In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
Justice of God
Lesson 1: What Is Justice?
The Literal and Technical Meanings of Justice
In Arabic lexicons, various meanings or usages of adl (justice) are mentioned and the most important of which are
equilibrium and proportionality, equality and fairness, balance or observance of moderation in the affairs, equality and
constancy1. In any case, the totality of the said meanings or usages is that everything must be located in its proper place
such that it acquires its due and suitable share from the universe and its excellences and it does not infringe upon the right
and share of others. Therefore, it can be said that the statement of Imām Alī (a) in defining justice “Justice puts things in
their places”2 – is the most accurate expression in this regard. The expression ―to puts all things in their proper places
and to grants the rights to their owners which the philosophers have used in defining justice 3 expresses the said point.
Why is justice, one of God s Qualities, considered to be a principle of religion?
In this study, before anything else, this point must be made clear as to why the great 'ulama consider justice, one
of God's Qualities, to be a principle among the five pillars of religion. God is the Knower ('Alim), Powerful (Qadir), Just
('Adil), Wise (Hakim), Merciful (Rahman), Compassionate (Rahim), Primordial (Azali), Eternal (Abadi), Creator (Khaliq)
and Sustainer (Razzaq). Why was only justice selected from among all of these and it became one of the five pillars of
religion? In response to this important question, several points should be noted:
A. Among God's Qualities, justice is so important that many other Qualities return to it because justice in the
general, extensive sense means 'putting everything in its place'. Here, then, Hakim, Razzaq, Rahman and Rahim,
and similar Qualities, are all dependent upon it.
B. Resurrection - just as we have previously mentioned - is related to Divine Justice as well as the mission of the
Prophet and the responsibility of the Imams.
C. At the beginning of Islam, a difference of opinion arose over the issue of the justice of the Creator: A group of
the Sunni Muslims, who were called the Ash'arites, completely denied God's justice. They said that justice and
oppression make no sense in relation to God. He is the Ruler of the entire created universe. It belongs to Him and
whatever He does, is just. They did not even believe in the intellect's good and evil. They said, "Our intellect
alone cannot distinguish between good and bad, even the goodness of doing good or the evil of oppression ..."
and many such similar errors. Another group of the Sunnis, who were called the Mu'tazilites, and all of the
Shi'ites, believe in the principle of justice in relation to, the Creator and they believe that God never commits
oppression. In order to separate out those two groups from one another, they called the second group, the
'Adliyah, in which justice ('adl), as a principle, was the sign of the school and the first group were called 'ghayr
adliyah' (other than justice). Shi'ites were among the 'Adliyah. The Shi'ites, in order to distinguish their school
from that of the other Adliyah, placed imamate as one of the principles as well. Thus, wherever there is a
discussion of ͚justice͛ and 'imamate', this is in reference to 'the Shi'ite Imami School.
D. As the fundamentals of religion are continuous rays of the principles of religion and as the ray of justice of the
Creator is extremely effective in human society, and the most important base for human society is formed by
'social justice', the selection or choice of the principle of justice as one of the principles of the principles of
religion is a means to establish justice in human society and to struggle against any kind of oppression. Just as the
unity of Essence, Qualities of the Creator, the unity of worship of Him, the light and unity of His Oneness, a
solidification of human society and the unity of Qualities are strengthened, the leadership of the prophets and
imams is also inspired by the issue of 'real leadership' in human society. Thus, this principle of justice of the
Creator, Who rules over all of the world, is the sign of the necessity for justice in all areas of human society.
The great, created universe is based upon Divine Justice. Human society will also not remain without it.
1
Al-Miṣbā al-Munīr, pp. 51-52; Aqrab al-Mawārid, vol. 2, p. 753; Al-Mufradāt fī Gharīb al-Qur‘ān, p. 325.
2
Nahj al-Balāghah, Saying 437
Ḥakīm Sabziwārī, Shar al-Asmā‘ al- usnā, p. 54.
3
, A Note on the Meaning of adl:
The word adl was originally coined to convey the idea of making two things equal, and distributing equally. The
same is the case with insaf which literally means dividing in two halves. The idea of equal distribution naturally
leads to equity and justice. And, as a result, adl came to denote justice, equity, to be on straight path, straight:
forwardness, to be of exact standard neither less nor more, and to keep everything in its proper place.
The opposite words are jawr and zulm. Jawr means to be inclined to one side, which consequently means not to be
impartial in justice, to be biased for or against one party. Zulm means to put a thing in a wrong place. As an unjust
judge misplaces his judgment by not giving the aggrieved party its due, he is called zalim .
The Muslim Sects Frequently Mentioned in this Factsheet:
Shi ah Ithna-'Ashari: Those Muslims who believe in the imamat of twelve Imams beginning with Imam 'Ali
bin Abi Talib, Imam Hasan, Imam Husayn and his nine descendents. The twelfth Imam is Muhammad al-
Mahdi, the awaited saviour.This group is also known as Imamiyyah.
Asha'irah: All the Sunni Muslims of the present time are Asha'irah in their beliefs. They follow Abu l-Hasan
al-Ash'ari (d. 324 A.H./936 C.E.).
Mu'tazilah: Before Abu 'l-Hasan al-Ash'ari, many Sunnis were Mu'tazilah in their beliefs. They followed the
beliefs of Wasil bin 'Ata' (d. 131 A.H. /748 O.E.).However, the Mu'tazilah sect became almost extinct in the
fourth hijrah century.
The History and Motive for Discussing Justice
In Islamic theology, the issue of the Divine justice has an ancient history and it can be said that it has been
discussed from the earliest days of the Prophetic mission. In the traditions (a ādīth) and conduct (sīrah) of the Holy
Prophet (ṣ), it has been given considerable attention. Even dialogues about it between followers of other religions and the
Holy Prophet (ṣ) had even taken place. For instance, Shaykh al-Ṣadūq has narrated4 that one day a Jewish man came to the
Prophet (ṣ) and they discussed many things including the justice of God. He asked the Prophet (ṣ), thus: “Does your God
commit injustice?” The Prophet (ṣ) replied, ―”No”.The Jew asked, ―What is the reason? The Prophet (ṣ) retorted, “It is
because He knows the repulsiveness of injustice and He has no need for it.” The Jew asked again, “Has God revealed
anything [to you] in this regard?” The Prophet (ṣ) answered, “Yes”, He then recited the following Qur‘anic verses:
5
َ ما ربكَ بظا َ ل ْعب
يل
6
َ إَ َ ََي ْظ مَ لناسَ ش ْي ًا لكنَ لناسَ أ ْنفس ْمَ ي ْظ و
7
َما ََ َيريدَظ ْ ً ا ل ْعال ين
8
َما ََ َيريدَظ ْ ً ا ل ْعباد
Lesson 2: The Actions of God
GOD CAN DO NO WRONG
The Shi'ahs say that God does nothing which is rationally wrong or evil.6 I do not use this phrase
in the sense that King makes no mistake. Because King makes no mistake actually means that he does
Al-Taw īd, pp. 397
4
5
And your Lord is not tyrannical to the servants. Sūrat Fuṣṣilat 41:46.
Indeed Allah does not wrong people in the least; rather it is people who wrong themselvesَSūrat Yūnus 10:44
6
And Allah does not desire any wrong for the creatures ََ Surat Al Imran 3:108
7
8
And Allah does not desire any wrong for (His) servants Sūrat Ghāfir (or al-Mu‘min) 40:31
Justice of God
Lesson 1: What Is Justice?
The Literal and Technical Meanings of Justice
In Arabic lexicons, various meanings or usages of adl (justice) are mentioned and the most important of which are
equilibrium and proportionality, equality and fairness, balance or observance of moderation in the affairs, equality and
constancy1. In any case, the totality of the said meanings or usages is that everything must be located in its proper place
such that it acquires its due and suitable share from the universe and its excellences and it does not infringe upon the right
and share of others. Therefore, it can be said that the statement of Imām Alī (a) in defining justice “Justice puts things in
their places”2 – is the most accurate expression in this regard. The expression ―to puts all things in their proper places
and to grants the rights to their owners which the philosophers have used in defining justice 3 expresses the said point.
Why is justice, one of God s Qualities, considered to be a principle of religion?
In this study, before anything else, this point must be made clear as to why the great 'ulama consider justice, one
of God's Qualities, to be a principle among the five pillars of religion. God is the Knower ('Alim), Powerful (Qadir), Just
('Adil), Wise (Hakim), Merciful (Rahman), Compassionate (Rahim), Primordial (Azali), Eternal (Abadi), Creator (Khaliq)
and Sustainer (Razzaq). Why was only justice selected from among all of these and it became one of the five pillars of
religion? In response to this important question, several points should be noted:
A. Among God's Qualities, justice is so important that many other Qualities return to it because justice in the
general, extensive sense means 'putting everything in its place'. Here, then, Hakim, Razzaq, Rahman and Rahim,
and similar Qualities, are all dependent upon it.
B. Resurrection - just as we have previously mentioned - is related to Divine Justice as well as the mission of the
Prophet and the responsibility of the Imams.
C. At the beginning of Islam, a difference of opinion arose over the issue of the justice of the Creator: A group of
the Sunni Muslims, who were called the Ash'arites, completely denied God's justice. They said that justice and
oppression make no sense in relation to God. He is the Ruler of the entire created universe. It belongs to Him and
whatever He does, is just. They did not even believe in the intellect's good and evil. They said, "Our intellect
alone cannot distinguish between good and bad, even the goodness of doing good or the evil of oppression ..."
and many such similar errors. Another group of the Sunnis, who were called the Mu'tazilites, and all of the
Shi'ites, believe in the principle of justice in relation to, the Creator and they believe that God never commits
oppression. In order to separate out those two groups from one another, they called the second group, the
'Adliyah, in which justice ('adl), as a principle, was the sign of the school and the first group were called 'ghayr
adliyah' (other than justice). Shi'ites were among the 'Adliyah. The Shi'ites, in order to distinguish their school
from that of the other Adliyah, placed imamate as one of the principles as well. Thus, wherever there is a
discussion of ͚justice͛ and 'imamate', this is in reference to 'the Shi'ite Imami School.
D. As the fundamentals of religion are continuous rays of the principles of religion and as the ray of justice of the
Creator is extremely effective in human society, and the most important base for human society is formed by
'social justice', the selection or choice of the principle of justice as one of the principles of the principles of
religion is a means to establish justice in human society and to struggle against any kind of oppression. Just as the
unity of Essence, Qualities of the Creator, the unity of worship of Him, the light and unity of His Oneness, a
solidification of human society and the unity of Qualities are strengthened, the leadership of the prophets and
imams is also inspired by the issue of 'real leadership' in human society. Thus, this principle of justice of the
Creator, Who rules over all of the world, is the sign of the necessity for justice in all areas of human society.
The great, created universe is based upon Divine Justice. Human society will also not remain without it.
1
Al-Miṣbā al-Munīr, pp. 51-52; Aqrab al-Mawārid, vol. 2, p. 753; Al-Mufradāt fī Gharīb al-Qur‘ān, p. 325.
2
Nahj al-Balāghah, Saying 437
Ḥakīm Sabziwārī, Shar al-Asmā‘ al- usnā, p. 54.
3
, A Note on the Meaning of adl:
The word adl was originally coined to convey the idea of making two things equal, and distributing equally. The
same is the case with insaf which literally means dividing in two halves. The idea of equal distribution naturally
leads to equity and justice. And, as a result, adl came to denote justice, equity, to be on straight path, straight:
forwardness, to be of exact standard neither less nor more, and to keep everything in its proper place.
The opposite words are jawr and zulm. Jawr means to be inclined to one side, which consequently means not to be
impartial in justice, to be biased for or against one party. Zulm means to put a thing in a wrong place. As an unjust
judge misplaces his judgment by not giving the aggrieved party its due, he is called zalim .
The Muslim Sects Frequently Mentioned in this Factsheet:
Shi ah Ithna-'Ashari: Those Muslims who believe in the imamat of twelve Imams beginning with Imam 'Ali
bin Abi Talib, Imam Hasan, Imam Husayn and his nine descendents. The twelfth Imam is Muhammad al-
Mahdi, the awaited saviour.This group is also known as Imamiyyah.
Asha'irah: All the Sunni Muslims of the present time are Asha'irah in their beliefs. They follow Abu l-Hasan
al-Ash'ari (d. 324 A.H./936 C.E.).
Mu'tazilah: Before Abu 'l-Hasan al-Ash'ari, many Sunnis were Mu'tazilah in their beliefs. They followed the
beliefs of Wasil bin 'Ata' (d. 131 A.H. /748 O.E.).However, the Mu'tazilah sect became almost extinct in the
fourth hijrah century.
The History and Motive for Discussing Justice
In Islamic theology, the issue of the Divine justice has an ancient history and it can be said that it has been
discussed from the earliest days of the Prophetic mission. In the traditions (a ādīth) and conduct (sīrah) of the Holy
Prophet (ṣ), it has been given considerable attention. Even dialogues about it between followers of other religions and the
Holy Prophet (ṣ) had even taken place. For instance, Shaykh al-Ṣadūq has narrated4 that one day a Jewish man came to the
Prophet (ṣ) and they discussed many things including the justice of God. He asked the Prophet (ṣ), thus: “Does your God
commit injustice?” The Prophet (ṣ) replied, ―”No”.The Jew asked, ―What is the reason? The Prophet (ṣ) retorted, “It is
because He knows the repulsiveness of injustice and He has no need for it.” The Jew asked again, “Has God revealed
anything [to you] in this regard?” The Prophet (ṣ) answered, “Yes”, He then recited the following Qur‘anic verses:
5
َ ما ربكَ بظا َ ل ْعب
يل
6
َ إَ َ ََي ْظ مَ لناسَ ش ْي ًا لكنَ لناسَ أ ْنفس ْمَ ي ْظ و
7
َما ََ َيريدَظ ْ ً ا ل ْعال ين
8
َما ََ َيريدَظ ْ ً ا ل ْعباد
Lesson 2: The Actions of God
GOD CAN DO NO WRONG
The Shi'ahs say that God does nothing which is rationally wrong or evil.6 I do not use this phrase
in the sense that King makes no mistake. Because King makes no mistake actually means that he does
Al-Taw īd, pp. 397
4
5
And your Lord is not tyrannical to the servants. Sūrat Fuṣṣilat 41:46.
Indeed Allah does not wrong people in the least; rather it is people who wrong themselvesَSūrat Yūnus 10:44
6
And Allah does not desire any wrong for the creatures ََ Surat Al Imran 3:108
7
8
And Allah does not desire any wrong for (His) servants Sūrat Ghāfir (or al-Mu‘min) 40:31
