Social justice should mean that all persons living in society have equal rights without any distinction of high or low status, race or creed or preference of religion or profession; no one should have any superiority over anyone.
But it is a pity that the present concept of social justice and the modern trend of justice and equality exist in name only, brought to the fore from time to time to give a semblance of justice, mislead the people and try to satisfy them through words alone. On the contrary, the golden eras of the history of Islam are visible and worthy of imitation, in which the banner of justice was always seen waving over the world of humanity.
There are many painful stories of nations in modern times; humanity is ashamed to hear them. Confidence in justice declines and the world seems narrow despite all its vastness. Tell me, which part of the world is free from tyranny and strife today, where oppression does not prevail and people are not deprived of justice? The current deterioration in the world is due to the lack of justice. The scales do not see who is weighing and what has been kept. If the scales are correct, then they clearly show the truth: they are full, they weigh correctly and there is no difference in the scales even if diamonds or jewels are weighed.
Individuals from all walks of life should be judged equally, like scales. If there were justice in our country today, there would be no riots, no complaints, no court cases and no demonstrations. When there was justice, the lion and the goat were equal; they drank water from the same pier. If we study the conditions of the world and examine the reigns of different kings and rulers, we can clearly see that the developed nations had one thing in common: the standard of justice was established in these states. One law applied to all, whether the person was the son of a minister or a laborer. If it was a sin, the punishment was the same!
There is no doubt that if justice were established throughout the world, there would be positive progress toward solving many global problems. It is not far off that international courts may succeed in this. The history of justice and fairness given by Islam earlier and the system of justice and fairness present in the religion of Islam, is a beacon for all living beings and conscious people on earth. The sentence that the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) gave regarding the recommendation of pardon for a crime will always be presented to the world as an example. He said: “If my daughter also stole, I would cut off her hand too.”
The Governor of Egypt, Amar bin Aas, who was also the conqueror of Egypt, once held a horse race during his governorship. His son also participated in this race. He slapped a Coptic man, saying, “Look, his slap is like this.” The Coptic man reached Medina after being slapped by the Governor’s son and complained to Hazrat Umar. It was demanded that Governor Amar bin Aas and his son appear before him. Both arrived and the matter was addressed like a court. The Coptic man had slapped the Governor’s son in front of Hazrat Umar and his words afterward are worthy of our pride: “Did you enslave people even though they were born free from their mother’s womb?”
This measure of justice is the basic cornerstone for the establishment of justice in the world of humanity. In this regard, it must be understood that it is very important to uphold justice in order to provide justice. Today, the gap of prejudice has become so deep that many people consider only their religion, profession, homeland, friends, family, relatives, leader or party as good and true, while viewing everyone else as wrong.
Justice is the beauty of every society and its basic need. People from all walks of life have always preferred rulers who made justice their motto, whether they were kings, democratic leaders or heads of any party or community. The basis of all constitutions of the world—economic, social and political—is justice. Therefore, leaders of society are expected to make every effort to provide justice.
During Hitler’s invasions of Europe in World War II, serious concerns about national security were raised in various sections of Britain. When Churchill was asked about these concerns, he replied: “Are the courts in our country providing justice to the people?” The answer was ‘yes’ and Churchill said, “If our courts are providing justice to the people, then there is no threat to our national security.” All religions of the world have emphasized the importance of justice as a goal. In today’s world, it is even more important because it is the age of constitution, law and justice. Yet in today’s age, people must often wander for years to get justice and even then, there is no guarantee that it will happen.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Islamabad.
