40 Hadiths on Social Justice
1 / 41
Hadith #1 - The Gravity of Injustice
Sh. Omar Suleiman discusses the gravity of injustice by breaking down types of oppression and the punishment of oppressors on the Day of Judgment.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Or how much does your position in a society matter in regards to this hadith. So you'll hear a hadith that you know already, but inshallah we'll extract an actual program from these hadith inshallah ta'ala. So I'm excited to start off inshallah ta'ala. And with that we're going to go ahead and get started. So this is the first week, and I actually want us to start off with a quote. It's a quote that I really like. It's actually by a Shi'i author. It's just really well worded about the concept of justice in Islam. His name is Sayyid Ja'far Raza. He wrote a book called The Essence of Islam. And he wrote, if I am asked to summarize the nature of Islam and principles of Islam in just one word, I would say justice. Islam is synonymous with justice. Justice to creator by having faith in him and by obeying his injunctions and mandate, as he is justice. Justice to the Prophet of God, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, by following him as he represents the authority of God on earth. Justice to oneself by keeping it secure from sinfulness and egotism. Justice to body by keeping it healthy and free from undue exertion and illness. Justice to the soul by keeping it pure with piety. Justice in the matrimonial sphere. Justice to parents as they have been instrumental in gifting our existence. Justice to the spouse who shares the burden of leading a family life. Justice to the offspring as they are the extensions of our own life by motivating them to take the right direction in life. Justice to our neighbors by sharing with them in their moments of trial. Justice to the sick by assisting them in restoring their health. Justice to the downtrodden and the poor by supplementing their basic needs. Justice to the motherland by enjoying the fragrance of its soul, by loving and promoting its prosperity and by being ready to sacrifice for it. Justice to the entire humanity by contributing to its development. Justice to knowledge by making it reach far and wide.
By enabling mankind to enjoy its fruits without discrimination. Justice, therefore, is the foundation of Islamic principles and occupies a place next to the oneness of God. This is a beautiful paragraph in my mind because it really covers the wholesome look at justice. Because justice in Islam encompasses everything that we do. Justice with our Creator, justice with ourselves, and then justice with everyone else. And then how you distribute that justice or balance out that justice is also comprehensively spelled out in our faith. So what we're going to do is there are 40 hadiths and the hashtag for this class is 40onjustice. So I'd love for you guys to actually share your reflections as we go along. Hashtag 40, the number 40 on justice. And just like with the Arba'een of a Nawawi, not that I'm comparing myself to Imam Nawawi, rahim Allah, or anyone else that ever compiled a Arba'een in the past, the 40 hadith collection in the past. Number one, it doesn't technically have to be 40. So it could go 42, 43, 44. We'll see how it goes, inshallah. The other thing is that one hadith simply sets the tone for the discussion. But we're actually going to cover like 20 hadiths each week. So it's one hadith that sets the tone. And the system of Imam Nawawi, rahim Allah, and our great scholars in our tradition was to choose the most powerful hadith to highlight that point, and then to go with all of the supplemental hadith. So the first chapter or the first subject we're going to cover is the gravity of social injustice. The gravity of social injustice. And it's based on a hadith, wa'an abidhar radiallahu ta'ala anhu, an-nabi salallahu alayhi wa sallam, feema yarweehi an-rabbi. So it's a hadith Qudsi, which is obviously of the strongest forms of hadith, narrated in Sahih Muslim that Abu Dharr says, on behalf of the Prophet, peace be upon him, who narrates from his Lord.
So a hadith Qudsi is a hadith that the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, narrates words from his Lord, not verbatim, but a message from his Lord. So Allah says, or Allah has said, these are hadith Qudsi. So feema yarweehi an-rabbi, from that which he narrated from his Lord, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, qal yaa ibadih, he said, O my servants, inni harramtul dhulma ala nafsi. I have prohibited, forbidden, oppression for myself. Inni harramtul dhulma ala nafsi, wa ja'altuhu baynakum muharrama, and I made it forbidden between you. Fala tadhalamu, so do not oppress one another. So again the hadith is, O my slaves, I have made oppression forbidden for me. I have forbidden oppression for myself. And I have made it forbidden amongst you. Fala tadhalamu, so do not oppress one another. Imam Ahmed, rahimahullah, said, this is the most noble hadith that was ever narrated by the people of Ash-Sham. Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, is all part of Ash-Sham. He said this is the most noble hadith to come from Ash-Sham. And he says that the scholars, when they used to narrate this hadith, some of them would narrate it while they were on their knees, as a means of showing humility. And this was actually narrated that Abu Idrees Al-Khawlani, rahimahullah, the great tabi'i, narrated this hadith while he was on his knees, as a means of demonstrating brokenness in the sight of God, vulnerability in the sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So it's an extremely powerful hadith. The justice and humility that it demands echoed throughout the centuries of Islam. So it sets a paradigm of God being so good to you, so you best be good with each other. God is so good with you, so you should be good with one another. And we take many lessons from this hadith.
Number one, if anyone was to have the right to wrong, it would be Allah. No one limits him, no one sets restrictions for him. He is infinite in his power subhanahu wa ta'ala. And no one has the right to wrong, or no one would have the right to wrong except for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And Allah from himself, and Imam bin Taymiyyah, rahimahullah, makes a point to say this. He said, it's not like Allah can't be a zalim, he can't be an oppressor. Who would stop Allah if he was to be an oppressor? Who would tell him that you can't do that? He said that it's that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala chooses mercy. He chooses not to oppress. He chooses to make that forbidden for himself. But he has the full ability. He said it would be like someone who is blind saying that I choose, or I have forbidden looking at things that are haram. The ability, Ibn Taymiyyah uses that example to say Allah has the ability, but Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forbids himself from doing so, from wronging anybody else. He does not even wrong the worst human being in the world. Think about that. Allah will not wrong the Pharaoh. Allah won't wrong Fir'aun. Allah will not wrong Shaytan. Allah will only punish them to what they deserve. Another thing that Imam bin Taymiyyah, rahimahullah, mentions here is that there are only two things that we see that Allah has mandated on himself. One to do, and one not to do. One to do, inna Allah wa malaikatahu yusalluna ala nabiyy. That Allah and His angels send their peace and blessings upon the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam. O you who believe, send your prayers and your peace and your blessings upon the Messenger salallahu alayhi wa sallam. So Allah mandated that on himself to say, and it's the same equation here.
How can you not send salawats on your Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam? How can you feel independent of doing salawat, of sending prayers and peace upon the Messenger salallahu alayhi wa sallam, when Allah sends peace and blessings on the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, and the angels send their peace and blessings upon the Messenger salallahu alayhi wa sallam. So it's to put things in perspective for you. It's not just to make a statement. It's to say, who are you to not send salawat if Allah and the angels send their salawat? And then here, Allah forbids something for himself, which is, I have forbidden oppression for myself, and I have made it forbidden between you. Meaning, if I have forbidden it for myself, who are you to think that you can oppress? And the scholars mention here two ayahs which really put this in perspective. Allah says in Surah Qaaf, verse 29, وَمَا أَنَا بِظَلَّا مِنِ الْعَبِيدِ And I will not wrong any of My servants, any of My slaves. Allah does not oppress any of His slaves. Then Allah says in Surah Ghafir, وَمَا اللَّهُ يُرِيدُ ظُلْمًا لِلْعَبِيدِ And Allah does not want oppression for His slaves. So it's not only that Allah does not wrong or oppress any of His slaves. Allah says He does not want any of His slaves to be wronged. Ibn Rajab says, there are three approaches to any situation. Grace, justice, and transgression. There are three approaches to any situation. You could show grace, you could show justice, and you could show transgression. Allah denies Himself transgression. So Allah doesn't do dhulm. Transgression is never in Allah's actions or His attributes, even with the worst of His creation. So Allah denies Himself dhulm.
As for al-adl, as for justice, Allah only uses it when necessary. Allah only uses it when necessary. And as for grace, that is what Allah loves. So there are three. Dhulm, as for transgression, Allah denies it for Himself. As for justice, Allah shows it when it's necessary. Jaza'an wifaqa, on the Day of Judgment, those who will be dealt with punishment are dealt with complete justice. It's not transgression. There's not an extra moment of punishment. They will get exactly what they deserve. And then, as for grace, jaza'a min rabbika a'ta'an hisaaba, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives extra grace to the believer and to those that are righteous. And so on the Day of Judgment, you are either dealt with one of two options. You're dealt with Allah's grace or you're dealt with His justice. Dhulm is completely out of the picture. And on the Day of Judgment, Allah says, la dhulm al-yawm. The first rule of the Day of Judgment is no transgression will take place here. That means Allah will not wrong you. He will not allow you to be wronged on the Day of Judgment. And He will not allow the wrongdoing that was done to you in this world to be forgotten. Meaning there will be a rectification process for that. So la dhulm al-yawm has all three of those connotations. The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam says in a hadith that's narrated in Abu Dawood, lau anna allaha a'adhaba ahla samawatihi wa ahla ardihi la a'adhabahum wa huwa ghayru dhalimin lahum. walau rahimahum la kanaat rahmatuhu khayran lahum min a'malihim. The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam says if Allah was to punish all of the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, then He would punish them without being unjust to them. And if Allah shows mercy to them, then His mercy is always better than their deeds. What does this mean? Again, think of the three options. Justice, grace, and transgression.
So the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam says Allah removes dhulm. Dhulm is not there. As for the first sentence, the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam said if Allah punished everyone, lau anna allaha a'adhaba ahla samawatihi wa ahla ardihi, if Allah punished all of the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, then He would not be wronging them. Why? Because there is no way that you can match what He does for you. So it would not be a transgression if you think about it from the perspective of what He gives you and what He asks of you. But the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam said He doesn't do that. And Allah says as for His mercy, walaw rahimahum, if Allah showed mercy to them, lakanat rahmatuhu khayran lahum min a'malihim, then His mercy is certainly better for them than their good deeds. What that means is, if you were to be the most righteous person in the world, and you were to bring that on the Day of Judgment, but Allah has chosen to show mercy and grace to you, there is no way that your good deeds will be equivalent to His grace. So that's for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Now what does the word dhulm mean? What does the word oppression mean in the Arabic language and what can we actually take from it? Dhulm, the technical meaning of injustice in the Arabic language and in Islam, is to misplace rights. It's literally, wadu' ash-shay fee ghayri mawdi'i, to put something in a place that it does not belong. And that can be done through one of two ways. So dhulm is two types. Either excessive harm, so going too far, or withholding too much, an naqs, deficiency. Withholding too much. So when we think of dhulm, we think of a ta'adi, we think of someone going too far, wronging someone by going too far in an argument or in a dispute, or whatever it may be. But it's also dhulm, for example,
if you don't fulfill your obligations to someone that Allah mandated that you do so. So if a person does not treat their spouse properly, that's a form of dhulm. If a person withholds a right from their spouse, it's a form of dhulm. Even if there's no screaming and there's no fighting and there's no yelling, it's still dhulm. To not give that compassion, that love, what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mandated from you in terms of tangible, legal, assigned rights, that is dhulm. It's also a form of naqs, deficiency. So that's the meaning of dhulm linguistically. What is the greatest form of dhulm? The greatest form of oppression? The greatest transgression? To associate a partner with Allah. Inna ash-shirka la dhulmun azeem. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions in Surah Luqman that associating a partner with God is a great transgression. Now why is that? I want you to connect the linguistic meaning with the technical meaning here. Because the right of Allah is to be worshipped. It's the right of Allah. He created you so it's His right to be worshipped. To worship besides Him is to put the khalq in the place of the khalaq, to put a creation in the place of the Creator. So to assign your worship improperly or to assign your obedience improperly. So that's the theological definition. So when the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam was asked, it's actually quite profound, he was asked, what is the greatest sin? He said, anta ja'ala lillahi niddan wa huwa khalaqa. That you would assign a partner with Allah and He's the one who created you. Look at the way he worded it, salallahu alayhi wa sallam. It's in a hadith in Ibn Hibban. That you would assign a partner with God and He's the one who created you. So you're not properly giving the right of God upon you. So there are two types of dhulm here when we branch it out, technically.
There's transgression against yourself, dhulm against oneself. So every time you sin, you're committing a form of transgression. You're oppressing yourself. Because you are not giving yourself its right upon you. So that's a form of transgression. And then there's transgression against others. That's the second one. That's how you see how injustice sort of covers everything. And then justice is involved, is deeply embedded in every concept in our theology. So let's look at the hadith now. What's the function of Allah saying, yaa ibadih, O my slaves. Yaa ibadih. What do you think the function of that is? What does that do to you right away? It puts in perspective what? Your relationship with Allah. Because if you don't properly understand the reality of your relationship with God, then you can't properly understand your relationship with society. So before we even go to the other forms of dhulm, start off with your relationship with God on a personal level. From a spiritual development, you need to understand the reality of your relationship with your Creator. Yaa ibadih, O my slaves. So you automatically are placed in a mindset. That's number one. Number two, Allah addresses you with admonishments. But when Allah admonishes, He admonishes you in a loving way. So Allah does not insult you, and say, don't wrong someone. Or don't do this. Allah calls you with compassion, with love. Why? Because the one who is oppressing someone else is losing that spirit of love, that spirit of mahabba, that spirit of compassion. You're dealing with someone else outside of your natural fitrah, your natural disposition,
which is one of mercy and kindness and compassion. So by Allah addressing you in that fashion, it should humble you. That look how Allah is addressing me, how can I then address someone else with such cruelty and harshness? So Ibn Rajab says that it's to put you in that place of compassion. Understand the way Allah is admonishing you. Meaning, if you were to admonish someone harshly for being harsh, then you're really not solving the problem. You're probably going to make them harsher as soon as they get out of your power and your control. But instead to speak to someone lovingly, meaning I want good for you. This is a form of compassion. It's the way we give nasiha, advice to one another as well. Ya ibadi, O my dear slaves, Allah ascribes us to Him. So that's number two. Number three, Allah is telling you I did not create you for this. By reminding you that you are His slave, you are His worshipper, that you were sent to this earth to serve His purpose, wa ma khalaqtul jinna wal ins illa liya'budoon, I did not create human beings or jinn except to worship Me in a wholesome way. By reminding you of that, Allah is reminding you of your purpose. So number three is Allah is telling you I did not create you for this. I did not create you to show harshness or injustice to someone else. Number four, by Allah telling you, ya ibadi, O my slaves, O my dear slaves, Allah is also telling you who gave you the authority to act like a master. Who do you think you are to act like a jabbar, someone who has power on this earth? You don't have power. Remember on the Day of Judgment, the first thing Allah would call out, ana al malik, I am the king, I am the king. Where are the kings of this world? Where are the jababila, where are those people that used to claim power in this earth? Where are those that thought they were sovereign?
So Allah is putting you back in your place by saying who do you think you are or who gave you the authority to act like a master. Now if you don't have authority, number five, these are all lessons that the scholars extract just from this word, number five, if you don't have authority, who gave you the permission to wrong someone else? You are a slave of God, he or she is a slave of God. What makes you think you have the authority to wrong others? Or oppress that slave of God? Right? So Allah is saying to you, who gave you that permission? Number six, the scholars say it denotes ingratitude on the part of the slave. How ungrateful are you that with all the blessings I've given to you and all the power I've given to you, for you to even be able to oppress someone else, you use the blessings that I gave you to put someone else down or to hurt somebody else? Think about that. Allah gave it to you, Allah put you in that position. You have to be in a certain position to wrong someone, otherwise you wouldn't be able to wrong them. So how ungrateful are you to use what I've given you for good for evil? Right? So it's Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reminding us of his blessings. And the last thing that the scholars say, that's number seven, right? I give you guys six or five? Those of you taking notes. Six, alright. Number seven, and this is beautiful. Allah did not say, Ya ma'shar al-muslimin, O Muslims. Ya ayyuhal-ladhina amanu, O believers. Allah said, O my slaves, which denotes the Muslim and the non-Muslim. This is for all of mankind. Allah is calling upon all of mankind. Like when Allah says in the Quran, Ya ayyuhal-nas, O people. All of mankind. It's interesting because many of the scholars pointed out that if you look at most of the ayat in the Quran that are
Ya ayyuhal-nas, that are O people, they somehow involve the rights of people. Right? So O people, remember that they're people too. That's also a function. Remember that they're just like you. They are people and you are people. So this is a call for Muslims, for non-Muslims, for all of mankind. So what are the consequences? Again, the severity or the gravity of injustice. The first two consequences that some of the ascetics of our tradition pointed out, your entire ask of Allah is negated by your dhulm, is negated by your transgression. What does that mean? What are you asking Allah for in this world? What do you want from Allah? Sorry, you guys can answer. Guidance, grace. Guidance and grace. So at the end of Surah al-Fatiha, what's your ask of Allah? Ihdina al-sirata al-mustaqeem, sirata alladhina na'amta alayhim, ghayri al-maghdoobi alayhim, walad dhaleem. Do not let us be amongst those who have earned your wrath, nor those who have gone astray. Both of those are negated by transgression. Why? Because Allah says, so ghayri al-maghdoobi alayhim, don't make us amongst those who have earned your anger. Allah says in the Quran, wallahu la yuhibbu al-dhalimeen. Allah does not love the oppressors. So you sacrifice the mahabba, the love of God by oppressing someone else. You can say to yourself, but I didn't do anything to Allah. You can't do anything to Allah. But you have sacrificed the love of Allah by mistreating His creation. So you lose ghayri al-maghdoobi alayhim, you've negated that ask. Walad dhaleem, and not to make us from those who are misguided, Allah says in the Quran, wallahu la yahdi al-qawma al-dhalimeen. Allah will not guide an oppressive people. The oppressor will not
be guided. What that means is that oppression serves as a veil between him and guidance from Allah. You know when people are in the state of oppression, they act like devils. They don't act human. SubhanAllah, they become so. It's amazing the capacity of love that we have as people, and it's amazing the capacity of cruelty that we have as people. That zulm forms such a shell on a person's heart that you've lost the love of Allah upon you, and you don't have the capacity to receive guidance. It serves as a barrier between you and guidance. So both of the asks that you have of Allah are negated. Both of them are gone. The next thing that we see that the scholars point out about this hadith is that the first part of the hadith is general. Ya ibadi, O my slaves. The second part is very specific here. Do not wrong one another. Do not wrong one another. So Allah is particularly addressing with this hadith not wronging one another as people, as human beings. And again, this is a message to all people. So let's go through again what is the gravity of injustice, what are some of the punishments of injustice. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says, Ittaqul dhulm, fear oppression. Fa inna dhulma dhulumatun yawm al qiyama, because oppression is darkness upon darkness upon darkness on the day of judgment. Dhulumat would be darknesses, but that's not actually an English word, at least not to my knowledge. They added some words recently because of our new president. So like post-truth is now in the dictionary. That didn't used to be a word now. Post-truth is actually in the dictionary now. So alternative facts too, that's actually in the dictionary now. I don't know about that one yet, but post-truth was actually added to the English language because of our president who speaks like a fourth grader. No offense to the fourth graders. But anyway, so dhulm, dhulumat is
darknesses. So the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam used the same words, dhulm, dhulumat. So dhulm, linguistically, the word oppression has darkness in it. It is darkness. Some of the scholars of linguistics, of language, they said that when a person commits oppression, he darkens his heart. So there's a connection between the words. So fear dhulm, fear oppression because it is darkness upon darkness upon darkness on the day of judgment. And Allah says, waqad khaaba man hamala dhulma. Allah says on the day of judgment in Surah Taha that anyone who carries oppression has lost. They will fail. They will fail on the day of judgment. Now, so we get this idea of loss on the day of judgment, which is the ultimate loss, right? What will the day of judgment look like for a dhalim? What will the day of judgment look like for the oppressor to understand the gravity? The very first thing that the people will see on the day of judgment, as the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam mentions, as they're standing, the way the proceedings of the day of judgment start is that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala would bring the animals forward and Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala would solve issues of injustice amongst animals. So much so that the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, the horned goat that attacked the one that did not have horns will have its retribution. So you would sit there and you would watch. And the effect of that, as you're standing there on the day of judgment and you're watching even the disputes amongst animals being resolved, if you are a dhalim, if you're an oppressor who hurt people, what are you thinking? Where do I stand? So if these animals are even having dhulm worked out amongst them, because the first rule is la dhulm al yawm, then where do I stand? Ya laytani kuntu turaba. So the
disbeliever would say, I wish I was dust. I wish I would be reduced to dust like the animals after their retribution is done. So you immediately are put in that mindset. The Messenger Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says, this is a hadith that's narrated by Safwan RadhiAllahu Ta'ala Anhu, that Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says, ala man dhalama muahidan. Verily he who wrongs a non-Muslim that we have a treaty with or that is under our protection. So a non-Muslim that we have a covenant with or that's under our protection. So it's talking about the scholars say ahlul dhimma, people that live under Muslim territories or in Muslim territories or non-Muslims that had a treaty with the Muslims. There was no war between us and them. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says, whoever wrongs a muahid, someone who has that ahd, someone who has that covenant, or the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, or he diminishes his rights. Aw kallafahu fawqa taqatihi. Or he over burdens him beyond his capacity. So he harms him, he diminishes his right. Remember he holds back his right. Or he forces him to work beyond his capacity. Aw akhatha minhu shay'an bi ghayri qeebi nafs. Or he takes something away from him without his consent. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says, fa ana hajijuhu yawm al qiyama. I will be his prosecutor on the day of judgment. There are many lessons we take from that. Number one, that the one who's being wrong, their standing in the sight of Allah is irrelevant to the question of dhulm, irrelevant to the question of oppression. This is talking about a Muslim oppressing a non-Muslim. So faith and theology don't matter here. You oppressed someone that you did not have the right to oppress. The gravity of this that we take from it, what is everyone on the day of judgment hoping for from the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam? His shafa'a,
his intercession. Everyone's hoping for his intercession. Can you imagine the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam standing in front of you, hajijuhu, as his prosecutor, as his prosecutor and prosecuting that person? You know, the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam arguing to Allah about why you should be punished. Now here's the thing, you might think to yourself, well this is talking about ahlul dhimmah, that doesn't exist anymore. No. The scholars say this is talking about any person that you did not have the right to wrong. So think about a Muslim, a non-Muslim, regardless, irrespective of that person's faith that they're standing before Allah, you did not have a right to wrong that person. Your hajij, your prosecutor on the day of judgment will be none other than the Messenger Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. So what then are your chances of making jannah, right, or making it to jannah? So there's another narration where the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says from Abdullah ibn Amir, ibn al-'As radiallahu anhu, he says, man qatala nafsan mu'ahada, so whoever kills a mu'ahad, a person who is protected by the Muslims, a non-Muslim that we have a treaty with or who is protected. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, lam yarah ra'ihat al-jannah, he will not smell the fragrance of paradise, wa inna reehaha yujadu min masirati arba'een a'ama. He said that the smell of paradise is so strong that it could be smelled from 40 years away, a distance of a journey of 40 years away. So it distances you from jannah. The one thing we're pursuing on the day of judgment, the shafa'ah of the Messenger Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, his intercession, instead you have the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam as a prosecutor. Now what methodology can we derive from this? Allah says, wa la yajni mannakum shana'an wa qawmin ala alla ta'dilun. Even if you hate someone, and it could be a righteous reason, so you hate someone for a good reason, do not let that lead you to wrong that person. Wa la yajni mannakum shana'an wa qawmin ala alla ta'dilun. Ibn al-Qayyim says this is the strongest verse in the Quran
about justice. Because it's not talking about your family, it's not talking about Muslim, non-Muslim, righteous person, not righteous person, it's talking about someone that you hate, someone that you despise, do not let that lead you to oppress them, or to be unjust with them. I'dilu huwa aqrabu littaqwa. Be just that is closer to piety, wa taqwa Allah. And be mindful of Allah. Inna Allaha khabirun bima ta'malun. Allah is well aware of that which you do. And Allah says, inna Allaha yuhibbu al-muqsateen. Allah loves those who act justly, so the opposite. So what does Allah do with this ayah? He takes you back to thinking about him instead of thinking about the person. Wa la yajni mannakum shana'an nukawmun ala alla ta'dilu. Don't let your hatred of a person make you wrong them. Then Allah says, i'dilu, be just and remember Allah. Be mindful of Allah. Take it back to Allah. Not because that person deserves your kindness, but because you want Allah to deal with you in such a way. Right? So Allah shifts you away from them. Now back to this idea that the one you're wronging, it doesn't matter what position they have. The Messenger salallahu alayhi wasalam, so a lot of people hear this hadith, but here's the context of the hadith. This is in al-Bukhari, that when the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam sent Mu'adh ibn Jabal radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu to govern over Yemen. So he's sending Mu'adh to be the governor of Yemen. Yemen has Muslims, Yemen has non-Muslims. Yemen is actually a very diverse place at the time, because it was a Persian client kingdom. So they had Majus, they had Zoroastrians, they had Christians from the time that the Abyssinian king was able to take it over, so it was a very diverse place theologically, right? Many people. The Messenger salallahu alayhi wasalam said to Mu'adh radiyaAllahu anhu, ittaqi da'wat al-madhloum, fear the supplication of the oppressed. Fa innaha laysa baynaha wa bayna Allahi hijab. There is no veil, no screen between that invocation and Allah. Wa in kana
kafira, even if the one who's making that supplication is a disbeliever. So what that means is, what's implicit in this hadith, once again, is that if a non-Muslim makes dua against Mu'adh ibn Jabal, the governor of Yemen, the great companion of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam, and he has a right or she has a right, they were actually wrong, that dua would be accepted against Mu'adh. Right? So to show you the way that Allah takes up the cause of the oppressed. The Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said in another hadith that there are three people whose duas are never, their supplications are never turned away. He said salallahu alayhi wasalam, as-saimu hatta yuftir, the fasting person until they break their fast. Wa al-imamu al-adil, and the just ruler. Wa da'watu al-madhloum, yarfa'u hal-laahu fawqa al-ghamam. And as for the supplication of the oppressed, Allah raises it above the skies. Wa yuftahu laha abwabas samaa, and Allah opens the gates of paradise for it. Wa yaqulu al-rab, and Allah says to the dua, wa-izzati wa jalali la ansurannaki walaw ba'daheen, by my might and my glory I shall surely support you even if it's after a while. So look at even the way that Allah takes the dua of the one who has been wronged. Right? And the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said fear that. Fear the dua of the one that you wrong. Fear the dua of the one that you oppress. Because Allah takes it that seriously that even the wording that it goes above the heavens, and Allah opens the gates, and Allah speaks to that dua and says I swear by my might and my glory I won't let you down. I will answer your dua even if it's after a while. So if that's the gravity of injustice or the burden of injustice to the person that you've harmed, how much should we fear injustice? And who is exempt
from fearing it? And this is where we come to the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam, Umm Salama radiyaAllahu anha. She says that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam did not leave his home, not once. She says the word qa't, he never left his home. Except that, illa rafa'a tarfahu ila al-sama'a, he looked up to the sky. So the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam every time he left his home, he raised his eyes to the heavens. Fa qal, Allahumma inni a'udhu bika an adhilla aw udhal, aw azilla aw uzal, aw adhlima aw uzlam, aw ajhala aw yujhala alayhi. He said salallahu alayhi wasalam, Allahumma inni a'udhu bika an adhilla aw udhal. Oh Allah I seek refuge in you from being astray or leading someone else astray. Aw azilla aw uzal, or that I would slip or make someone else slip. So I would fall off or I would cause someone else to fall off that path. And the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said aw adhlima aw uzlam, or that I would wrong someone or that I would be wronged. That I would oppress or I would suffer oppression. Or the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam says aw ajhala aw yujhala alayhi, or that I would do wrong or have wrong done to me. So the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam is giving us these four things. And this is the reason why the scholars say that this is important to mention here from the gravity of injustice that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam feared it so much that every time he left his home he asked Allah to protect him from it. And if he himself salallahu alayhi wasalam was so afraid of causing injustice to someone, where does that leave us? Right? And that's why you might remember there's the famous incident where the Messenger salallahu alayhi wasalam, he saw a young man laughing. And he poked him salallahu alayhi wasalam with his stick. And one narration suggests this is the Battle of Badr, so like it's a serious time right now, you need to get in your line and you need to be serious right now. And
the young man said to the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam, Ya Rasulullah, you harm me. I want my revenge. The Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam did not say, do you know who I am? I'm the Messenger of God. We've got the Battle of Badr to worry about. I don't have time for your silly pranks right now. Did he dismiss him salallahu alayhi wasalam? No, just the thought of someone saying to him that you wronged me, I want my revenge. The Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam presented his stomach to him and he said, poke me back. Take your revenge. He said salallahu alayhi wasalam, Ya Rasulullah, innana alayka qamees. You're wearing a shirt and I wasn't wearing a shirt, so when you poked me it was on bare skin, but you're wearing a shirt. So the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam actually raised his shirt and he said, poke me. And instead the young man hugged him and he kissed the abdomen of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam and he said, innama arattu hadha Ya Rasulullah, that's all I wanted from you, O Messenger of Allah. But the idea that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam was so afraid that even in that most serious moment he stopped everything to do that. Because the thought of someone saying to him, you wronged me, was that severe to him. Uthman radiallahu anhu, when he was 85 years old, 85 years old, imagine an 85 year old man, and he pinched the ear of a young boy. And he felt bad, it was about doing it, so he told him, go ahead and pinch mine. I mean can you imagine a young boy, and he was the khalifa at the time, the elderly khalifa. This noble man, the one that even the angels are shy of, like what kind of young boy would actually do that? And the boy said no, Uthman radiallahu anhu put his hand on his ear, he said go ahead and do it, he says, fa inna qisasat dunya ahwano min qisasat al-akhirah. Because the payback of this world is a lot easier than the payback in the hereafter. See that, the gravity of injustice on the Day of Judgment that they held in their minds, that actively played a role in their lives.
I would rather have this payback in this life than have it in the next life. So go ahead and do it. So because the sahaba operated with that in mind, because they had that constantly operating in mind, then they hated to wrong anybody. So it starts off with them. And I want to end with this concept, because this is a very profound thought. Sheikh Hussain Taimiyyah rahimahullah, he says that the people's well-being in this world is attained through justice even when they have personal sins that coexist with it. Meaning they treat others well, they show justice to others, and they might have some personal sins that coexist with it. He said that person is more likely to find well-being in this world than someone who takes another person's rights even if they have no personal sins to coexist with them. That that person is more likely to be in a better situation. He said, for this reason, it is said that Allah will uphold a just nation even if it were a disbelieving nation, and Allah would destroy an unjust nation even if it was a believing nation. Dr. Sherman Jackson did that invocation at the DNC this year. I thought it was hilarious to see everyone at the Democratic National Convention applauding a statement from Ibn Taimiyyah. I was like, that's hilarious. That's awesome. Because he quoted this, he didn't say Ibn Taimiyyah, but he quoted it. That God upholds a just nation even if it's a disbelieving nation, and God destroys a nation, an unjust nation, even if it's a Muslim, a believing nation. He said that in this world, people would thrive under justice and disbelief, but they would not thrive under injustice and Islam. That's powerful. That's really, really powerful. To think about it at a community level, at a societal level. The people in this world at least, they would thrive with justice even if they have disbelief,
and they would fail with Islam if they have injustice. That's a powerful statement. And Ibn al-Qayyim, rahimahullah, commented, he's his student, he said that every time Allah mentions the destruction of a town in the Quran, he mentions, ahlaknahum lamma zalamu. Allah destroyed them when they oppressed, when they transgressed, when they became aggressive with their prophets, when they became aggressive with the believers and started to harm them and indulged in oppression and transgression. So it was not simply their disbelief, it was something else coupled with that. It was the actions that came with that disbelief. So how do we properly understand this? How does this make sense to us? Because I said in the beginning of this class that the greatest injustice is what? Shirk. If the greatest injustice, the greatest injustice, and I hope it's not too late for you guys to actually let this settle in, if the greatest injustice is to worship someone besides God because God has the greatest right upon you, then how can it be rationalized, how can it be rationalized that Allah would forego his rights and put people in well-being so long as they fulfill the rights of others? How do we rationalize that? On top of that, by the way, this is a maxim in Islam. This is a qa'ida, not al-qa'ida by the way, just so you got it. This is a fiqhi maxim, a principle in Islam. Itha ta'arada, if the right of the creation and the right of the creator are in conflict, fulfill the right of the creation. That sounds off, but it's an agreed upon principle in Islam. If the right of the creation and the right of the creator are in conflict, fulfill the right of the abd, the right of the slave, both personally and to others. So personally, if the day of Ramadan comes and you're sick, which right takes precedence? Your body's right upon you or Allah's right upon you? Your body. Break your fast. Get healthy. You can make up your fast later.
And as far as people are concerned, if you owe someone money, if there's a debt that you owe to someone, I'm just talking about the fiqhi application of this, the way that we apply this in jurisprudence, in fiqh. If you owe someone money and hajj comes upon you, hajj is a debt that you owe to Allah, right? Do you pay off the debt or do you go to hajj first? Pay off the debt. The debt is more important to be paid off, unless your debtor gives you permission or it's a rotating debtor where you're paying a monthly debt. But otherwise, if a debt is due upon you and hajj is there, you should pay off the debt first. If the right of the person is in conflict with the right of the creator, then you prefer the right of the creation. That sounds really shady, right? It sounds like, how can you be saying this, right? How can you be making that, how can you be saying something like that? Because isn't Allah the greatest? Doesn't Allah have the greatest right to be worshipped? Yes. But there are three ways that the scholars resolve this, okay? Firstly, they say that Allah is most merciful and in His mercy, Allah delays and delays and delays His punishment. So if a person is doing something, if a person is not fulfilling their obligation to Allah, Allah continues to grant them respite and calls them back to Him until their moment of death. So the urgency of tawbah is there, but Allah's mercy is that Allah grants him that respite until the moment of his death. So that's the grace of Allah, that Allah gives you an opportunity over and over and over again in life to repent. And the second thing that the scholars say is that Allah does not need His rights, but the slaves of Allah need theirs. Allah is independent. He does not need His rights, but the slaves of God need their rights, okay?
And that's His mercy encompassed within the scope of legislation in a legal manifestation, so which we mentioned with the debt, for example. Allah doesn't need your hajj, but a person needs their money back, right? You owe that person money, they need their money back. So Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la does not need anything from anyone, but people are in need. So Allah forgoes His rights. Thirdly, and this is the most powerful, who gave rights to people? Allah. So when you take the rights of people, it's a compound offense, because it's Allah who gave them that right. So you're not just wronging them, you're disobeying Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la. Allah honored them, and you disgraced them. Allah provided for them, and you take away from them. So it's compounded in its gravity, because it involves both the person and Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la. So that's why on the Day of Judgment, and this is the last point, it really is, I'm serious about it. That's why on the Day of Judgment, good deeds that are done for Allah, good deeds that are done for Allah, sincerely for Allah, your salah, your salah. What would happen to your salah if you wronged somebody? It disappears, it evaporates. The hadith of the bankrupt one, the muflis, he shows up on the Day of Judgment with his salah, with his charity, prayers, fasting, everything. It's not that people are more important than prayer or charity or fasting, but the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says he comes with all of those good deeds, wa lakin sabbah hatha, wa shatama hatha, wa dharabah hatha, wa khtabah hatha, he cursed this person, he backbited this person, he hit this person, all of these things, all of those people start to take his deeds away. So you think about that. Your good deeds that were done just for the sake of Allah are taken away by other people because of your wronging them.
So they would disappear because of your wronging towards them, which is why al-Shafi'i said, tuba li man mata wa matat ma'ahu dhunuba. Glad tidings to the one who passes away in this world and their sins die with them. They have not left behind harm that they've done to someone else or a person that would make dua against them or debts and so on and so forth. Tuba li man mata wa matat ma'ahu dhunuba. And Sufyan al-Thawri says, I wish that on the Day of Judgment the only one I had to deal with is Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. If it was only Allah that I had to deal with on the Day of Judgment, I would feel very confident, very comfortable. But what about the people, an-nas, the people that I've wronged, the people that I've held back from, the people that I took from or withheld from, all of these things, what about the people that I harmed with my tongue or my hand? The gravity of injustice, right? And that's the point here that we take from this hadith. May Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us. May Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala save us and protect us from dhulm. Now the practical manifestation, by the way, just because I see you all looking hopeless and I'm sure that everyone behind the camera is hopeless, the practical manifestation is that you are always operating the way the companions operated. So with the position of grace because you desire the grace of God. All right? So you're always operating like they operate. Ask Allah to protect you, like the Prophet Sallallahu alaihi wasallam used to actively make du'a every day to be protected from dhulm. And do not consciously wrong someone else. So try your best to stay out of it. May Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us. May Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to have success in this class. I hope you guys are going to come back. It's like, man, I'm never doing this injustice thing again. This is to build the methodology. So the title of today's chapter was The Gravity of Injustice. This is The Gravity of Injustice. As you all know, inshallah ta'ala as well, this is just to say we just launched as well with Yaqeen Institute a two-week donation drive.
So I encourage you all inshallah to go to yaqeeninstitute.org slash donate inshallah to support Yaqeen. Use this hashtag, get the word out inshallah ta'ala for people to attend this class. Also make dua for Sister Naya who put together this amazing set. Make dua for the Valley Ranch Mezza Administration that's worked very hard to put this all together. Inshallah ta'ala as well, Sheikh Waleed Basyouni is going to be coming here this Friday, Saturday, Sunday to teach torchbearers inshallah. So it's a really good class on the Salaf, on the pious predecessors. You can find information on the outside. Inshallah ta'ala I'll see you all next week. Salam alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh.
Welcome back!
Bookmark content
Download resources easily
Manage your donations
Track your spiritual growth
1 items
1 items
1 items
25 items
50 items
9 items
