When Can a Muslim Be Unjust?

The words “injustice” and “oppression” remind us of destructive wars, senseless cruelties, the killing of innocent people, and entire civilizations being ravaged by the violence that is the hallmark of any human ego untempered by mercy. The words “tyrant” and “oppressor” bring history’s murderous rulers and armies to mind. However, if we think about the essence of injustice, we can recognize that it does not always have to be the antagonistic kind, conspicuously flagged with every flagrant transgression or atrocity mankind has invented. We may not be so far removed from it as we believe, what with all its subtler shapes and forms.

Even during an unremarkable day, we may commit multiple wrongdoings, knowingly or out of habit. Many behaviors we see as trivial can tip our scales to the side of injustice.

As a term, injustice refers to crossing a boundary and committing a transgression. Therefore, the word “zulm” (injustice) is used for all sins, big and small. Scholars describe injustice as “putting something in a place where it does not belong, which refers to increasing or decreasing the subject of discussion or changing its appropriate time or place.”

This means that injustice includes crossing the boundaries set by Allah Almighty for His servants, taking what belongs rightfully to someone else, transgressing against Allah the Most High or His creation, and abandoning fairness. Justice, on the other hand, includes doing everything as Allah Almighty has commanded and conducting each action in its appropriate place and manner, giving everyone what they rightfully deserve.

A wise man once said that injustice comes in three forms:

• Injustice between a person and Allah: The greatest injustice is disbelief, polytheism, and hypocrisy, as explained in the verse, “Associating partners with Allah is the greatest injustice” (Luqman, 13).
• Injustice between people.
• Injustice that one commits against one’s self.

Raghib al-Isfahani (rahmatullahi alayh), a great scholar of Islam, said, “All three types of injustice are actually committed against one’s self because one commits injustice against one’s self as soon as they intend to act this way.”

The unjust among us

Allah Almighty forbids all types of injustice. In a qudsi hadith, it is said, “O my servants, verily I have forbidden injustice to Myself; I have also forbidden it among yourselves. Do not commit injustice against each other” (Muslim, Birr, 55).

When we think of oppressors, our thoughts quickly latch onto notorious names pinned to the backs of our minds, such as Pharaoh, Nimrod, Shaddad, and the like—all tyrants who destroyed cities, oppressed people, and showed no mercy while doing so. However, injustice and oppression are more broadly defined by Allah Almighty as anything that does not comply with the Divine law.

According to this definition, disbelievers, polytheists, and hypocrites are mired in constant injustice. As enemies of haqiqah, the ultimate, absolute, indisputable truth known and ordained by Allah the All-Knowing, they commit the greatest injustice against themselves and all of creation. But unfortunately, as Muslims, we sometimes find ourselves wrapped up in injustice by transgressing, violating other people’s rights, or disregarding adab. All haram acts we commit with our hearts, minds, hands, eyes, tongues, and wealth, and all forms of inappropriate behavior, are unjust. Similarly, our mistakes in worship are also injustice. Every one of them is set down in our ledger, also known as the book of deeds, as a negative entry and a dire note heralding a bitter reckoning to come.

Just like murdering someone is unjust, disgracing an honorable person, mocking them, talking behind their back, and hurting them are also clear and unmistakable forms of injustice. In short, every offense against another being can be classified as an injustice. If one does not apologize to and reconcile with those they have subjected to evil, they will be held to account in the Hereafter. Then Allah Almighty will render judgment on people for their evil deeds, no matter how small they may be. The oppressor will bow his head in shame and defeat, and the oppressed will beam with a smile, comforted by the infallible divine justice mending and redressing all wrongs. Nobody, whether believer or disbeliever, enters Heaven or Hell before this reconciliation happens.

Neither Heaven nor Hell before the reckoning

In a hadith narrated by Abdullah bin Jabir (radiyallahu anh), who took a one-month-long journey to Egypt to hear it from Abdullah bin Unays (radiyallahu anh), it is said, “A person who is destined for Heaven will not enter Heaven as long as they do not pay back a right that is on them, even an undeserved slap, that belongs to someone who is destined for Hell. Similarly, a person destined for Hell will not enter Hell as long as they do not pay back a right that belongs to a person destined for Heaven. This reconciliation happens for good and bad deeds.” (Bukhari, al-Adabu’l-Mufrad, nr. 970)

The Prophet of mercy, Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), warns us: “Abstain from all injustice. Verily, on the Day of Judgment, a person’s injustice surrounds them as darkness. Abstain from bad deeds and words. Verily, Allah does not love those that do and say bad things. Abstain from stinginess, for stinginess destroyed the nations before you. Stinginess led them to lie, and they lied. It led them to injustice, and they committed injustice. It led them to sever ties to relatives, and they severed ties with them.” (Hakim, Mustadrak, 1/12; Ibn Hibban, Sahih, nr. 6210)

The grievous injustice at home

The Holy Qur’an, which guides our lives, speaks of “hududullah,” which means the boundaries enacted by Allah. These boundaries are drawn specifically for Muslims, separating halal from haram. Staying within these boundaries brings divine mercy but crossing them invokes divine wrath. Then, there is the possibility of wandering near these boundaries, which warrants particular caution. Roaming too close to these borders poses a genuine risk of trespassing where the lines between halal and haram may appear blurry to our limited knowledge and perception. Those who approach them with an intrepid attitude face great peril.

For example, Allah Almighty instructs us about marriage, divorce, and other family matters and then warns us: “These are the limits set by Allah, so do not transgress them. And whoever transgresses the limits of Allah, they are the (true) wrongdoers [i.e., the unjust]” (Al-Baqarah, 229). “Those are the limits of Allah, and whoever transgress Allah’s limits, then he has surely been unjust to himself.” (At-Talaq, 1).

Today, a Muslim’s family home is where they make the most traumatizing mistakes and commit severe injustices. The most heinous crimes and betrayals are done in family households, where the safety of those closest to one in life should be unconditional. The reason for this is sheer ignorance, heedlessness, bad habits, living by the example of outrageously immoral people and sinners, vigorously following the whims of the nafs, and not knowing the meaning of love and honor. Our religion has banned us from saying “uff” to our parents and taught the head of the household, the lady of the house, and other members of the family how to respect each other’s rights. Some of these are compulsory duties, and others are necessary virtues for a family to flourish and generate a caring, loving, safe environment for all its members.

Each adult Muslim of sound mind must learn the duties that are compulsory for them. Neglecting one’s mandatory duties is nothing short of unadulterated injustice, while neglecting virtues is ultimately a deplorable loss. Unsettling problems in our families have caught us in a vice-like grip and become so commonplace that we face the very real risk of normalizing what would have been deemed insufferable a few short years ago. This goes to show just how rapid the decline taking hold of our families is. But we are neither helpless nor without guidance. Unsurprisingly, the solution to these predicaments, yet again, lies in the teachings of our benevolent religion, Islam.

Another aspect of our lives where injustice can easily become the prevailing practice is inheritance. It is also one of the areas where Muslims have been unequivocally warned against injustice. Allah Almighty explains in detail how the heirs of a deceased person should share the inheritance and declares, “These are the boundaries of Allah.” Two groups of people are mentioned in the Qur’an pertaining to how they respect or flout these boundaries:

The first group obeys Allah and His Messenger, whereas the second group rebels against Allah and His Messenger and crosses those boundaries. It is stated that those who obey will achieve salvation and enter Heaven, while those who rebel will go to hellfire and be consigned to torment. (An-Nisa, 11-14)

Inheritance is a person’s natural right, and its violation is a severe transgression. It is imperative to distribute the inheritance appropriately. If not properly and timely distributed, those who hold the inheritance will be usurpers who will have made illicit gains, stolen that which rightfully belongs to others, and even encroached upon the rights of the orphans if there are children among the heirs. These are all indisputable injustices and are akin to eating fire. This problem is a current and prevalent issue that needs an urgent, encompassing solution. The unfair distribution of inheritance leads to animosities that can lead to the dissolution of families and even murder. This is a reprehensible state of affairs for Muslims, as Islam always puts family ties and justice before personal gain and wealth.

What is transgression?

We should know that no person holds an intrinsic right or authority born purely  from personal merit over another. We are all created as servants of Allah, entrusted with His creations, and instructed to embrace adab. Allah the Most High has determined and taught us how we must treat His creations, believers or non-believers, and how we must hold ourselves in our interactions with others. This is the most general definition of hududullah. We must know our boundaries so that we may attain infinite blessings and the pleasure of Allah.

Our Lord, Who has infinite benevolence, warns us against crossing the boundaries even when fighting for His cause: “Fight in the way of Allah those who fight against you but do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors” (Al-Baqarah, 190).

This is the religion of Islam, an unfathomable mercy to all the universe. It has criteria for proper balance in everything, such as love, anger, friendship, and animosity. When moderated within the proper boundaries set by Allah Almighty, exercised for His sake, or withheld for His sake, every just action, emotion, and disposition can count as worship. Otherwise, they can turn into a betrayal, and Allah does not like traitors.

The oppressor within

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Your greatest enemy is yourself between your two sides” (Bayhaqi, Zuhd, 343). It would be best if we started recognizing and eliminating injustice from within ourselves. Otherwise, we will resemble people who are criticized for their hypocrisy, as in the following poem by Ziya Pasha:

“They preach of law and order to every soul under the sun,

Yet their own houses with chaos and disorder come undone.”

We should not exclusively renounce the oppressors outside or in the past. The closest oppressor we want to rectify and discipline is ourselves. We should start the reform with our own nafs before worrying about others. Let us reflect on the following tale from the Mathnawi:

“On the day of Ashura, people of Aleppo would gather before the Antioch gate and mourn the demise of Ahl al-Bayt. They would recount all the injustices committed by Yazid and Shimr. As they wailed and wept, their voices engulfed the entire land.

During such a day of Ashura, a poet came to town. He became curious and approached the crowd. When he saw people crying and weeping, he thought a great person must have passed away. He reasoned that, otherwise, such a big crowd would not gather.

He approached someone in the crowd and said: ‘I am a stranger here. If you tell me about the good character of the deceased person, I could write a eulogy for them. For my poetry, you could give me money for a bowl of soup.’

Upon hearing these words, a man replied: ‘Are you crazy, or are you an enemy of Ahl al-Bayt? Do you not know of the day of Ashura? Do you not know that three days of mourning for Ahl al-Bayt is worth more than a hundred years of worship?’

The poet replied: ‘Every Muslim loves Husayn as much as they love the Beloved Prophet. True, but when was the time of Yazid? How many centuries have passed? How late has the news from Karbala reached here? Even the eyes of the blind have seen those atrocities. Even the ears of the deaf have heard those sad stories. Have you heard of Karbala only recently that you are just now ripping your clothes with such inconsolable grief?

O sleeping ones! O heedless ones! Mourn not Husayn but yourselves! For this deep sleep of heedlessness is a terrible demise for you. The blessed spirit of Husayn, which had always been bound to Allah with utmost devotion, has long since escaped the prison of its material body. He and those martyred with him have flown to the palace of eternal bliss. This is not the time for them to mourn but to be happy. Mourn your heedless, distracted hearts, your religion which has been laid to waste, and your lost values.

For your hearts do not see anything beyond this worthless material world. If your hearts can see the bliss that the good people will receive in the Hereafter, why do your hearts not valiantly pursue that path? Why do your hearts not trust Allah and rely on Him? Why don’t your hearts give themselves to Him? Why don’t you enrich your hearts and abstain from ambition and ostentation?

Where is the light of iman that is supposed to shine on your faces? Where is the bliss that is supposed to come as a blessing of the religion? How can you be empty-handed while swimming within the ocean of generosity of Allah? Where is your generosity on the path of Allah?’” (Tahiru’l-Mawlawi, Sharhu’l-Mathnawi, 10/10-13)

If the sky were to fall on the oppressors

I, too, have witnessed a similar situation. One day, a teacher of mine and I went to visit the grave of Abu Ayyub Khalid bin Zayd al-Ansari (radiyallahu anh). After the zuhr prayer, we walked to the site of his grave. We heard the sound of “amin” from a large crowd gathered outside. After listening for a bit, we understood what they were praying for. Like plaintiffs bringing their cases to the court, some were praying to Allah about the oppression they were facing.

In those days, some school and government officials were unlawfully mistreating people due to their clothing. They were making it difficult for students to attend school since they believed that it served them right for not upholding their distorted worldviews. Some people had decided to appeal to Allah to escape the injustices they were experiencing. They asked Allah for help, making their case before the greatest of judges.

One of them would pray out loud, and the others would say “amin.” This person first asked Allah that these oppressors would change their ways. The crowd said a relatively silent “amin.” Then the man raised his voice and said, “O Allah, if these oppressors are not meant to be good people, destroy them in short order and make stones rain on them from the heavens.” This time the crowd roared with a very loud “amin!”

When my teacher heard about “raining stones from the heavens,” he was startled, and he uttered, “subhanallah,” and continued, “O my Allah, please do not accept this man’s prayer.” Then he turned to me and said, “Let’s leave this place fast. If this prayer is accepted and stones rain on the oppressors, these stones will also hit us and those gathered here. Not one of us will be spared.”

With that, we left. However, I was intrigued by what my teacher had said. When he saw that I couldn’t quite understand what he meant, he explained: “How many people are there in this wide world who always stay within the boundaries of Allah, never mistreat others, and never have a hand in any way, shape, or form of injustice?”

Indeed this is the truth. We should hold ourselves accountable for our unjust behaviors, ones we have come to see as normal because they have become so mundane.

Injustices in our daily lives

• Any word that breaks one’s parents’ hearts is injustice.
• Any stinging remarks, insults, or profanity aimed at our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters.
• Any seller who does not weigh and measure correctly, breaks their promises, or mixes good products with bad ones to deceive buyers.
• Anyone who disturbs their neighbors, who may be sleeping or sick, by slamming a door or loudly walking down the stairs.
• Anyone who litters or plays loud music and causes noise pollution.
• Anyone who smokes on their balcony and throws a cigarette butt onto a neighbor’s balcony or who eats fruit and throws its peel into a common area.
• A Muslim who knowingly ignores a neighbor’s problems, rests on a full belly while their neighbor goes hungry, and does not offer their help as much as they are able.
• Anyone who loves, praises, and looks up to oppressors.
• Anyone who throws away leftover meals instead of feeding an animal. All forms of waste in food, clothing, resources, and other livelihood substances are also injustice.
• Any father who faces people with a beaming smile all day and then comes home with a frown to his wife and children. The first place to serve the gift of love is one’s home. Love is one of the biggest trusts of Allah given to mankind for safekeeping, cherishing, and nurturing. It is unjust to use it in inappropriate ways and forbidden places.
• Wasting water during ablution, or washing the limbs more than three times, even when by a river. If this is the case for acts of worship, how egregious is the injustice of wasting resources on regular errands and tasks?
• A person who bows, prostrates, or recites insufficiently during daily prayers is a thief stealing from their own prayer. Such a person is also unjust. (Bayhaqi, Shuabu’l-Iman, 3/125 (nr. 3115-3116); Darimi, Salah, 78; Malik, Safar, 72)
• A person who fasts and abstains from food but not from backbiting and bad words fails in their fasting. A hadith says, “There are people who fast and get nothing from their fast except hunger” (Ibn Majah, Siyam, 31; Darimi, Riqaq, 12; Ahmad, Musnad, 1/365)
• A miserly person who does not give their zakat in full or not at all. One hadith says, “What injustice is greater than miserliness in the esteem of Allah?” (Tabarani, al-Awsat, nr. 4078)
• Those who use religion for worldly gain, those who misinterpret the verses of Allah for their benefit, those who issue religious decrees without proper knowledge, those who claim to be murshids without proper authorization, and those who pretend to have knowledge or work miracles.

Where lies the solution?

It is staggeringly obvious that every word or action, every shred of love, anger, or emotion that contradicts the Qur’an and sunnah is unjust. People who can completely avoid these and live a life of pure, unsullied justice are few and far between. But can a person make the determination to rid themselves of every form of injustice, purify themselves, and persevere? Is that too daunting a resolution for us Muslims to take up?

The solution is apparent. We must know the acceptable limits, stay within the boundaries drawn by Allah, and ask Him for forgiveness for our sins as well as our shortcomings in worship. Repentance is recognizing one’s flaws, being filled with regret for one’s mistakes, and changing one’s behavior. Istighfar is the act of verbalizing this repentance with sincerity. As mankind, our only remedy is to follow the example of our father Adam (alayhissalam) and mother Hawwa (rahmatullahi alayha) and say:

“Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers” (Al-Araf, 23).

We must follow this verse, seek the intercession of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), and turn to Allah the Most Merciful, asking for His forgiveness:

“And if, when they wronged themselves, they had come to you, [O Muḥammad], and asked forgiveness of Allah and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah Accepting of Repentance and Merciful.” (An-Nisa, 64)

We must pray like Yunus (alayhissalam), “There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers” (Al-Anbiya, 87), and hope to achieve salvation as promised in the verse “So We answered his prayer and rescued him from anguish. And so do We save the believers” (Al-Anbiya, 88).

As a wise servant of Allah once said: “O Allah! Alhamdulillah (praise be to Allah) for all that descends to us from You and astaghfirullah (I seek Allah’s forgiveness) for everything that ascends to You from us.”

Dilaver Selvi