Justice and Injustice

Know that the justice of kings and rulers is one of the greatest benefits of the people. Their justice and righteousness (SalaH) give rise to the righteousness of all God's servants and the flourishing state of the cities, while their ungodliness (fisq) and lewdness (fujur) disrupt the order of the affairs of most of the world's inhabitants and incline most people toward their condition.

The Messenger of Allah Mohammad (s) said:

• "If two groups in my community are righteous and worthy, my community will also be righteous; and if they are corrupt, my community will also be corrupt." The Companions asked him who they are. He replied, "The jurists (fuqaha') and the commanders."

• "For two people there will be no intercession: the possessor of sovereignty (saltanat) who does wrong, works injustice, and transgresses, and the person who exceeds proper bounds (ghuluw) in religion and leaves the religion.

• "There are seven people whom I have cursed and whom every prophet whose prayers have been answered before me has cursed: a person who adds something to the Book of God; a person who denies God's foreordination and destiny; a person who opposes my Sunna and produces innovation; a person who considers it lawful (halal) to wrong my family and to take by force their rights, though God has declared this unlawful (haram); a person who through coercion becomes the master of the people in order to exalt a group whom God as abased and to abase a group whom God has exalted; a person who takes possession of the common property of the Muslims for himself and considers this lawful; and a person who considers unlawful something that God has declared lawful."

• "The first persons who enter Jahannam will be a commander and possessor of mastery who does not do justice, a property owner who does not give God His right, and a poor person who is proud and arrogant."

• "No one becomes a commander over ten people or more without his being brought at the resurrection with his hands manacled to his neck. If he is a good-doer, his hands will be freed, but if he is a bad-doer and wrongdoer, more manacles will be added."

• "If anyone is made the leader of a people and does not act well among them, God will imprison him at the edge of Gehenna one thousand years for every day he was their ruler."

• "Avoid tyranny (zulm), for it is the shadows (zulumat) of the Day of Resurrection", that is, it will result in darkness on that day.

• "If a person wrongs someone and cannot find him to compensate him for it, he should pray for forgiveness for him, since that is the wrongdoer's expiation (kaffara)."

• "At the resurrection, the fire of Jahannam will speak to three people: the commander, the Qur'an reciter, and the man of wealth.

  • To the commander it will say, 'O you whom God gave kingship and domination, but you were not just toward those under you!' Then it will steal him away like a chicken who takes a sesame seed.

  • To the Qur'an reciter it will say, 'O you who adorned yourself beautifully in the eyes of the people, but acted with disobedience in the presence of God !' Then it will steal him away.

  • To the man of wealth it will say, 'O you whom God gave the spaciousness of the lower world and then sought to borrow a little of that from you, but you did not lend it and were miserly!' Then it will steal him away."

The Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali said:

• "Be on guard for your religion against a possessor of kingship who imagines that obeying him is obeying God and disobeying him is disobeying God. He is lying, for he is in the midst of nothing but disobedience toward his Creator, and it is not necessary to obey someone who disobeys God. Obedience is only mandatory toward God, the Messenger, and those in authority (ulu'l-amr), who are the inerrant (ma'sum) Imams. God commanded that the Messenger must be obeyed because he is inerrant, purified from sin, and does not command to disobedience. God commanded that those in authority should be obeyed because they are inerrant, purified of evils and sins, and do not command the people to disobedience."

• "There is a mill in Jahannam that is turning." He was asked what it grinds and replied, "Lewd men of knowledge ('ulama'), ungodly Qur'an reciters, wrongdoing tyrants, traitorous viziers, and Iying chiefs and leaders."

• "Six people will be chastised for six traits: the Arabs for ardent tribalism, landholders and owners of farms for arrogance, commanders and kings for injustice, jurists and men of knowledge for envy, merchants for treachery, and peasants for ignorance."

• "What bad provisions for the Day of Resurrection-transgression and wrongdoing against the people!"

Imam Jafar al-Sadiq said:

• "I have hope for the deliverance of those in this community who recognize my right (haqq), except for three groups:

  • the possessor of kingship who works injustice,

  • the person who innovates (bid'at) in the religion according to his own desire, and

  • the ungodly person who commits sins openly and does not care."

• "There are three people who will be the nearest to God on the Day of Resurrection until He finishes settling the accounts of the creatures:

  • A person who in the state of anger is not moved by his power to wrong someone under him,

  • A person who judges or walks between two people and does not incline by a single barley-corn to the one or the other, and

  • A person who speaks the truth, whether it be to his loss or his benefit."

• "Justice is sweeter and more wholesome than water found by a thirsty man! How spacious and conducive to plenty and well-being is justice, even if it be but little!"

• "Justice is sweeter than honey, softer than butter, and more fragrant than musk."

• "When a person wakes up and does not have in his mind to do wrong toward anyone, God forgives his sins on that day, unless he should unrightfully spill someone's blood or consume the property of an orphan unlawfully."

• "No one commits a wrong without God afflicting him by reason of that wrongdoing in himself, his property, or his children."

• "The wronged person takes more from the religion of the wrongdoer than the wrongdoer takes from the property of the wronged."

• "A person who does evil toward people knows that evil has also been done toward himself. Surely the child of Adam reaps only what he sows. No one has reaped bitter from sweet or sweet from bitter."