Friday Tadhkirah with Abdulkadir Salaudeen: If Injustice is a ‘No Go Area’ for Allah; Why You?

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No Muslim, or any individual for that matter, has any justification for an act of injustice. Allah, the most High, from His Majestic Throne; makes injustice haram—unlawful for Himself. He declares, as reported in the famous sayings of the Prophet (SAW), that: “Allah Almighty said: O My servants, I have forbidden injustice for Myself and I have forbidden it among you, so do not oppress one another…” (Muslim: 2577). This is an unusual declaration from Allah. If the Creator of the world declared injustice as unlawful upon Himself; why you? In other words, who are you?
Every intelligent man would be willing to know why Allah forbade injustice to Himself; ever before He forbade it to His servants. It is because Allah is the creator of the universe and the universe is under His control. He knows that any system which is bereft of justice will crumble in no time. To avoid failure of the universe and its collapse, Allah made himself the Watcher that does not sleep. It he sleeps or dozes off (out of negligence), the universe will collapse. Thus, the jinns, the mankind, and other living creatures (terrestrial, celestial and aquatic) would all be buried under the debris of the collapsed universe. This will be injustice to them because they suffer a bad fate for a fault which is not theirs. Therefore, Allah forbade injustice for Himself for the universe to flourish, survive, and maintain equilibrium.
Similarly, in the spirit of justice and fairness, Allah made mankind His representative on the earth. He instructed him to live by justice and judge with justice. He outlawed injustice entirely so that there could be socio-political and economic equilibrium. But because man is ignorant, selfish, myopic and short-sighted, he tinkers with the scale of justice. He ignores Allah’s command and commits all acts of injustice. He frankly tells Allah that His commands are anachronistic and cannot be obeyed—the world has changed. This he does through his actions and inactions; he is perhaps unconscious of it.
Have you ever paused to think and ask why nothing functions well in Nigeria? It is because injustice has become the gown (in vogue) worn by the old and the young, the poor and the affluent, the literates and the illiterates, the leaders and the followers; in a nut shell, all and sundry. Despite the acrobatic religiosity of most Nigerians, we are very wanton when it comes to justice. The same religion that should promote justice is what we use as cover for injustice. Do we rape justice on the altar of religion and expect progress and development in the society? It does not add up.
Ibn Taymiyya said it all (may Allah have mercy on him): “it is said that Allah allows the just state to remain even if it is led by unbelievers, but Allah will not allow the oppressive state to remain even if it is led by Muslims. And it is said that the world will endure with justice and unbelief, but it will not endure with oppression and Islam” Allahu Akbar! Now we understand why Nigeria is a failed state despite the number of houses of worship and worshippers. It is thought that houses of worship in some communities in Nigeria would soon outstripped those of residence. We also understand why some developed countries are developed despite the near absence of religion or houses of worship in them. There may be absence of religion in those countries; but there is justice. Social justice!
We deduce from ibn Taymiyyah that Allah endorses a just government. The religion, region or ethnicity of leaders of such government does not matter. Allah is always in support of justice. As for the unjust ones, what awaits them of Allah’s punishment is beyond the capacity of man to comprehend. However, these verses of the Qur’an can leave us with some sort of imaginations: “And if each soul that wronged had everything on earth, it would offer it in ransom. And they will confide regret when they see the punishment; and they will be judged in justice, and they will not be wronged. (Q 10: 54). In another verse, it says: “Consider not that Allah is unaware of that which wrong doers do, but He gives them respite up to a Day when the eyes will stare in horror. (They will be) hastening forward with necks outstretched, their heads raised (towards the sky), their gaze returning not towards them and their hearts empty (from thinking because of extreme fear) (Q 14: 42-43).
These verses, no doubt, leave us with imagination of what lies in wait for the unjust people. But people will always argue that ‘man is by nature a sinner’. This assertion is true, but man becomes a beast when he makes sin a pastime. He becomes a criminal, mocks and disdains Allah, when he is admonished but refuses to take admonition. And it is because man must sin that Allah names Himself the Forgiver. However, for our sins, injustices, and wrong doings to merit Allah’s forgiveness, these are the conditions according to an authentic hadith “whoever has wronged his brother with regard to his blood, his wealth or his honor, let him come and set matters straight before there comes a Day on which there will be no dirhams (coins) and no dinars (banknotes), only good deeds and bad deeds, and if he has good deeds (they will be taken and given to the one whom he wronged), otherwise some of the bad deeds of the one whom he wronged will be taken and added to his burden, then he will be thrown into the fire.” (Bukhari)
This hadith, together with verses quoted above, is a strong evidence that acts of injustice are not forgiven by Allah by mere seeking Allah’s forgiveness. They are forgiven only when the victims who suffered the acts of injustice are appeased and their rights, honor, or property are restored. It is only against this background that the verse that says “Allah forgives all sins” could be understood.
To give illustrations, high way robbers can get their sins forgiven only when they desist from robbery and return the stolen items or their worth to their rightful owners before seeking Allah’s forgiveness. Looters of public funds under whatever guise would have to return the loots to the government, seek the forgiveness of the masses before Allah forgives them. Those who forged or bought certificates, for example, from Cotonou (Benin) where four year degrees are completed in six months, and those who bribed teachers and lecturers to pass exams and got unmerited certificates would have to disclaim their certificates before seeking Allah’s forgiveness. Certificate racketeering and exam mal-practices (generally) are topical issues that deserve a whole column. This will addressed in due course, God willing.
Whether you consider injustice as a wrong doing or not, the Prophet (SAW) has warned against it, and his warning should terrify an unjust person who still has an iota of goodness in him to desist from injustice. He (the Prophet) said; “whoever cheats us is not among us” (Muslim). The pronoun ‘us’ unequivocally refers to the Muslims. When the pronoun is replaced with its noun, the hadith will read thus: “whoever cheats the Muslims is not among the Muslims”. If he is not among the Muslims; where does he belong? This is dreadful! And to cheat a non-Muslim by a Muslim is even more dreadful. We ask Allah to count us among those who stand out firmly for justice.

Abdulkadir Salaudeen writes from Gashua
salahuddeenabdulkadir@gmail.com
Tweet @salahuddeenAbd

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