the blame on the oppressor. You put the oppressed in a place where they truly have the right to retribution or to show a son an excellence. And then when they are truly in that position.
you promote virtue by saying, should you show benevolence, expect greater benevolence from Allah, God will show more mercy to you if you choose mercy in that regard, okay. And so it comes back to this idea once again.
No justice, no peace, you set the standard of added and then you move on to peace. We said that's restorative justice. Right? Now I want to and by the way, I'm going to attribute this Imam z check it actually in his book, scattered pictures. It gets called scatter pictures.
noms he, he has a book but this is actually a portion of the book where he actually writes about no justice, no peace. And he and he says somehow some of the scholars mentioned this. So he started he says the social aspect of Justice has been beautifully summarized by him and ought to be, he says discussing the relationship between two words that are usually translated as an added justice and a twist, which is distributive justice. distributive justice locust. locust means distributive justice. So when a law says obviously to Allah commands you with distributive justice, he says justice is the basis of all human relations, relations and the foundation of Islamic rule. And
that's why Allah says in the Quran in chapter 57, verse 25,
that Verily, We have sent our messengers with clear proofs. And we have revealed onto them the Scripture and the balance in order that they lead people with justice with this. Okay, so they lead people with distributive justice, and amendment Malati. May Allah have mercy on him, he continues as one of the things that reforms worldly affairs is the principle of distributive justice. It facilitates amicable relations between people and genders, obedience to divine law and brings about the prosperity of nations. It is the basis of a thriving economy, strong families and stable government. Nothing devastates the land nor corrupts the mind as quickly as tyranny. That is because
there are no acceptable limits to regulate tyranny. For this reason, even taymiyah may Allah have mercy on him sees the responsibilities of Islamic government emanating from a single verse in the Quran. So I've been Tamia said that the the duty of an Islamic government, if you will, or Islamic governance structure is what Allah says in certain Aesop, verse 58, that's chapter four, verse 58, God enjoins you and to add to the Ummah not that you deliver the Trust's to their rightful possessors, what either How come from being a nurse, and if you are called to judge between people and tech will be added that you judge with justice. So it starts off with distributive justice
before restorative justice. What that means is that the duty of a person that's in authority, or in a position of power, is to try to make sure that everyone is in a fair place first.
And then restoring justice comes within
taking things back to their original framework.
All right. This is why just to frame this in a very practical way or in a very contemporary way, it's unfair to talk about immigrants coming into the United States without talking about what the United States has done to the lens that those immigrants flee from.
You got to start off with what power did to those places and put people in horrible positions. It's unfair to expect the crime rate to be the exact same level with people in poverty. And people that are in the top 5%.
We In fact, do it the opposite. we punish heavier people that are poor and people that have that find themselves in difficult situations resort to crime, we punish them with a heavier hand right?
That's why the war on drugs goes after poor people's drugs.
Otherwise, if we were talking about the opioid crisis or narcotics, the police would be busting down doors in North Dallas all the time, but it's poor people's drugs and it's a heavier hand with poor people and punishing. It starts off with distributive justice. That's just, that's what alumni means when he says, this specific type of justice, then restorative justice, then once you restore justice, you encourage and promote virtue and benevolence.
Because if the whole world settled for an eye for an eye, then we'd all be blind, right? So you have to have a son promoted, virtue promoted, but the end of the day, without added, there can be no father. Without justice, there can be no benevolence, in the true sense without justice, there can be no true peace. The very word means Salam means free from injustice. So we ask a lot to grant us peace in our hearts, allow us to have calm serene, a heart that is free from defect, free from any fatal flaw, and to allow us to be instruments of justice and instruments of axon of peace We ask Allah never allows to be in the camp of those who oppress or who are wrong, or show injustice,
either by our actions or by enabling someone else in the state of