Justice and Compassion in the Qur'an: The Messengers Have All Commanded Justice

For the majority of people, an environment where the justice referred to in the foregoing sections prevails seems utopian, an illusory concept that can only exist in the realms of literature. This attitude denies that a society in which there is real justice is possible. Nevertheless, history has witnessed periods when justice ordained in the Qur'an was built up and real peace, love and security pervaded human relations.

In communities to which the messengers of Allah were sent, social relations were marked by great understanding, peace and justice. As Allah informs us, "Every nation has a Messenger and when their Messenger comes everything is decided between them justly. They are not wronged" (Surah Yunus, 47). No one was oppressed in their times, and true justice prevailed among people.

Allah commands all His messengers to administer justice with no consideration of race and ethnicity. The books revealed to the Prophet Jesus, Moses and David summoned people to good morals, compassion, peace and trust, as did the Qur'an revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. The following verse makes it clear that one of the reasons why messengers are sent is "to establish justice":

In the Qur'an, one of the prophets who is told to display exemplary conduct in ruling with justice is the Prophet David. Two litigants came to the Prophet David requesting him to judge between them with truth:

As stated in the verse, the two litigants asked Allah‘s Prophet not to be unjust while judging between them and to guide them to the right path. They trusted in his justice and submitted themselves to his verdict. The answer of the Prophet David was as revealed in the verse:

This decision of the Prophet David sets a very good example for believers since he sided with the person who was in the right, rather than the more powerful one, and hence acted justly. In the 25th verse of the same Surah, the moral perfection displayed by the Prophet David is praised, and he is given the glad tidings of a good homecoming as "he has nearness to Us and a good Homecoming". In the 26th verse, Allah reminds the Prophet David of the importance of justice: ...We have made you a caliph on the earth, so judge between people with truth and do not follow your own desires, letting them misguide you from the Way of Allah. Those who are misguided from the Way of Allah will receive a harsh punishment because they forgot the Day of Reckoning.

The people of Jethro, who were sent to Madyan, were a tribe that acted unjustly in commercial life. They manipulated peoples' assets, devalued their goods and defrauded them. The Prophet Jethro warned his people of their unjust attitudes and called them to justice. In one verse Allah states the following regarding this matter:

And to Madyan We sent their brother Shu'ayb who said,

In another verse, the Prophet Jethro reminds his people that honest earnings are better for them, and tells them to exercise justice:

In the Qur'an, Allah gives many examples related to the just attitudes displayed by the Prophet Moses, the Prophet Jesus, the Prophet Joseph and other prophets, and the way they invited their people to do good is explained in detail.

The Prophet Muhammad, too, administered justice among his people in compliance with the verse, "...Be upholders of justice, bearing witness for Allah alone..." (Surat an-Nisa', 135). His utmost meticulousness in the administration of justice and his moral perfection were the main reason why people placed unshakeable trust in him and committed themselves to Allah‘s religion. Furthermore, during the first years of the revelation of the Qur'an, seeing the Prophet Muhammad's moral perfection and justice, many prominent unbelievers submitted themselves to him and converted to Islam.

Such examples are legion in the life of the Prophet Muhammad, many of which have been conveyed to us in historical accounts and the sayings of the Prophet (hadith). His just, loving, compassionate attitudes became very good examples to follow for Muslims in every age. There are divine purposes in his words, attitudes and practices. Allah relates the moral perfection of the Prophet Muhammad and the great care he showed to believers as follows:

The Exemplary Life of the

Prophet Muhammad

Allah commands His messengers to maintain justice among people. The Prophet Muhammad, the last messenger, started to spread the religion of Islam in Mecca, where he received the revelations, with a just attitude.

At that period, the Arabian Peninsula, and especially Mecca, was shaken by social problems. In the period preceding the Age of Bliss, which is called the "The Age of Ignorance," there was severe discrimination between races and religions. Disputes among tribes, an unjust economic order, plundering, intolerant attitudes between members of different religions, differences between the poor and the wealthy and many other injustices were the natural consequences of such discrimination. The maintenance of justice could not be established; the poor were oppressed by those in power and were subjected to violence because of their race, religion or language. People were forced to work under very hard conditions, and were virtually tortured.

In commercial life, under the burden of the interest-ridden system, small-scale businesses disappeared, whereas the wealthy tended to extravagant consumption. Some of these immoral acts became almost like traditions. For instance, the Arabs of the ignorant age who raided and plundered commercial caravans sold their spoils at very low prices and influenced market conditions. Sometimes, they kept these goods deliberately and generated a black market.

In the Qur'an, Allah gives information about the desert Arabs who made up the majority of society before the time of the Prophet Muhammad. This society's disinclination to comply with the words of the messenger is related in the following verse:

The Prophet Muhammad was sent to such ignorant people to summon them to good morals and the right path. No difficulty could shake his commitment. He communicated Allah‘s message to a tribe which was particularly inclined to disbelief, and was throughout his life a role model for them. As also stated in the verse below, he called on his people to be just: Say:

The message of the Prophet Muhammad, coupled with his good morals, had a great impact all over the Arabian Peninsula, and people converted to Islam in great numbers. The just commands of the Qur'an—good morals, compassion, peace and a peaceful social order—prevailed during his time. One of the most important reasons for this is that, in compliance with the verse, the Prophet Muhammad observed social justice without discriminating between people:

One example is the contract the Prophet Muhammad signed with the people of Najran, who were among the people of the Book. This text reveals an exercise of justice which was unprecedented in that age. The article of the pact of Najran, "If any one of the people of Najran demands his rights, justice shall be done between the plaintiff and respondent. Neither oppression shall be allowed to be perpetrated on them, nor shall they be permitted to oppress any one", manifest the kind of justice people enjoyed at that time. Due to this unprecedented administration, people placed strong trust in Allah‘s messenger, and even his most terrible enemies could not help being impressed by the Prophet's honesty.

These examples of good morals which appeared as a consequence of the Prophet Muhammad's meticulously observing Allah‘s commands also reflect the anlayışlı, peaceful order Allah‘s messengers introduced to social life. In a society where people comply with the values of the Qur'an meticulously, it is obvious that a peaceful life will be secured.

The Prophet Muhammad Opposed All Forms of Racism The Prophet Muhammad upheld justice in his time and rejected the ignorant belief which considered some people superior to others because of their language, race, social status or ethnicity. That is because such discrimination is severely condemned in the Qur'an. "Racism," as defined in our day, is an idea Allah prohibits in the Qur'an, but which receives extensive support in ignorant societies. As mentioned earlier, one of the divine purposes in the creation of the different races is "that they should come to know each other." In the sight of Allah, all people are equal, and the only superiority anyone can have over anyone else is his fear of Allah and faith in Him. The Prophet Muhammad also declared to his people, who committed racism, that ethnic differences had no importance and that everyone was equal in the eyes of Allah. He repeatedly underlined that all that mattered was having sincere faith. While summoning his people to have faith, the Prophet Muhammad commanded them not to discriminate in his last sermon: O people! Your Allah is One and your forefather (Adam) is one. An Arab is not better than a non-Arab and a non-Arab is not better than an Arab, and a red (i.e. white tinged with red) person is not better than a black person and a black person is not better than a red person, except in piety. Indeed the noblest among you is the one who is deeply conscious of Allah. The Prophet Muhammad also told people that Allah created man from nothing, that everyone is created equal and that everyone will give account of his deeds all alone before Allah. For this reason, he added that it would be a great wrong to look for superiority in one's descent.

The Prophet commanded thus: (All of) you are children of Adam, and Adam is from dust. Let some men cease to take pride in others. 3 The Prophet stated that no criteria except for heedfulness are acceptable: Your descent is nothing to be proud of. Nor does it bring you superiority. O people! All of you are the children of Adam. You are like equal wheat grains in a bowl ... No one has any superiority over anyone else, except in religion and heedfulness. In order to consider someone a wicked person, it suffices that he humiliates other people, is mean with money, bad-tempered and exceeds the limits. Throughout his life, the Prophet Muhammad advised his people to set aside their ignorant and perverse values and to live by the Qur'an. In the Qur'an, racist attitudes are defined as "fanatical rage," and people's ambitious attitudes are criticized. A related verse reads:

Muslims who obeyed Allah‘s call in the above verse led their lives in peace and security, both during the Blessed Period of the first community of Islam and in succeeding ages when just administrators reigned.

So call and go straight as you have been ordered to. Do not follow their whims and desires but say,

The Prophet's migration to Medina and his administration there were marked by brotherhood and compassion, and proved that a peaceful life among groups of people of different religions, races and languages is possible. The fact that the first text the Prophet dictated was a peace agreement provides evidence for the fact that he was committed to the establishment of peace and friendship. Following his conquest of Mecca, the Prophet Muhammad released even those who had formerly tortured Muslims, and was tolerant towards them. This superior morality of the Prophet Muhammad was unprecedented in Arab society, and was greatly appreciated by people.

At that time, the Prophet Muhammad also became a role model for all believers regarding the establishment of true justice in conquered countries. Towards the natives of these lands, he exercised the justice described in the Qur'an and made agreements which pleased the parties involved. The fact that no party suffered even minor injustice was the distinctive feature of these agreements. For this reason, no matter which race or religion they belonged to, the people of conquered countries were always pleased with the justice introduced by Islam.

The Prophet Muhammad and the companions of the Prophet, peace be upon them all, were people who ensured justice among people, as the verse stresses:

In the contract made with the Christians of Najran, who lived in South Arabia, the Prophet Muhammad demonstrates one of the best examples of understanding and justice. The contract included the following article:

The lives of the people of Najran and its surrounding area, their religion, their land, property, cattle and those of them who are present or absent, their messengers and their places of worship are under the protection of Allah and guardianship of His Prophet. By means of such contracts, the Messenger of Allah secured a social order for Muslims and the People of the Book alike, which was marked by peace and security. This order was a total manifestation of the following verse:

The Constitution of Medina was prepared under the leadership of the Prophet Muhammad 1,400 years ago, that is in 622 AD, to meet the needs of people of different beliefs, and was put into practice as a written legal contract. Different communities of different religions and races that had harboured deep-seated enmity towards one another for 120 years became parties to this legal contract. By means of this contract, the Prophet Muhammad showed that conflicts between those societies, which had been enemies and quite unable to reach any form of compromise, could come to an end, and they could actually live side by side.

According to the Constitution of Medina, everyone was free to adhere to any belief or religion or to make any political or philosophical choice. People sharing the same views could come together and form a community. Everyone was free to exercise his own justice system. However, anyone who committed a crime would be protected by no-one. The parties to the contract would co-operate and provide support for each other, and remain under the protection of the Prophet Muhammad. Conflicts between the parties would be brought to the Messenger of Allah.

The Prophet also made contracts with pagans as well as the people of the Book. Pagans were always treated with justice, and when they asked for protection, their requests were readily accepted by the Prophet Muhammad.

This meant that these communities sought the protection of the Prophet in the face of an attack or a wrongful accusation. Throughout his life, many non-Muslims and pagans requested protection from the Prophet Muhammad, and he took them under his protection and ensured their security. In Sura Tawba, Allah states that requests of pagans seeking protection be accepted by believers. Of this, Allah says the following:

As Allah states in the verse 1}, He asks believers to assume a just attitude towards pagans and holds them responsible for ensuring their security in the event they seek protection from believers.