THE ESSENCE OF ALL RELIGIONS: Righteousness And Justice.

The Essence Of All Religions:
Righteousness
And Justice

(M. Javed Naseem)

What is Islam? What religion Prophets Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (s.a.w.) practiced and preached? It was submission to God Almighty. That submission or surrender is called Islam in Arabic language. Islam is righteousness and justice! As a matter of fact, social justice is a part of righteousness. You can’t be a pious or a righteous person without being just and fair in your dealings. You must be an honest and just person in every walk of life to be rightly called ‘righteous’. The best definition of ‘righteousness’ comes directly from the Almighty God in the Holy Quran. Allah says:

“It is not righteousness that you turn your faces
towards east or west; but the righteousness is to
believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels,
and the Books, and the Messengers; to spend of
your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin,
for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for
those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to
be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity;
to fulfill the contracts which you have made; and
to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and
adversity, and throughout all periods of panic.
Such are the people of truth, the Allah-fearing.”
(al-Quran 2:177)

God is gracious! You take care of people around you and God will take care of you! What a beautiful bargain, only win/win situation! Allah commands the believers in the Holy Quran to be just, honest and kind to others so that there is no injustice, inequality and corruption.

The Quran says:

“Allah commands justice, the doing of good,
and liberality to kith and kin, and He forbids all
shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion. He
instructs you that you may receive admonition.”
(al-Quran 16:90)

The Bible Says:

“But let justice roll on like a river,
Righteousness like a never-failing stream!”
(Amos 5:24)

A society based on social justice and equality is a peaceful and happy society. But we need to train ourselves to be content with whatever we have earned honestly and legally. No greed, no injustice! All evil springs from greed and unfairness or injustice. The world today is in chaos because of the rich and powerful who want to control and run it their way which is not just or fair. Their greed, dishonesty and wish to rule the entire world is the basis of all corruption, all wars, all death & destruction, all fake diseases and all fake vaccines. Allah commands:

“O you who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as
witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your
parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or
poor; for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the
lusts (of your hearts), lest you swerve, and if you
distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah
is well-acquainted with all that you do.”
(al-Quran 4:135)

You see the level of piety and righteousness in the above command of God about justice! The words “even as against yourselves” or against your family, would take you to another level of moral achievement which is rarely seen in today’s material world. That’s true justice and that’s true Islam!

It is not easy to deliver justice or to maintain justice in a fast changing society where interests always clash, even in the family. With so much crime and injustice around us; with so much corruption in the society, with so much selfishness, we have lost confidence in people. We don’t trust people easily. There is always suspicion. The irony is that we are suspicious about others because we are judging them by our own yardstick and not by universal standards. At the same time, we don’t like to be judged by the same yardstick. We easily find faults in others but see no fault in ourselves. We criticize others but hate it when others criticize us as we feel insulted. This is real hypocrisy or bigotry (Munafiqat).

 

Here’s what the Bible says:

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the
judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and
with the measure you use it will be measured to you.
Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's
eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take
the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in
your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out
of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to
take the speck out of your brother's eye.”
(Matthew 7:1-5)

 “Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality
to the poor or favoritism to the great,
but judge your neighbor fairly.”
(Leviticus 19:15)

And here's what the Quran says:

"But whoever believes, and works righteousness,
he shall have a goodly reward, and easy will be his
task as We order it by our Command."
(al-Quran 18:88)

God, the Almighty, wants a just and peaceful society on Earth that’s why He commands believers to consult the Book, the ‘How To’ manual in the discharge of their daily affairs. And social justice is one of the most important field. 

The Quran says:

“We have sent down to you the Book in
truth, that you may judge between men,
as guided by Allah …”
(al-Quran 4:105)

“Except those who repent and believe, and work
Righteousness, for these will enter the Garden and
will not be wronged in the least.”
(al-Quran 19:60)

The Bible says:

 “The Lord loves righteousness and justice,
the earth is full of his unfailing love.”
(Psalms 33:5)

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