The Principle of Justice during the reign of Umar bin Abd Al-Aziz [rahimahullah]

 

The principle of justice was of crucial importance to ‘Umar, which it seems he rightly inherited from his grandfather from his mother’s side, ‘Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). It is no surprise then that he had pressed onto coins the phrase:

“Allah commands faithfulness and justice.” [1]

 

 

He demanded that no capital punishment be carried out on a person without his knowledge [2] whereby he wrote to his official, al-Juraah bin ‘Abdullah al-Hakamii, the Governor of Khorasan:

O son of Umm Juraah! Do not kill or flog a believer except in truth and be wary of being held to account as you are going to The One Who knows the treachery from within and from Whom the heart conceals nothing. Therefore recite a book that leaves out neither the major nor the minor to be reckoned with .” [3]

 

He acted fairly with the Ahl adh-Dhimmah (Non-Muslims living under Muslim rule) and protected them as well as their places of worship, from being attacked or violated , about which he wrote to his officials:

“Do not tear down a single church , synagogue or fire-temple.“[4]

 

He lifted the Makas (trading taxes illegally levied during pre-Islamic times) and removed the ‘Ushur (import tax) and other taxes that had been imposed under former governments. As a result, he liberated the spirit of free trade on land and sea and freed it from the injustices that were being committed by the Bani Umayyad (tribe) and al-Hajjaj. [5]

 

Footnotes:

[1] Sirat wa Manaqib ‘Umar bin ‘Abd al-‘Aziz [The Life and Outstanding Traits of ‘Umar bin ‘Abd al-‘Aziz] by lbn al-Jawzi, p. 98.]

[2] Tarikh at-Tabari (Tabari’s History] (71474).

[3] Ibid (71464).

[4] Ibid (71477).

[5] Sirat wa Manaqib ‘Umar bin ‘Abd al-‘Aziz [The Life and Outstanding Traits of ‘Umar bin ‘Abd al-‘Aziz] by lbn al-Jawzi, p. 107-8.]

 

 

 

Abu Sufyan on money and “a black stallion”: The Justice of Umar bin al-Khattab (radiAllahu anhu)

 

From a narrative by Zayd ibn Aslam on the authority of his father. He said,

“When Mu’awiya was ruling Syria, he sent Umar ibn al-Khattab some money and “a black stallion”. He wrote to his father Abu Sufyan asking him to give them to Umar – by “black stallion” he meant a chain – and he wrote to Umar,

“In the fortresses of the Byzantines, I found a group of Muslim captives fettered in iron chains, so I am sending him this one so that the Commander of the Faithful may see it.”

 

The Arabs before that used to fetter in chains. Jarir said:
… or to control black stallions.

 

The messenger left. When he came to Abu Sufyan, he gave him the money and “the black stallion”. Abu Sufyan took “the black stallion” and the letter to Umar but retained the money for himself.

 

When Umar read the letter, he said, .

“So where is the money, O Abu Sufyan?”

He answered, “We had a debt to pay and some help to give; and we have some money due to us from the treasury. So if you will give us some of it, you will settle the accounts with us.”

 

Umar said, “Put him in ‘the black stallion’ until he brings the money.”

 

So Abu Sufyan sent someone who brought him the money, and Umar released him from “the black stallion”.

 

 

When the messenger came back to Mu’awiya, the latter asked him,

“Do you think the Commander of the Faithful liked ‘the black stallion’?”

He said, “Yes, and he put your father in it.”

He asked, “Why?”

He said, “He had given him ‘the black stallion’ and retained the money.”

 

He said, “Yes, by God. Even if it had been al-Khattab, he would have put him in it!”

 

[Al-Iqd al-Farıd, volume I, page 61]

 

The Prophet’s Justice.

 

Islam came with complete justice, as stated in the Qur’an:

Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. (16:90)
And do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness. (5:8)

 

 

Among the illustrations of the Prophet’s (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) justice is that when an influential woman from Bani Makhzum stole something, the Quraysh were concerned about the matter and wished to intercede with the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) to prevent the legal punishment from being carried out on her. They said, “Who will speak to the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) on her behalf?” And they said, “And who would dare to other than Usamah ibn Zayd (RadiAllahu anhu), who is loved by the Messenger of Allah(Sallallahu alaihi wasallam)?” So they brought her to the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) and Usamah(RadiAllahu anhu) spoke to him.

The Messenger’s (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) face reddened [with anger] and he (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said,

“Would you interfere in one of the legal punishments revealed by Allah?!”

Usamah(RadiAllahu anhu) said, “Ask forgiveness for me, O Messenger of Allah.”

That evening the Messenger of Allah  (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) stood on the pulpit and spoke. He praised Allah (Subhanahu wataala)) as He should be praised and then said,

“Those before you were destroyed because when a high born person stole, they would leave him but when a humble person stole they would carry out the punishment on him. By the One in whose hand is my soul, if Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad, had stolen I would have cut off her hand.”

(Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Such was the justice of the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam), which did not distinguish between a person of high and low class, between the rich and the poor or between the ruler and the ruled, for all are equal in the balance of right and justice.

Another example is the following narration. An- Nu`man ibn Basheer (RadiAllahu anhu) reported: “My father gave me a gift, but [my mother] `Amrah bint Rawahah, said, ‘I will not agree until the Messenger of Allah  (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) witnesses.’ So [my father] went to the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) and said, ‘I have given my son from `Amrah bint Rawahah a gift and she told me to make you a witness.’ He asked,

‘Have you given your other children something similar?’

He said, ‘No.’

He  (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said,

‘Then fear Allah and act with justice among your children.’

So, he returned and took back the gift.”

(Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

In another narration the Prophet  (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said,
“Do you have sons other than him?” The father said, “Yes.”
He (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said, “Have you given all of them the same as this?” He  said, “No.” So he  (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam)said,

“I will not be a witness to something unjust.”

(Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Dhul-Khuwaysirah at-Tamimi approached while the Prophet  (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) was dividing some properties. He said, “O Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam), be just.” The Prophet  (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said,

“Woe to you! And who is just if I am not just? I would be
disappointed and defeated if I was not just.”

(Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

For he  (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) is the one that Allah (Subhanahu wataala) chose and trusted with His revelation, so how could he not be just, and how could he not be even-handed? And he is the one who said,

“The equitable will be near Allah on pedestals of light, those who are
just in their judgements and among their people and in that for which
they are responsible.”

(Muslim)

As for justice among his wives, the Prophet  (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) upheld it as it should be upheld. He (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) would be as fair as possible regarding his time with them, expenditures, etc., and treated them equally whether at home or travelling. He  (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) would
spend a night with each one and give each one equally from what he possessed. He built an apartment for each, and when he  (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) travelled he would draw lots between them and take the one whose name came up. He was never negligent of this, even during his final illness when he was taken to each of his wives in turn. But when it became too difficult for him, and they knew he would like to stay in the house of `A’ishah, they permitted him to be nursed in her house, so he remained there until he passed away.

And in spite of his complete justice with them, he would apologize to Allah(Subhanahu wataala) and say,

“O Allah, this is my apportionment in what I control, so do not blame me for what You control and I do not control.”

(Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi)

And the Prophet  (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) warned against showing favour to one wife over another and  (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said,

“Anyone who has two wives and shows favour to one of them will
come on the Day of Resurrection with half his body drooping.”

(Muslim)

Source: [ Forty Encounters With the Beloved Prophet Page 126-128 ].

Related Link: Justice to all Mankind, Even Those Who Make an Enemy of Islam .