Friday, November 8, 2013

ALLAH (S.W.T.)'S JUSTICE

In Shi’ah Islam, Justice is the second ingredient of “Roots of Islam”. Any thing can be fully comprehended by its opposite. Hence, Opposite of Justice is “Zulm” or oppression.
Shi’ahs believe that Allah does nothing which is rationally wrong or evil.
Any one who commits wrong or injustice because of the following reasons:
  1. He does not know that it is wrong.
  2. He needs something which can not be obtained without wrongdoing.
  3. He has been compelled by someone else to commit that wrong.
But Allah is Omniscient and All-Knowing; He is free from want and is not in need of anything; and He is Omnipotent and no body can compel Him to do anything. So, logically it is impossible for Allah to do any injustice or wrong.
His actions are based on wisdom and intelligent purposes, though we may not know it.
The other Muslims believe that “actions of Allah are not caused by any purpose….if He wants to put all creatures in Hell; He is the ruler and authority….”
We do not always know the reasons for Allah’s actions. In Surah al-Kahf (Cave), Ayahs 66 to 82, in which Allah describes how Prophet Musa accompanied Hazrat Khizr on the condition that he (Musa) will be patient. But after third interruption, Prophet Khizr explained the reasons for his actions; that the boat he damaged was because the king was acquiring all working boats and in that case the boat was owned by poor fishermen, and the boy he killed because his parents were pious persons and he may bring rebellious and disbelief to them and lastly he repaired the wall as the father of two boys had buried a treasure below it, hence he wanted to preserve it till they become adults and retrieve the treasure.
All laws of Jurisprudence (Shari’ah) are based on wisdom. Fear and desires are natural instincts and should be utilized for human upliftment. A Muslim is taught not to fear any body or anything except Allah and not to desire any thing in this world but to be anxious to receive the Grace of Allah.
Allah’s Promise and Threat: Allah has promised many rewards for good deeds and threatened to punish for evil actions on the Day of Judgment. There is difference of opinion among Muslims. Majority believe that “Allah is obliged to fulfill neither His promises nor His threats; that He may put pious believers (even the prophets) in Hell and put the Shaytan in Paradise!” It is based on their belief that nothing is good or evil by itself. The Shi’ahs believe that it is necessary for Allah to fulfill His promises of reward because not fulfilling a promise is against virtue and rationally evil; but it is not necessary for Him to fulfill His threats of punishments because forgiving the sinners has virtue in itself. So, if He punishes it will be His Justice; and if He forgives, it will be His Grace and Mercy.
Compulsion and Freedom: There is vital difference in Muslims about the compulsion and freedom of man in his actions.
  1. The Mutazilahs say that man is completely free in his actions.
  2. The Jabriyyahs say that man has no control over his actions. He is tool in Allah’s hands like a pen in our hand.
  3. The Asha’irahs say that man has no power or will of his own actions; but he still “earns” or “acquires” the action. What they actually mean is a riddle.
  4. The Shi’ahs say that man is neither completely independent of Allah nor compelled by Allah, but the actual position is between these two extremes.
Representing the Asha’irahs, Imam Ghazali explains; “No act of any individual is independent of the will of Allah for its existence; and there does not occur either in physical or extra-terrestrial world the wink of an eye, the hind of a thought, or the most sudden glance, except by the decree of Allah, of His power, desire or will. This includes evil and good, benefit or harm, success or failure, sin and righteousness, obedience and disobedience, polytheism or true belief.”
This belief was invented by Bani Umaiyyads to provide a respectable mask to their debauchery and tyranny as Allama Shibli Nu’mani has admitted in his book “Ilmulkalam”; “The rein of Bani Umayyads was full of cruelty and bloodshed….but the well wishers of the government silenced the people saying what ever happens, good or bad, takes place according to the will of Almighty…”
The Shi’ah’s belief: The Shi’ahs believe they know the difference between falling down from a roof top and coming down by ladders. The second act is done by our power, will and intention; while the falling down is not so. Therefore, what we do is our own actions and should not be attributed solely to Allah. Similarly, we may be advised to treat an ailment in a particular way, but we cannot be advised to recover from the illness. It means that getting the treatment is in our power, but getting well is not within our sphere of activities. Shaykh Saduk (r.a.) says: “Allah possesses fore-knowledge of human actions, but does not compel them to act in a particular manner.
The following example clearly portrays this “middle position”:
Suppose a man’s hand is totally paralyzed and he cannot move even a finger. A doctor has fitted an electrical devise on his hand which, on being switched on, enables the man to use his hand freely in a normal way. The device is activated by a remote control which the doctor keeps in his custody. When the doctor switches the device on, the man uses his hand in any way he intends, but when the device is off, he cannot do any thing. Now if the device is on and the patient does any work, can that work be attributed independently to him? No, because the power comes from that device which is fully controlled by the doctor.
Then can it be attributed to the doctor? No, because the man had done it by his own free will and choice.
This is exactly the position of our activities. We are not under compulsion because the will and choice is ours; nor are we completely independent, because the power to do whatever we intend to do comes from Allah.
And at what point does our ability to do things start? Imam Musa al-Kazim (a.s.) says: “A man acquires that ability when four conditions are fulfilled:
  1. when there is nothing to hinder his plans;
  2. his health and
  3. the faculties (needed to do that work) are up to the required standard; and
  4. Allah provides him the occasion of that work. When all these conditions are fulfilled, a man becomes capable of acting according to his own free will.
When asked for an example, the Imam said, Let us suppose that there is a man, without any hindrance, of good health and proper strength; yet he cannot commit adultery unless he finds a woman. When he gets a woman (and the fourth condition is fulfilled), then it is up to him to choose one of the two alternatives: either he controls his evil emotions and saves himself (as Prophet Yusuf) did, or he commits adultery. If he protects himself from the sin, it will not be by compulsion of Allah (as some people think). And if he commits the sin, it does not mean that he was above the power of Allah (as others think).     

Reference:
Justice of God                                                  Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi


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