In simple words justice is defined as fair and the right state of everything. To have justice in a person’s traits or character means that they are just and treat everyone the same or how they would like to be treated. The role of the court is to dispense justice fairly to everyone. I see justice in court decisions and social justice is the notion that everyone deserves equal economic, political and social opportunities irrespective of race, gender or religion. There are 4 types of justice. 1. commutative 2. distributive 3. social and 4. legal.

If you observe the system of the earth you will find that the Creator of the universe has founded it upon justice. These infinite stars and planets that revolve in space and these magnificent forces that are working and these uncountable beings and things that are found on this Earth, among all these there is a high standard of justice and balance, without these the world would cease to function. The nature of these requires that the inhabitants of this world stay within their limitations and do not disturb this balance.

Allah swt in Surah Rehman says (55:5) The sun and the moon [move] by precise calculation, And the stars and trees prostrate.And the heaven He raised and imposed the balance. That you not transgress within the balance. And establish weight in justice and do not make deficient the balance. (55:9)

There is a wonderful law that these stars and planets follow that allows them to rotate without collision. The system of the world is set in a way that time, date, days, crops, and weather, the rising and setting of the sun and the moon are all following the same pattern and there has been no change since the beginning of the world. The infinite life that is prevailing only exists because the distance between the earth sun and moon has been set to a certain distance and the increase and decrease in these have all been premeasured and fixed in a way that any slight variation in these would make life impossible. In the way that the ratio of distance between the sun and moon is set, that every night regularly, just looking at it tells people the date. The balance Allah has created allows the world to function seamlessly and demands the same from us in order to make sure we minimize suffering, chaos and to make sure everything continues to function in balance.

Social Justice.

One of the jobs that Allah s.w.t appointed to the The Prophet Muhammad s.a.w was to establish social justice among humans. It was done in a way that the oppressed poor, elderly, slaves, women and children, shall be treated kindly and not oppressed. This included the rich merchants and travelers on whom limitations were set to deal fairly with their customers. Slavery was abolished and usury was banned and declared as a war against Allah. The Prophet s.a.w said “Don’t sell gold for gold unless in equal weight. Exchange gold for equivalent gold.” Silver and gold were the currency at the time. Those that are caught up in debt end up becoming slaves to that debt. Just ruler and merchant were also promised their rightful places in Jannah. It is found in the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w teachings, “Don’t cheat others into purchases, don’t increase debt, removing items from the market and then selling them at an increased price is haraam.”

We always have to set rules in prevailing justice. Socrates said without rules we are animals. Some of the different types of doing justice in our daily lives is as follows:

1. 1. Justice in sports.

This is established by playing by the rules, accepting wins and losses. Even in board games like Chess and Life, cheating should be avoided because these wins are unjust, and we should always remain fair because those who are unfair in these small matters, can fall in the same habit in bigger matters since they don’t practice justice and we should try to establish this at a young age.

2. 2. Social justice.

We should avoid theft, pickpocketing, and fraud, even helping others by committing wrongdoings like theft in order to help others just like stealing from rich and giving to poor or giving it away as a birthday present. Stealing smaller things eventually turns into a habit that can turn into burglary.

Don’t play favorites, this can be understood by an example that once there was a trial in which a case was presented, of a fight between a hindu and muslim in which the hindu claimed that the muslim man owed him money, but the muslim man denied any such claim. Along with the muslim was an imam of a masjid, the hindu agreed to drop the charge if the imam told the truth but the imam took his friends side and lied which forced the hindu to leave court. Eventually the imam regretted his lie and returned to tell the truth in court. It was injustice done by the imam.

3. 3. Justice towards animals

Even separating animals from their mothers in order to play with them can be considered in injustice. Pets, if kept at home should be given their food and water at the right times and any medications need should be given when they’re ill. If they are meant to be slaughtered, it should be done painlessly with a sharp knife. They should not be kept locked up all the time or kept in a too hot, too cold environment. They might be speechless but they are living things and they can feel pain and die. Even using them for playing and entertainment like in bull fighting or horse racing the animals are kept hungry and are then forced to run for entertainment.

The Prophet s.a.w, once saw a camel in Medinah and the camel looked at him and started crying and so the Prophet s.a.w told the owner, not to over-work him and feed him well.

4. 4. Justice with elderly and disabled.

If you are in the waiting room of a hospital or in a restaurant, if you see them standing then you should give up your seat for them. If you are driving a car then always try and drive safely and give others the way instead of trying to come in front of them. Always try to follow the order of things and stand in queues where required.

5. 5. Justice at home.

Justice at home should also be followed. Ask each other for advice, include kids and wives and include all members of the family in your decisions. If someone in the family is in any trouble or has made a mistake they should be listened to. They should not be insulted and punished immediately. Instead their side of the story should be heard and one should try to find the reason behind their actions. A mother at home should treat her kids equally, boys should not be preferred over the daughters or one daughter or son over the other. The Prophet also said, “Treat others how you would like to be treated”. When we like the best for ourselves we should also want that for others. Behave well, speak well and treat them with respect and kindness.

6. 6. Justice with unemployed and youth.

If someone is unemployed then don’t just try and feed him but also try and teach him a skill so that he can earn on his own and try and become a productive member of society. Eg some poor families in Mexico had their own land but could not afford to cultivate it so some American families provided them with the funds which allowed them to cultivate it and created produce from which they earned money and also created jobs for many others people to flourish. In a Turkey village,during vacations there were kids who used to wander around aimlessly. Seeing this rich people of the community then started a program for the kids to memorize surahs of the Quran in 3 months and if they were able to do so they would win the prize of a bike as a reward. As a result these kids not only earned a useful thing like a bike but also gained knowledge.

7. 7. Justice in community.

If some kind of incident occurs in a community, sides should not be taken because there isn’t just one point of view, but instead both sides should be listened to and the truth should be considered of forming opinions rather than taking your friends side.

8. 8. Justice in work.

Regardless of what field you work in, it should be done with honesty. If someone is a teacher then they should be attentive and affectionate towards all the kids equally. Doctors should check their patients just like their own family members. Not prescribe them too much medication and not diagnose them with unnecessary illnesses. Think of your own families and treat them the same.

9. 9. Justice with plants.

Plants that are fruits, vegetables or flowering kind are very useful for humans. Take good care of them. Watering them, fertilizing them, protecting them from cold and insects, using pesticides where necessary to help them grow is all important. They give you health, and benefit not just you but your family and friends too and keep you happy.

10. 10. Legal Justice.

Country’s laws prevail justice but judges are also an important part of it, and can make good decisions, for example, in California a shopkeeper handed a 15 year old boy over to the police with an accusation of theft. The judge asked the boy what he stole and the boy replied saying “Bread and cheese.” The judge asked him, “why didn’t you ask someone for money instead and he said I stood for hours but no one did.” Then he asked “Why don’t you work?” To which he replied, “I used to clean cars but one day my mom was sick and I was taking care of her and when I didn’t show up for work they fired me.” The judge then ruled his decision that this young boy is not the criminal but everyone one of us here is a criminal. He fined every person in court 10 dollars and put his own 10 dollars on the table. Then he fined the shop owner $1000 and said if he did not pay his shop would be sealed. He gave that boy the money and told him to help treat his mother and promised him a job. This goes beyond the law that it was true justice. We need such judges in our society.

Justice is important, it makes life possible in our complex civilized society. Characteristics of justice include impartiality, consistency, standing, and trust. Such principles are supposed to ensure procedures that generate unbiased and reliable decisions. Any society whether the family or community, a nation or the world, benefits from having justice as a prevailing virtue. Such a society is dedicated to the notion that all of its members should benefit and no one person or a group should have a greater benefit or rights than others.