Fairness in Islam: Why Justice Matters Even With Your Enemies
One of the most beautiful examples of
fairness was shared with me by a man from the Levant. A young man in his town
went to propose to a man’s daughter. The girl’s father said to him, “My son,
whom should I ask about you?” He replied, “Ask anyone you wish except one man,
so-and-so. I have a dispute with him in court, and I fear that he may speak
badly of me.”
The girl’s father deliberately went to
that very man and said to him, “So-and-so has come to ask for my daughter’s
hand. What do you think of him?” The man replied, “I have a dispute with him,
but I will say nothing about him except the truth. He is a noble and generous
man. If he were to propose to one of our daughters, we would accept him.”
The girl’s father returned to the
young man and said, “You warned me about so-and-so, but I went to him and asked
him about you. He said nothing but good things about you. He said this and that
about you.” The young man was amazed by the man’s fairness, so he went to him
with gratitude and appreciation and said, “I have been told what you said about
me. This is a reflection of your noble character. By Allah, there will no
longer be any dispute between you and me. Come, let us forgive one another and
reconcile.”
Although a dispute may tempt a person
to act unjustly, as is the habit of many people, which the poet summed up by
saying:
The eye of contentment is blind to
every flaw,
But the eye of resentment reveals every fault.
Yet there are people who choose to
speak the truth, even when it is against themselves and even when it is bitter.
This is the essence of fairness.
Fairness means speaking the truth
even when it benefits your opponent, and giving them their material and moral
rights even when they disagree with you in opinion, religious interpretation,
or interests.
The Quranic Ethic of Fairness
Allah, Glorious and Exalted is He,
taught us this noble ethic in His saying: {O
believers! Stand firm for Allah and bear true testimony. Do not let the hatred
of a people lead you to injustice. Be just! That is closer to righteousness.
And be mindful of Allah. Surely Allah is All-Aware of what you do.} [Al-Ma’idah
5:8]
Upon reflecting on this noble verse,
we find that it contains a powerful call to fairness toward those who disagree
with us in several ways:
1.
It
begins with a call to draw the listeners’
attention to the importance of what they are about to hear.
2. It addresses them as believers to motivate them and encourage them to comply.
3. It uses an emphatic form of expression to stress the necessity of consistently upholding
justice and fairness under all circumstances.
4. It mentions the name of Allah and places
it at the forefront to fill hearts with awe.
Disagreement and resentment naturally stir hostility in people’s hearts and can
drive them toward injustice and aggression. Therefore, the context calls for a
warning strong enough to instill reverence in their hearts.
5. It emphasizes clearly that justice toward
those who disagree with us leads to righteousness, thereby encouraging people to uphold it.
6. It warns against injustice by reminding people of divine oversight
and of Allah’s knowledge of the smallest details of their actions and
circumstances.
There is therefore nothing religiously
or naturally wrong with human beings disagreeing with one another, whether they
are Muslims or non-Muslims. What is required, however, is that both sides
remain within the bounds of good conduct: with fairness, restraint in speech,
and restraint from harming others.
Fairness Versus Transgression in Disputes
Whoever abandons fairness during a
disagreement—by attributing to their opponent what is not true of them,
allowing resentment to drive them to expose their faults, reveal their secrets,
or deny them their rights—is closer to the description the Prophet, peace and
blessings be upon him, gave to the hypocrites when he described this
blameworthy trait.
Abdullah Ibn `Amr reported that the
Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Four
characteristics constitute anyone who possesses them a sheer hypocrite, and
anyone who possesses one of them possesses a characteristic of hypocrisy till
he abandons it: If he
speaks, he tells a lie; if he gives a promise, he breaks it, if he is trusted he betrays his trust, and
if he quarrels, he behaves in a very imprudent evil insulting manner (unjust).” [Sahih Al-Bukhari,
34]
Fairness in times of disagreement
reflects nobility and inner strength: the strength of a soul that embraces the
truth and refuses to give preference to anything else; a soul that sets personal
desires aside and willingly takes the truth as its path and its way of life.
This is what Allah commanded His
Prophet Dawud, peace be upon him, when He appointed him to judge between
people, as He says: {˹We instructed him:˺ “O David! We have surely made you an authority in the land, so judge
between people with truth. And do not follow ˹your˺ desires or they will lead you astray from Allah’s Way. Surely those who go astray from
Allah’s Way will suffer a severe punishment for neglecting the Day of Reckoning.”.}
[Sad 38:26]
Abdullah Ibn Rawahah: Fairness Toward the
Jews
Here we see Abdullah Ibn Rawahah, may
Allah be pleased with him, who, despite his hatred of the Jews because of the
wrongs they had committed, refused to wrong them when assessing what they owed
in agricultural taxes.
Jabir reported: “Allah granted Khaybar to His Messenger, peace and
blessings be upon him, who allowed its people to remain there and divided its
produce between them and the Muslims. He sent Abdullah Ibn Rawahah to assess
their produce. He then said, ‘O Jews, you are the people I hate most. You
killed the prophets of Allah and attributed lies to Allah, the Mighty and
Exalted. But my hatred of you will never cause me to be unjust toward you. I
have apportioned twenty thousand wasaq (measures) of dates as what you owe. If
you wish, that is what you will give; and if you refuse, then it is what I will
take.’ They replied, ‘By this, the heavens and the earth stand.’” [Ahmad, 14996; Abu Dawud, 4314]
Let everyone—individuals and groups,
political parties and schools of thought—pay attention: do not allow
differences in opinion or interests to become a means of wronging anyone,
withholding someone’s rights, or making false accusations and slander.
For Allah will hold you accountable
for what you do: {˹Watch for˺ the Day when every soul will be
presented with whatever good it has done. And it will wish that its misdeeds
were far off. And Allah warns you about Himself. And Allah is Ever Gracious to ˹His˺ servants.} [Ali `Imran 3:30]
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