Important matters in the Qur'an

Justice

Justice is one of the most important matters in the Qur'an and the traditions. Justice is one of the attributes of Allah the Almighty, the prophets and the saints.

A just person is surely beloved by Allah and by good people and he is as a shining lamp in the sphere of life.

Justice is the source, the root and the essence of all the system of the world of existence. It has been narrated that, ‘With justice the heavens and the earth have been established.’

The Holy Qur'an, in too many verses, has talked about justice and invited all the people to carry out justice in all the affairs of their lives.

“Surely Allah enjoins the doing of justice and the doing of good (to others) and the giving to the kindred…” Qur'an, 16:90

“Surely Allah commands you to make over trusts to their owners and that when you judge between people you judge with justice…” Qur'an, 4:58

“O you who believe! Be upright for Allah, bearers of witness with justice, and let not hatred of a people incite you not to act equitably; act equitably, that is nearer to piety…” Qur'an, 5:8

The Prophet (s) has said, ‘Justice of one hour is better than worships of seventy years; spending the night (in worshipping) and fasting during the day and injustice of one hour is worse near Allah than sins of sixty years.’[1]

Ameerul Mo'mineen (s) has said, ‘He, whose inward is like his outwards and whose doings are like his sayings, has protected deposits and carried out justice.’[2]

He has also said, ‘Justice is the base on which the world has been established.’[3]

He has also said, ‘Justice is the head of faith, the peak of charity and the highest rank of faith.’[4]

Out of the previous Qur’anic verses and holy traditions we find that the Divine facts are; faith, prayers, spending, believing in the afterlife, being kind to the parents and to the kin, being charitable to the orphans and the needy, courtesy, sincerity, patience, lawful properties, piety, charity, taking lessons, goodness, seeking knowledge, expectation and justice.

Some of these things are practical programs and some others are moral, some are inwards and some others are outwards.

It has been mentioned previously that the moral beauty and the factors that lead to reform man’s personality and psychological state after repenting of sins are several things such as; good intention, favor, freedom, wisdom, good will, love, fairness, guardianship, reconciliation, carrying out covenants, pardoning, relying on Allah, humbleness, truthfulness, loving the humankind, doing good to people, mixing with people in good manners, great jihad (against one’s desires and lusts), enjoining the good, forbidding the wrong, piety, gratefulness, responsibility, generosity and the likes. All these things make one reform his inward and add to himself moral beauty.

If we want to explain all these things depending on the Qur’anic verses and the traditions, we will need several volumes to achieve the task; therefore we turn away from explaining these things and the readers may read them in the detailed books like the tafsirs (interpretations) of the Qur'an, Usool al-Kafi, Jami’ as-Sa’adat, Mi’raj as-Sa’ada, al-Mahajja al-Baydha’, al-Irfan al-Islami (twelve volumes written by the author of this book), Ma’ani al-Akhbar, Khisaal as-Sadooq, al-Mawa’idh al-Adadiyya and others.

Vices and bad deeds

Vices, bad deeds, major sins and minor sins are so many that these few pages are not enough to show them all as they have been mentioned in the Qur'an and the traditions.

In this chapter, we are going to explain the matters concerning these things as examples in the same way as we have talked about the good deeds and morals in the previous chapters and we refer the readers to the famous books of tafsir and Hadith.

Adorning oneself with good morals and purifying the inward from the vices changes one into a perfect man who will get the happiness of this life and the afterlife.

The main part of good morals causes the Divine mercy come down like the rain and causes man to enter the field of the Divine contentment whereas the main part of the vices and bad deeds causes to bring down the wrath of Allah and makes the personality of man disappear and brings him the Divine wrath and the eternal torment.

According to the Qur’anic verses Paradise, on the Day of Resurrection, will be the reward of the good deeds that man do in the worldly life and Hell will be the reward of the bad deeds. In other words the good deeds will be as bricks and materials of construction in Paradise whereas the bad deeds will be as tools of painful punishment in the afterlife.

We should seize the little opportunity in our worldly life and our short old to do good deeds and to avoid bad deeds to be safe from the painful punishment, to save ourselves from the eternal torment in Hell and to enter into Paradise to enjoy the eternal bliss of the Beloved.

Lying

Lying or every speech that is opposite to the reality is something ugly and obscene and it is one of the incitive means of the Satan.

The Qur'an in many verses considers lying as one of the major sins and declares that a liar deserves the wrath and curse of Allah. The Qur'an has threatened the liars and the rejecters of severe torment.

The Qur'an has mentioned the Christians of Najran who had come to argue with Prophet Muhammad (s) in Medina. The Prophet (s) had invited them to perform mubahala[5] to show them that they were liars and they deserved the curse of Allah.

Yes! The sin of lying is too heavy and great to a degree that a liar deserves to be cursed and driven out of the mercy of Allah.

“…then let us be earnest in prayer, and pray for the curse of Allah on the liars.” Qur'an, 3:61

Allah the Almighty mentions in the Qur'an the bad features of the hypocrites among which is the feature of lying and He witnesses on it;

“…and Allah bears witness that the hypocrites are surely liars.” Qur'an, 63:1

The Prophet (s) has said, ‘It is a great treason that you talk to your brother and he believes you whereas you tell him lies.’[6]

Imam Ali (s) has said, ‘Beware of lying because it is the lowest of morals and it is a kind of obscenity and a kind of meanness.’[7]

The Prophet (s) has said, ‘The greatest of sins is a lying tongue.’[8]

Ameerul Mo'mineen (s) has said, ‘If a person tells one a lie, the angel will go one mile away from him because of the foulness he does.’[9]

Imam al-Baqir (s) has said, ‘Allah the Almighty has made locks for evil and made the intoxicating drinks as the keys of these locks but lying is eviler than drinking.’[10]

The Prophet (s) has said, ‘Lying is a door from among the doors of hypocrisy.’[11]

Accusation

How ugly it is when someone pollutes the reputation of a man or a woman before people and ascribes vices to them! How ugly it is when someone accuses an innocent person of a sin that he has never committed just for selfish motives, personal desires and satanic incitements! How ugly it is when someone disgraces the honest and respectable peoples, defames and dishonors them!

Accusing innocent and chaste people is one of the ugliest deeds and worst morals.

“And whoever commits a fault or a sin, then accuses of it one innocent, he indeed takes upon himself the burden of a calumny and a manifest sin.” Qur'an, 4:112

The Prophet (s) has said, ‘He, who slanders a believer or accuses him of what he is innocent of, Allah will stand him on a hill of fire on the Day of Resurrection until he repents of what has accused that believer of.’[12]

Imam as-Sadiq (s) has said, ‘Whoever slanders a believing man or a believing woman or accused him/her of what he/she is free from Allah will imprison him on the Day of Resurrection in a clay of khabal until he will repents of what he has accused of.’ He was asked what the clay of khabal was and he said, ‘It is pus that comes out of the vaginas of the prostitutes.’[13]

The Prophet (s) has said, ‘Slandering an innocent person is heavier than mountains.’[14]