What Are the Consequences of the Absence of Justice?
ما هي عواقب غياب العدالة؟
In the absence of justice, what are the consequences?
The answer names two consequences of the absence of justice: people transgress against one another, taking from their rights, honor, wealth, and minds without right, as the strong exploit the weak; and security disappears, as fear replaces mutual trust.
1. Oppression and Violation of Rights
In the absence of justice, the first tragic result is transgression against others: without a just system to hold transgressors to account, the strong exploit the weak, and people begin to take from others' rights, honor, wealth, or minds without right, and rights and sanctities are violated with no deterrent.
2. The Loss of Security
The final and most dangerous result of this widespread injustice is the loss of security among people. A society without justice is consumed by fear; when rights, wealth, minds, and honor are not protected, mutual trust disappears completely, and individuals live in constant fear for their lives and their families.
ما هي عواقب غياب العدالة؟
يذكر الجواب نتيجتين لغياب العدالة: التعدي على الغير والأخذ من حقوقهم وأعراضهم وأموالهم وعقولهم بغير حق، إذ يستغل القوي الضعيف، وغياب الأمان بين الناس، إذ يحل الخوف محل الثقة المتبادلة.
التعدي على الحقوق والحرمات
في غياب العدالة، النتيجة المأساوية الأولى هي التعدي على الغير. فبدون نظام عادل لمحاسبة المعتدين، يستغل القوي الضعيف. ويبدأ الناس في الأخذ من حقوقهم أو أعراضهم أو أموالهم أو عقولهم بغير حق. ويتم انتهاك الحقوق والحرمات بلا أي رادع.
غياب الأمان المجتمعي
النتيجة النهائية والأكثر خطورة لهذا الظلم المنتشر هي غياب الأمان المجتمعي بين الناس. فالمجتمع بلا عدالة هو مجتمع يستهلكه الخوف. وعندما لا تحمى الحقوق والأموال والعقول والأعراض، تنعدم الثقة المتبادلة تماما، ويبقى الأفراد في رعب مستمر على حياتهم وعائلاتهم.
1. I Have Forbidden Injustice for Myself | إني حرمت الظلم على نفسي
The Prophet reported that Allah said: O My servants, I have forbidden injustice for Myself and made it forbidden among you, so do not wrong one another (Sahih Muslim 2577). Injustice is forbidden among all people, and the answer describes what follows when it spreads.
قال النبي ﷺ فيما روى عن الله تبارك وتعالى أنه قال: "يا عبادي إني حرمت الظلم على نفسي وجعلته بينكم محرما فلا تظالموا" (صحيح مسلم 2577). فالظلم محرم بين الناس جميعا، والجواب يصف ما يترتب على انتشاره.
2. Injustice Will Be Darkness | الظلم ظلمات يوم القيامة
The Prophet said: Beware of injustice, for injustice will be darkness on the Day of Resurrection; and beware of avarice, for avarice destroyed those before you: it drove them to shed their blood and to make lawful what was sacred to them (Sahih Muslim 2578). This is the transgression against lives and sanctities that the answer warns of.
قال النبي ﷺ: "اتقوا الظلم فإن الظلم ظلمات يوم القيامة، واتقوا الشح فإن الشح أهلك من كان قبلكم، حملهم على أن سفكوا دماءهم واستحلوا محارمهم" (صحيح مسلم 2578). وهذا هو التعدي على الأنفس والحرمات الذي حذر منه الجواب.
3. Allah Gives Respite to the Wrongdoer | إن الله ليملي للظالم
The Prophet said: Allah gives respite to the wrongdoer, but when He seizes him, He does not let him escape; then he recited: such is the seizing of your Lord when He seizes the towns while they are doing wrong; His seizing is painful and severe (Sahih al-Bukhari 4686; Hud 11:102). Ibn Kathir explains that as Allah destroyed the wrongdoing generations, He does the same to those like them.
وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَخْذُ رَبِّكَ إِذَا أَخَذَ الْقُرَىٰ وَهِيَ ظَالِمَةٌ ۚ إِنَّ أَخْذَهُ أَلِيمٌ شَدِيدٌ (سورة هود: 102)
قال النبي ﷺ: "إن الله ليملي للظالم حتى إذا أخذه لم يفلته"، ثم قرأ آية هود 11:102 (صحيح البخاري 4686). قال ابن كثير: "وكما أهلكنا أولئك القرون الظالمة المكذبة لرسلنا كذلك نفعل بنظائرهم وأشباههم وأمثالهم".
Scholarly Insight: The answer's two consequences, transgression and lost security, are what the texts warn of: Allah forbade injustice among His servants (Sahih Muslim 2577), the Prophet said avarice drove earlier nations to shed blood and violate what was sacred to them (Sahih Muslim 2578), and Allah's seizing of wrongdoing towns is painful and severe (Hud 11:102). Read more in the tafsir of Surah Hud.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
What happens to a society without justice?
The answer says people transgress against the rights, honor, wealth, and minds of others, and security disappears from among them.
Is injustice forbidden to everyone?
Yes. Allah says in a hadith qudsi: I have forbidden injustice for Myself and made it forbidden among you, so do not wrong one another (Sahih Muslim 2577).
What did avarice lead earlier nations to?
The Prophet said it drove them to shed their blood and make lawful what was sacred to them (Sahih Muslim 2578).
Does Allah punish wrongdoers immediately?
Not always. The Prophet said Allah gives respite to the wrongdoer, and when He seizes him He does not let him escape, then recited Hud 11:102 (Sahih al-Bukhari 4686).
Prepared by Eng. Ghada Homad, founder of IslamFAQ, researched and written in consultation with qualified scholars, reviewed by Professor Khaled Jassem Al-Houli, Associate Professor of Comparative Jurisprudence and Islamic Politics, Faculty of Sharia and Islamic Studies, University of Kuwait. Read more about the authors and this project →