Fairness in Islam

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ. الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ خَاتَمِ النَّبِيِّينَ وَعَلَى جَمِيعِ الأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالْمُرْسَلِينَ.

All Praise is due to Allah, we praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Allah, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad, peace and blessings on him, is His servant, and His messenger.

يَا أَيُّهَا الّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ –

O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam.

 

All praise is due to Allah. He decreed with justice and commanded it. And he forbid Himself from injustice and made it prohibited between His servants. His Prophet ﷺwas fair and commanded fairness. And he ﷺ forbade partiality and unfairness in the judgements.

Fairness is a rare and a dear virtue. It indicates the fairness of the one exhibiting it. And it applies to all aspects of life. For fairness is a part of justice. And it is an absolute value on which no exception can be made. And its opposite is injustice which is absolutely blameworthy. And no part of it is ever permitted. And every command to be just includes fairness. And every prohibition against injustice includes unfairness. And from the evidence of fairness is Allah Almighty’s words:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ

An Nahl (16) 90: Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct.

And His words:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُونُوا قَوَّامِينَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَاءَ لِلَّهِ وَلَوْ عَلَى أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَوِ الْوَالِدَيْنِ وَالْأَقْرَبِينَ

An Nisa (4) 135: O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives.

And it includes talking:

وَإِذَا قُلْتُمْ فَاعْدِلُوا وَلَوْ كَانَ ذَا قُرْبَى

Al Anam (6) 152: And when you speak [i.e., testify], be just, even if [it concerns] a near relative.

Just as it covers judgements:

وَإِذَا حَكَمْتُمْ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ أَنْ تَحْكُمُوا بِالْعَدْلِ

An Nisa (4) 58: And when you judge between people to judge with justice.

And fairness is with regards to Allah Almighty, and with the Messenger of Allah ﷺand with one’s self and with the people whether close or far. And with those who one agrees with and disagrees with.

Fairness with Allah Almighty is to devote worship only to Him alone without partners. And establish the requirements of Iman (faith) by carrying out the commands and refraining from the prohibitions. For shirk (associating others with Allah) is the most obscene and grave injustice. And it eliminates fairness:

إِنَّ الشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ

Luqman (31) 13: Indeed, association [with Him] is great injustice.

And leaving the obligatory and performing the prohibited eliminates fairness with Allah. For Allah Almighty is the Creator of a person and his Provider. And every provision is from Him. Thus, it mandates fairness towards Him in return for His favour by being thankful and obedient.

And fairness with the Prophet ﷺ is by believing, loving, and obeying him. And supporting his allies. And opposing his enemies. For he is the one who guided the person to His Lord Most Glorified and taught His religion and Book. And if a person is saved and attained paradise, he is saved because of him after the mercy of Allah Almighty. Thus, it mandates loving and obeying him and supporting him against his enemies. And hating the one who is hostile to him. The Prophet ﷺ said:

لَا يُؤْمِنُ أَحَدُكُمْ حَتَّى أَكُونَ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ وَالِدِهِ وَوَلَدِهِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِين  البخاري:15، مسلم:44

None of you has believed until I am dearer to him than his father, his son and all the people. [Bukhari 15, Muslim 44].

About the Fairness with your Imam, Teachers & Scholars. Brothers according to majority of scholars they are like as father & there is nothing wrong with addressing a scholar or elderly man as father, in the sense that his status is like that of a father in terms of respect, not in the sense of blood ties.

Abu Dawood (8), an-Nasaa’i (40) and Ibn Maajah (313) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

‏‏‏‏‏‏عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، ‏‏‏‏‏‏قَالَ:‏‏‏‏ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:‏‏‏‏ إِنَّمَا أَنَا لَكُمْ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْوَالِدِ، ‏‏‏‏‏‏أُعَلِّمُكُمْ،

The Messenger of Allah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ  said: “I am to you like a father; I teach you.”

Use of the word in this manner to refer to the Prophet َلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ or a scholar/Imam/teacher is acceptable in terms of dialectal usage and meaning. From the shar‘i point of view, Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says [Ahzaab 33:40].

 “Muhammad َلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ is not the father of any of your men”. In the saheeh hadeeth, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him said): “I am to you like a father; I teach you.”

Hence some of our scholars are of the view that the Prophet َلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ should not be called the father of the believers, even though his wives are the mothers of the believers, and the reason given for that is what we have mentioned. Based on this, it may be said that he is like a father, but it cannot be said that he is our father, And Allah says:

“And he raised his parents [abawayhi] to the throne” [Yoosuf 11:100], but his mother had died previously. (The scholars) said that what is meant is his maternal aunt. This is an example of the word abawayn (parents, lit. two fathers) being used to refer to someone other than a biological parent, which is a valid usage in Arabic. So conclusion to deal with great respect and treat with your Imam/teachers fairness as like dealing with your parents.

Now brothers fairness with oneself is to safeguard it. And refrain from what harms it. And for this reason, suicide was forbidden. And it is forbidden to harm oneself or any part of the body.  Just as fairness with the self includes avoiding what results in tormenting it after death. And performing deeds that lead to its happiness in the afterlife. And that is through Iman (faith) and righteous deeds.

And refraining from the prohibited.  Just as fairness with the self includes comforting it with what Allah has made permissible from the pure and good food, beverages, clothing, transportation and so forth from the comforts of this worldly life. And from the fairness with the self is not to overburden it in worship in a manner that harms it or harms those related to it. And for this reason, forsaking the worldly life like monks is prohibited in Islam. And Salman advised Abu al Dadra (may Allah be pleased with them) to be fair with himself.

إِنَّ لِرَبِّكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا, وَلِنَفْسِكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا, وَلِأَهْلِكَ عَلَيْكَ حَقًّا, فَأَعْطِ كُلَّ ذِي حَقٍّ حَقَّهُ, فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ -صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ-: صَدَقَ سَلْمَانُ”(الْبُخَارِيُّ:6139).

Indeed, your Lord has a right upon you, and your self has a right upon you, and your family has a right upon you. So, give each the right they are due. The Prophet ﷺ when that was mentioned to him said: “Salman has told the truth.” [al Bukhari 6139].

And as far as fairness with people, it is specific to each person. For fairness with parents is through treating them kindly and goodness towards them. Being kind is their right. And whoever is fair to them performs it.

 وَقَضَى رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا

Al Isra (17) 23: And your Lord has decreed that you worship not except Him, and to parents, good treatment.

And fairness with relatives is to join the kinship and not cut them off. Just as was indicated in the Hadith narrated by Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) who said that the Prophet ﷺ said:

 الرَّحِمُ مُعَلَّقَةٌ بِالْعَرْشِ تَقُولُ: مَنْ وَصَلَنِي وَصَلَهُ اللَّهُ, وَمَنْ قَطَعَنِي قَطَعَهُ اللَّهُ  .

The tie of kinship is attached to the throne and says: He who keeps good relations with me, Allah will keep connection with him, but whosoever severs relations with me, Allah will sever connection with him. [Bukhari 4830, Muslim 2554].

And fairness to the wife is looking at her virtues even when angry or when disliking something about her. As the Prophet ﷺ indicated:

 لَا يَفْرَكْ مُؤْمِنٌ مُؤْمِنَةً, إِنْ كَرِهَ مِنْهَا خُلُقًا رَضِيَ مِنْهَا آخَرَ (مُسْلِمٌ:1469)

A believer must not hate a believing woman; if he dislikes one of her characteristics, he will be pleased with another. [Muslim 1469].

That is he should not hate her because of something he dislikes about her. For he certainly will find something that he likes about her. So, from fairness is to be balanced and not to be unjust.  And fairness with children is to be just with them in dealings and giving. The Prophet ﷺ said:

اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَاعْدِلُوا بَيْنَ أَوْلَادِكُمْ  (البخاري:2587، مسلم:1623)

Be conscious of Allah and be just between your children [Bukhari 2587, Muslim 1623].

The Great fairness towards children, is that training children on doing obligatory duties. But the parent or guardian of children has to make them get used to doing the obligatory duties and avoiding haram things before puberty and allocation of Pen, so that they will grow up with that and it will not be too hard for them to adhere to that. This is one of the basic principles of child raising that are established in the Shari`ah.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Train your children to pray when they are seven years old, and smack them (lightly, that is, discipline them) if they do not do so when they are ten and separate them in their beds.” (Narrated by Abu Dawud, 495; Ahmad, 2/187, from the hadith of ‘Amr ibn Shu’ayb, narrated from his father from his grandfather.)

Al-Bukhari (1960) and Muslim narrated in their sahihs from al-Rubayyi’ bint Mu’awwidh the hadith concerning the fast of ‘Ashura and when it was enjoined on the Muslims. In this hadith, it says: “And after that we used to fast it – meaning ‘Ashura – and make our small children fast, and we would go to the mosque and make them toys out of wool, and if one of them cried for food we would give them that toy (to play with) until iftar.”

According to a report narrated by Muslim: If they asked us for food, we would give them the toy to distract them until they completed their fast.  Al-Nawawi said in Sharh Sahih Muslim (8/14): “This hadith describes training to do acts of obedience and making them get used to doing acts of worship, but they were not accountable.” And fairness with the neighbour is goodness towards him. And averting harm from him. The Prophet ﷺ said:

مَنْ كَانَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ فَلَا يُؤْذِ جَارَهُ  (البخاري:6018، مسلم:47)

Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should not harm his neighbour [Bukhari 6018.

And fairness with any Muslim is to love good for them as you love it for yourself. The Prophet ﷺ said:

 لَا يُؤْمِنُ أَحَدُكُمْ حَتَّى يُحِبَّ لِأَخِيهِ مَا يُحِبُّ لِنَفْسِهِ” (البخاري:6018، مسلم:47)

None of you believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.

And fairness is even with those who differ in religion such as the hypocrite or innovator. One is obligated to be fair with someone even if he is his enemy. For enmity and differing in religion does not permit being unjust. Allah said:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُونُوا قَوَّامِينَ لِلَّهِ شُهَدَاءَ بِالْقِسْطِ وَلَا يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شَنَآنُ قَوْمٍ عَلَى أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا اعْدِلُوا هُوَ أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَى

Al Maidah (5) 8: O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allah, witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness.

Therefore, it is necessary for the believer to adorn themselves with fairness for it is among the most beautiful virtues. And being fair to others as he expects others to be fair with him. We ask Allah Almighty to make us among those who are fair and just. And to spare us from injustice, oppression, and transgression. Indeed, he is All Hearing, All Answering.

I conclude with this and send prayers of blessings and peace upon our Prophet as your Lord commanded:

Allahumma Sallai Al’a Muahmmad’n wa’aila Muhammad

أَقُولُ مَا تَسْمَعُونَ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ  لِي وَلَكُمْ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ  إِنَّهُ هُوَ الغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

For Any further Information please contact me at info@irlammosque.org.

Imam Sheikh Mahboob Rasool