Most Read in the Category of Justice

1-) Allah forgives all sins, but what about the rights of the people? Even if Allah forgives the sinner, will the wronged ones not ask for their rights?

Only the wronged person may forgive the one who wronged him/her. Therefore, one must find a way to make himself forgiven by the one who he wronged. Otherwise, the problem will be solved in the hereafter, which will turn into a grave issue. If the person that we wronged has passed away, we must find his heirs and pay our debt. 
If one does not please the person he wronged here in this world, he will be interrogated in the other world and the wronged one will get his right from him.

However, if the wrong-doer regrets later on, repents sincerely, lives like a person that pleases Allah, but cannot find the person he wronged, it is expected from the mercy of Allah to ask the wronged one to forgive the other, in the other world, on condition that Allah bestows blessings on the wronged one. In return, the wronged one will forgive him as long as the repenter is sincere in his repentance.
However, if the wrongdoer wants to pay for his wrong doings to those he hurt, but cannot find them, then he is recommended to do good things on their behalf, give alms and pray for them.
If we wronged someone who is hard to please, we must find a way to pay his share directly or via a deputy. If that person does not know that we wronged him and if  it is not possible to express it openly, then we need to leave the money onto his desk or home or through another means, and then tell him about the situation with a note. There is no need to mention the name directly.

Man is an honorable being. Wronging his moral values like his freedom, honor, chastity and dignity is a grave sin, just like an encroachment done to his life and assets. They are all grave responsibilities.

One may have wronged another person willingly or unwillingly, knowingly or unknowingly. Or he may encroach his rights to the extent that causes the loss some of his rights. We cannot avoid being fully away from faults and sins, even if we strive to control ourselves or have strong self-determination to remain righteous.

What must we do in this case, which may be considered natural? Does it merely suffice to say “It happened once inevitably, it will not happen again, I wish I had not done it” with an inner soul-searching? Or, should we try to compensate for our faults through correcting our wrongs and asking for forgiveness from the one we wronged by expressing our regrets ?

Essentially, in Islam, there are two kinds of rights: the right of Allah and the right of the people. The right of Allah means the duties that every man should fulfill towards his Lord. Any failure or sin or shortcoming in this sense, requires sincere invocation, repentance and asking frogiveness from Allah. However, the right of people is different. There is only one compensation for it. That is, meeting the wronged one personally, asking for pardon and forgiveness and paying for the losses.

Our Prophet (PBUH) states the following in a hadith : “If one has wronged his brother’s dignity or assaulted his assets unrightfully, he must have himself forgiven before the Doomsday where there is no gold or silver to pay. Otherwise, some of his good deeds (equal to the rights of that person) will be taken away from him and given to that person. If he has no good deeds, then the sins of the wronged one will be given to him. “

Yes, also according to our Prophet’s (PBUH) advice, there is no solution in this case, other than pleasing the wronged one. In so much that, even if a person has become a martyr but has wronged someone, all of his sins are forgiven except the wrongs done to that person. Thus, the only remedy is applying to the wronged person to please him through confessing the mistake and asking for forgiveness. If there is a financial loss, you should pay for it as much as you can to please him.

So, you will have done your best. If he responds positively, shows tolerance and understanding, then you will have gotten rid of the responsibility and thus of the torment and account in the hereafter through settling the problem in this world.
However, if you still feel remorse, you can repent additionally. You will have relieved before Allah as it is stated in this hadith : “Regret is the repentance itself”, “ A repenter from sins is just like one who has not committed  any sins at all. “
How can a person understand and discern that his repentance has been accepted, he has been freed from the sin ?

Let us get the answer from the Prophet (PBUH)  :

One who repents and does a good deed following a committed sin, is like a person who wears a very tight armor on himself. Following the sin, if he does a good deed, one of the rings of the armor will be released; following another good deed, another ring will be released. After the good deeds, the armor will fall off the body

We deduce from the hadith that  a person who committed sin against Allah or wronged someone, can be freed from those sins, and the buttons  of the armor of the sin will be unbuttoned quickly through regretting following the sin and doing good deeds and increasing his services of the Quran and faith. So, it will not be necessary to feel remorse and feel uneasy or distress any more because he is regarded to  have done his best with a pure intention and sincerity.

Meanwhile, we should not forget this verse of the Quran : “Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

Bukhari,Mazalim ( Persecutions),10
2. at-Targhib wa't-Tarhib, 4:97.
3. ibid ., 4:106
4. Surah az-Zumar, 53.


2-) Is the punishment of “cutting the hand of the thief off” given by Islam as a result of committing theft?

Theft is a great treachery, which hurts one’s heart by stealing his/her property which s/he gained by working hard; and it is an unscrupulous act. This act has always been seen in every era and every place. For this reason, Islam ordered that the hand of the person who committed this unscrupulous act be cut off, which is a severe sanction, so that the punishment will be appropriate for the crime. If this sanction was applied, the cases of theft would be minimized.

Theft has been forbidden with evidence of the Quran, sunnah and the consensus of Islamic scholars. The following is stated in the Quran: “As to the thief, male or female, cut off his or her hands” (al-Maidah, 38). The Prophet stated: “The people before you were destroyed because they set an honorable person free when he committed theft.” (ash-Shawkani, Naylu’l-Awtar, VII, 131,136). When the crime of theft is proved, the punishment of cutting one hand off is applied. As for cases in which this punishment is not necessary, the thief compensates for the loss.

Islamic jurists have discussed lawfulness in crime and punishment, under what conditions the crime of theft will be considered to have been committed in order to provide justice and lawfulness, the conditions under which the punishment can be applied, the effect of situations such as repetition, enforcement and forgiving on punishment, one by one and they have established a rich law doctrine. In short, they have decided that, in order for the crime of theft to be valid, it is necessary that there must not be excuses such as obligation, enforcement and starvation, which extenuate the commitment of the theft crime partly or totally. It is necessary that the crime be committed willingly and deliberately, the subject must have criminal liability, the stolen property must be under protection and it must be more than a specific amount.

Penalties in Islamic law are characterized as final and obligatory interventions which can be applied after the necessary precautions are taken in order to prevent crime. In this sense, it must be kept in mind that the main purpose of Islam is not punishing people but, diversely, taking precautions which will hinder committing the crime of theft, educating and directing people. It is of great importance that, in order for all those endeavors in society to be successful, religious education, society’s general moral values and additionally lawful regulations and official politics be in harmony with each other.

Allah, the Supreme, ordered that theft be punished. Under these general conditions, it is necessary to cut the hand of the person off who dared to commit theft like a gangrenous organ of the Islamic social institution.

O you who believe! Cut off the hands of thief men and women, whose crime has been revealed and is without any doubts and excuses, as a punishment for what they have done, as a severe anguish by Allah, as an appropriate hindrance, as handcuffs so that they will not dare to do it again. Indeed, Allah is both supreme and wise.” His orders cannot be argued. He judges wisely. Justice is safe with His supreme protection and His punishment is totally full of wisdom. Allah does not approve oppression, torment and mischief. He bestowed upon us hands and strength to work for goodness and justice. Allah orders that we fear Him, make efforts for the good of religion, protect the poor, take care of the needy and help the weak, as He stated in many Quranic verses. He also made it fard (obligatory) for the rich to give freely from their property to the poor and to the weak with His judgments about helping, alms-giving and charity. A true Muslim must not disobey those orders of Allah and must apply them into their lives. If one does not fear Allah, does not seek nice reasons to approach Allah, cannot resist his lower-self’s desires and attempts to take a property of somebody else’s surreptitiously, for which he has got no right doubtlessly, as if Allah does not see him doing so, it is of course attacking Allah’s honor, and it is a secret war waged against Him. And, the hand of such a man deserves to be cut off as a punishment.

In this sense, it must not be thought that there is not equality between the crime and the punishment. As a matter of fact; that punishment is not only for the compensation of the stolen property, but also for the surreptitious perfidiousness and attack against Allah’s honor. It is as if that person has put his hand in fire or hit it on a sword. That punishment is, both for him and the ones who will follow his way and go astray, like an irremovable handcuff. With it, both the thief and the others are purified from mischief. Moreover, Allah deems the ones who attack His honor in this way worthy of such punishment not only because of His anger but also because there is wisdom in it. In a society in which this punishment is applied, theft is exterminated. There will not be a hand which is worthy of cutting off anymore. This punishment must be applied fairly and without any doubt so that it will not give rise to any unfairness. Otherwise, Allah’s honor and wisdom would look adverse. If the punishment for a hand which stole something is cutting off, consider what the punishment for someone who stole a hand unfairly (who cuts one’s hand off unfairly) would be!

So, if a thief whether a woman or a man who caused their hands to be cut off because they stole something, repents after the commitment of the crime and improves their behavior, Allah will accept their repentance because He is merciful and forgiving. And He does not punish them in the Hereafter, takes mercy on them and forgives them. In this sense, those who had their hands cut off and repented later should not be deemed malicious because they committed theft before; they should be helped.


3-) Married to an Atheist - what needs to be done?

It is not permissible for a Muslim woman to marry an atheist. The nikah is not valid.


4-) Is the Justice of Allah (SWT) valid for only Muslims or valid for non-Muslims, too?

The justice of Allah (SWT) is valid for all people whether they are Muslims or Non-Muslims. Allah forbids cruel attitude and injustice for all regardless of their religion. Does Allah, who Himself consider the cruelty haram, oppress anyone?

Whoever works righteousness benefits his own soul; whoever works evil, it is against his own soul: nor is thy Lord ever unjust (in the least) to His servants. (Fussilat, 41/46)

The expression of the verse which means “nor is thy Lord ever unjust” emphasizes that there will be a just approach to all and there will be no oppression to anyone regardless of his/her religion.

There are lots of verses on this subject. Most particularly, the interpretation of a verse that addresses directly unbelievers is as follows:

(Disdainfully) bending his side, in order to (lead men) astray from the Path of Allah; for him there is disgrace in this life, and on the Day of Judgment we shall make him taste the Penalty of burning (Fire).

(It will be said): "This is because of the deeds which thy hands sent forth, for verily Allah is not unjust to His servants.” (Al-Hajj, 9-10).

Then shall anyone who has done an atom's weight of good, see it! And anyone who has done an atom's weight of evil, shall see it. (Al-Zalzala, 99/7-8)

The verse informs us that no deed, minor or major either good or bad will be wasted but recompensed definitely.

“An Atom” is a particle as small as an ant, which can only be distinguished in the sunlight. The purpose of this expression is to inform about the smallest thing that interest humans and the lowest limit of the responsibility for man. The main aim is to explain that not even the tiniest good or bad deed will be lost in the presence of Allah 


5-) Is it permissible to curse murderers who kill innocent people?

Allah has never allowed oppression to continue. When we look at the history of humanity, we see that the oppressing people and states were punished severely for what they had done sooner or later.

We definitely hope that this oppression would end soon and the Muslims would get rid of this oppression. 

Besides, the Muslims that die due to oppression die as martyrs. This oppression enables them to gain a happy, eternal life in the hereafter in return for this short, troublesome world life.  

Islamic scholars have different views about what people to curse and damn. Some scholars hold the view that it is not permissible to curse and damn Muslims. Others hold the view that it is permissible to curse sinners even if they are Muslims. They also have different ideas about cursing and damning unbelievers.

Some scholars say it is permissible to curse and damn unbelievers unconditionally while others say it is not wajib to curse them hence it is better not to curse and damn them unconditionally. (Fakhruddin ar-Razi, Tefsi al-Kabir Trnsl. III/188; Ibn Majah, Translation and Expalantion, X/148)


6-) Can a person be executed for the sake of the world order?

- Firstly, the crimes whose penalties were determined in the Sari'ah of Islam like fornication and theft cannot be punished in a different way. That is, a thief cannot be killed. However, some crimes whose penalties were not determined can be punished by “tazir”. This penalty is determined by the judge based on his own thought.

Tazir penalties from flogging 30-40 times to capital punishment can be given for the world/state/country order. However, such a determination needs to be made by an assembly of consultation. Otherwise, personal thoughts can cause a lot of oppression especially today, when taqwa lacks. 

- Nobody can be executed only for the sake of the world order according to pure justice. For, according to pure/real justice, “right” is right whether small or big. No right can be violated for the sake of a big right unless the owner of the right gives consent.

However, when pure justice cannot be applied, relative justice is applied. Relative justice is not real justice but it can be applied to prevent other evil deeds when there is no solution.

For instance, if there are 99 murderers and one innocent person on a ship, that ship cannot be scuttled according to pure justice. The rights of that one innocent person need to be taken into consideration.

Similarly, a believer who is used as a shield by the enemy in a castle cannot be killed. That castle cannot be bombed. However, if hundreds of believers are likely to die if the castle is not bombed, relative justice is applied and the castle is bombed even if that believer's life is risked. Thus, a big mischief is prevented. That believer becomes a martyr if he dies. 

- It will be useful to see what Badiuzzaman Said Nursi writes regarding the issue:

“Pure justice and relative justice may be explained like this: according to the allusive meaning of the verse, "If anyone slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would he as if he slew the whole people", the rights of an innocent man cannot be cancelled for the sake of all the people. A single individual may not be sacrificed for the good of all. In the view of Almighty God’s compassion, right is right, there is no difference between great and small. The small may not be annulled for the great. Without his consent, the life and rights of an individual may not be sacrificed for the good of the community. If he consents to sacrifice them in the name of patriotism, that is a different matter.” (Mektubat (Letters), 53 - 54)


7-) It is said that the hornless sheep will get his rights from the horned sheep in the hereafter. Will you explain this hadith?

Animals have partial free will. For, when you treat an animal well, it approaches you without fearing; when you treat it badly and hit it, the animal runs away from you when it sees you. We understand from it that animals have partial free will. However, it is not enough for being held responsible. That is, their partial free will is not like man's free will, which can be expressed as follows: “Regarding worshipping and obeying Allah, he will do it if he wishes and not do it if he does not wish it.”

It is possible to divide laws of Shari'ah into two. One of them is the religious laws. People are held responsible for them.

The other is the laws of nature like the law of gravity and the burning property of fire. A person who jumps into space falls down and is punished by the pain caused by that fall.

The legitimate sustenance of wild animals is carrion. They cannot violate one another's rights. This natural law was informed to them through inspiration and an instinct from their creation. A bird learns the necessities of life through inspiration. Similarly, what it needs to do in its life is informed to him naturally through inspiration.

Therefore, they cannot harm living animals and cannot oppress weak animals thinking that they are strong. An animal that acts like that will be punished in this world or in the Gathering Place in the hereafter. They will not go to Hell since they do not have intellect.

How do animals receive inspiration?

There is a different realm that directs and controls every living being, from the sparrows that hide behind the branches of a tree when it gets dark to the ants that return to their nests, from the fish that hide in the hollows of a rock to a gazelle that seeks safety in a distant corner of the jungle. All of them find the places to spend the night in the best way through inspiration, instinct and divine control. The next day, an awesome day with various activities starts when the first rays of the sun appear in the horizon. All of them set off with a feeling, turn, fly, run, walk, swim... However, none of them knows where they go, what the time is, when they will return to their nests. However, all of their affairs are settled through inspiration.

Animals know their Lord, who gives them inspiration, through inspiration. An animal might not know what it is, how many feet it has, its stomach, liver, etc but it knows that it exists. It wants to protect this existence. If you try to take it from it, it will run away from you. Every animal that knows its being through inspiration and that is pleased with it has a feeling of thanking to this grant in their hearts in a form that we cannot know. Yes a being that knows itself needs to know its Lord too. This meaning is valid for all animals. However, their knowing their Lord is small like knowing themselves but it is true.   

Any animal that we see and meet cannot know our inner world; similarly, we cannot know its inner realm.  What we know is only its brain and organs. Even if we know what swims in their blood, we cannot know what passes through it. Then, how can we claim that these beings, whose inner realms we are ignorant about, do not know their Lord?

What will the situation of animals be like in the Gathering Place?

If we divide living beings into three as having life, having spirit and having intellect and consciousness, plants have only life. Animals have both life and spirit. People, angels and jinn have life, spirit and consciousness. Among these beings, only people and jinn are held responsible. They are bound to obey Allah's orders and prohibitions; they are subject to a test throughout their lives. When they die, they will go to Paradise or Hell. 

Since animals are deprived of feelings like intellect and consciousness that will encumber responsibility on them, concepts like sin-thawab, good-bad, Paradise-Hell are not in question for them.

All animals, from unicellular ameba to whales, have spirit. Essentially, spirit itself is eternal; it does not die or disappear. The body in which the spirit lives temporarily dies and decays. 

As it is clearly stated in the Quran, spirit is under the order, power and control of Allah Almighty. Nobody but Allah can control spirit. It is Allah who creates it and who maintains it.

As for the issue of the situation in the Gathering Place, two species will be resurrected there; their eternal place will be determined after they are called to account: They are human beings and jinn. 

The situation of animals is completely different. Two verses regarding the issue are as follows:

“When the wild beasts are herded together (in human habitations)” (1)

“The Day when man will see (the Deeds) which his hands have sent forth, and the Unbeliever will say "Woe unto me! Would that I were (mere) dust.” (2)

In the interpretation of these verses, according to the narrations of Abdullah bin Umar, Abu Hurayra and Imam Mujahid, Allah Almighty will resurrect animals on the Day of Gathering; He will give their rights by taking them from one another and will give them the order, “Be Dust!” Then, all of them will be transformed into dust. Unbelievers will watch the animals and will envy them; they will ask Allah to transform them into dust. (3) However, human beings will be punished for what they did; therefore, they will not be treated like animals.

Animals are not responsible beings but they will be given and taken their rights to a certain extent. As a matter of fact, the Prophet (pbuh) stated the following in a hadith:

“You will give the rights of every being to them. Even the right of the hornless sheep will be taken from the horned sheep through retaliation.”

Thus, he states that no injustice will be left unreciprocated. According to the statement of hadith scholars, an ant will take its right from another ant. (4)

Badiuzzaman Said Nursi explains this issue as follows:  

“Although the bodies of animals with immortal spirits perish, they will receive reward and punishment in a manner appropriate for them in an eternal realm.”(5)

Yes, the spirits of animals will remain eternal; Allah Almighty will keep their spirits. However, only Allah knows how He will keep spirits since spirit is under His control.

Footnotes:

1. at-Takwir, 5.
2. an-Naba, 40.
3. see Tabari, the interpretation of an-Naba, 40.)
4. Tirmidhi, Qiyamah, 2; Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır. Hak Dini Kur'an Dili, 8:5599.
5. Lem'alar, (Osm.) p. 887.)


8-) Are people living and worshipping in holy places like Makkah and Madinah luckier and more advantageous than those living in other places?

The Prophet (pbuh) said these hadiths to the people living in Hejaz region at that time. Besides, most of those who were there lived there.

The expression here is for any person who performs prayers there and there is no injustice here. It also encourages people to visit those places. The virtue of the prayers performed in these holy places are more but the sins committed there are relatively heavier.

Those who visit these places coming from distant places and perform prayers there will receive a lot of extra rewards due to the difficulty of travelling. Those who live there will not get such rewards.

Besides, Allah gives rewards to a person based on his intention. A person who always wants to be in those holy places and to perform prayers there but cannot go there may expect rewards from Allah as if he has performed prayers there. This is closer to Allah’s mercy and justice.

There are various narrations regarding the issue. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) states the following in a hadith:

"Do not set out on a journey except for three mosques: Masjid al-Haram, my mosque and Masjid Al-Aqsa" (Bukhari, Fadailus-Salat, 1, 6)

A prayer performed in Masjid an-Nabawi is much more virtuous than a prayer performed in other mosques. Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas narrates that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,

"A prayer performed in my mosque is better than one thousand rak’ahs performed in other mosques except Masjid al-Haram." (Ahmad b. Hanbal, I/184)

In another narration, the phrase "more virtuous" is used. (Hanbal, I/16; Nasai, Masjid, 4)


9-) Who are the people who are really responsible for trusts and justice?

“Allah doth command you to render back your Trusts to those to whom they are due; And when ye judge between man and man, that ye judge with justice: Verily how excellent is the teaching which He giveth you! For Allah is He Who heareth and seeth all things.” (an-Nisa, 4/58)

The addressees of the people here for the fulfillment of the trusts, giving trust to people who are due and judging among people with justice are generally all people, specifically believers, and more specifically the people and institutions responsible for trust and justice on behalf of the public.

Throughout history, the peace and happiness of human societies have been gained or lost for two reasons: trust and justice.

Peace and happiness existed in the society as long as the trusts were given to those who were due and justice was secured; and treachery and injustice were among the main reasons for discontent, quarrels, wars and destruction of wealth and generations.

Trustis the material and spiritual value required to be protected. Something that a person borrows in order to use and return to its owner is a trust; similarly, the positions given to people in the state so that they will serve the public are also trusts; knowledge, religion, treaties, contracts and rights of neighbors, etc. are all trusts.

All of them need to be protected, handed over to the relevant people or authorities and used in accordance with the purpose they were entrusted.

The Prophet (pbuh) stated the following:

“There are three characteristics of a hypocrite: when he speaks, he lies, when he makes a promise, he acts treacherously, and when he something is entrusted to him, he betrays.” (Muslim, Iman, 107-109)

Thus, he described the people who betrayed the things entrusted to them as people with characteristics of munafiqs.

The judgment among people is usually given when there is a dispute and a legal case by distinguishing between the right and the wrong or by explaining to whom the right belongs.

Justice means "ensuring equality and balance".

What is meant by equality here is not giving everyone the same thing with the same quality and quantity; it is everyone being equal in obtaining their rights, what they deserve and what they are worthy of; being treated equally by the law when a person who is right but weak has a problem or disagreement with a person who is wrong but strong.

Those who violate people's rights often do so by regarding themselves superior and powerful to others.

When the public power supports the person who is right but weak, equality in practice, that is, justice, is ensured.

The realization of justice depends on having the right, equitable and balanced knowledge and criteria about who deserves what, and who is worthy of what– along with just people who apply justice. The rules of law and binding legislation are imposed in order to provide the knowledge and criteria.

If the rules of the law are imposed by people independent of divine guidance the criteria of equity and the balance of rights can be distorted since it is not possible for people not to go beyond themselves, not to be influenced by human conditions and the culture and values of the society ​.

If the knowledge is incomplete and the criteria are wrong, justice is not secured – even if system, law and courts exist.

Allah, who created man and the universe, has imposed mizan (the criteria).

Mizan means "the criteria of balance, equity and justice in material and spiritual fields". The indispensable resource related to finding the criteria for law is nass (Quranic verses and hadiths).

Related to the issues that verses and hadiths do not explain directly, it is necessary to refer to public interest, interpretation, ijtihads of qiyas (juristic expositions of analogy) and urf (custom or usage); the decrees and criteria to secure justice are obtained this way. When decrees and criteria are found and known, they are put into practice.

In practice, there are two guarantees for justice not to be corrupted:

A) Ethics based on belief.

B) Supervision by the society with the sense of trust and responsibility.

There is no reason for justice not to be secured in a place where sound rules of law, ethics and public supervision exist.

It is man who needs to obey and show respect to justice and trust; despite the perfect guide of Islam, the failures of trust and justice seen in Muslim societies originate from the lack of Islamic people, and failures of so-called Muslims in belief, ethics and deeds.

If the top administrators do not give the trusts to the people who are due as much as they can and if they do not supervise carefully, the greatest responsibility will belong to them.

Author:

Hayrettin Karaman (Prof. Dr.)


10-) Should a person struggle against the injustices he faces in this world and to what extent should he struggle? Or, should one not waive his rights by complaining against the wrongdoers in the Hereafter?

One must avoid doing wrong to others and try to prevent others from doing wrong. This is a duty. However, there are Islamic criteria in eliminating the wrong done to us or to someone else. It is necessary to act in accordance with them.

For instance, it is a command of our Prophet ‘to prevent an evil or an injustice one sees with the hand, if not, with the tongue (verbally), and if this is also not possible, to answer it with the objection of the heart.’ This hadith of the Prophet is explained by authorized scholars as follows:

To prevent the ‘munkar’ (evil) with hand is the duty of the state and other authorities. And to prevent it with tongue is the duty of the scholars and the people knowledgeable in that matter. Those who do not possess any authority, and who lack the knowledge to prevent the evil with tongue should hate it in their heart, in other words, they must object to that evil in their inner world.

Accordingly, when one experiences an injustice, he must apply to the authorities for its removal, and if there are people capable of preventing the evil, one must let them intervene. And in cases when all these fail to prove successful, it means that the wronged person will get her/his right on the great Day of Judgment in the Hereafter.

As for waiving one’s right, this is a virtue; one may forgive the infringements on his rights if s/he wills. Those who prefer the way of forgiving when faced with an evil done by his believing friend rather than retaliating with the same amount or more will, by all means, receive the great reward of this in the Hereafter. However, their right to demand their rights is also guaranteed. It is up to the person to decide.


11-) Is it permissible to keep silent and not to pursue one’s rights so as not to commit a sin? In what situations is it permissible for man to keep silent?

Every Muslim is responsible to fulfill their duties. The position a person has in a community lays certain burdens on him. A Muslim becomes responsible based on his position. We can view the issue through a hadith:

“He who amongst you sees something abominable should modify it with the help of his hand; and if he has not strength enough to do it, then he should do it with his tongue, and if he has not strength enough to do it, (even) then he should (abhor it) from his heart.” (Muslim, Iman 78)

We cannot interpret this hadith on our own on every occasion. If we see a bad deed on the way and try to correct it with our hands and punish a person and if that person sues us, we will be punished.Then, how should we understand the meaning of this hadith?

To correct with the hand is the duty of the state and security forces; to correct with the tongue is the duty of scholars; to abhor from the heart is the duty of others.

In addition, it is important what the advice or explanation given to a person will bring about in that person. For, it is possible to make things worse and to harm people while trying to be helpful. From this point of view, it is necessary to give advice if it is not likely to cause any harm.

The first way to follow while conveying the message of Islam to people for each person is to struggle against his own soul. After that, he should serve as a model by practicing Islam. He should love his addressee even if he is mistaken; he should not nurture a grudge against him. After that, he can give that person advice with compassion, mercy and good deeds like a doctor who treats his patient. However, he should give him advice if he knows that the advice will not harm him; otherwise, it is better for him to keep silent.

On the other hand, if he has to tell a lie when he speaks, he must not speak at all. He should tell the truth or he should keep silent if the truth will harm his addressee.

As for what should our attitude be toward the wrong deeds committed against us:

Should a person struggle against the injustices he faces in this world and to what extent should he struggle? Or, should one not waive his rights by complaining against the wrongdoers in the Hereafter?


12-) Why does Allah give wealth and property to sinners in this world and allow them to reach their goals?

We live in a world of wisdom. In this world, a person who acts in accordance with the laws of the world will succed whether he is an unbeliever or a Muslim. If a person fulfills the pre-requisites of something and acts in accordance with its causes and means, he will succeed whether he is a Muslim or an unbeliever. It is certain how to obtain crops from which plant, under which conditions, with which techniques and planning. A person who acts accordingly will succeed.

However, those who do not fulfill their duties and do not obey those orders will definitely suffer the consequences.

The reason why Allah does not prevent bad deeds directly in this world is the fact that we are in a world of testing. This world is a place of testing and those who give wrong answers and correct answers are allowed. If those who gave wrong answers were intervened, the testing would be meaningless.

If roses were thrown on the heads of those who did thawabs and thorns on those who committed sins, the world would not be a place of testing, but a place of reward and punishment.

- Where are oppressors punished?

Believers usually suffer in this world for the sins they commit so that their sins will be cleaned in this world and so that they will not be punished in the hereafter. However, the sins committed by unbelievers and oppressors are big; therefore, the misfortunes in this world are not enough for their penalty and their penalty is left to the hereafter. Even in this world, the penalty for minor crimes is given in small courts but the penalty for major crimes is given in big courts.

The penalty of a person who wrongs millions of people in this world will definitely not be given in this world. Only Hell can be fair penalty for their crimes.