'Adalah (Justice): Difference between revisions

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The Tanakh codified the law that scales and measuring balances be honest. Such a rule and similar statements can be found in the [[Torah]]<ref>Leviticus 19:36</ref> and the book of Proverbs<ref>Proverbs 11:1</ref><ref>Proverbs 16:11</ref>. The Qur'an does the same:
The Tanakh codified the law that scales and measuring balances be honest. Such a rule and similar statements can be found in the [[Torah]]<ref>Leviticus 19:36</ref> and the book of Proverbs<ref>Proverbs 11:1</ref><ref>Proverbs 16:11</ref>. The Qur'an does the same:
{{Quote|1={{Quran|26|181-182}}|2=Give just measure, and cause no loss (to others by fraud). And weigh with scales true and upright.}}
{{Quote|1={{Quran|26|181-182}}|2=Give just measure, and cause no loss (to others by fraud). And weigh with scales true and upright.}}
==The Dishonest Scales of Allah==
The evil deeds of a rich man, when placed upon [[Allah|Allah's]] scales of judgment, will weigh more than had he been a poor man.  We know this because the atonement (the good deed required to make up for the evil deed) is different depending on one's income level.
{{Quote|1={{Bukhari|3|31|157}}|2=Narrated Abu Huraira:
While we were sitting with the Prophet a man came and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have been ruined." Allah's Apostle asked what was the matter with him. He replied "I had sexual intercourse with my wife while I was fasting." Allah's Apostle asked him, "Can you afford to manumit a slave?" He replied in the negative. Allah's Apostle asked him, "Can you fast for two successive months?" He replied in the negative. The Prophet asked him, "Can you afford to feed sixty poor persons?" He replied in the negative. The Prophet kept silent and while we were in that state, a big basket full of dates was brought to the Prophet . He asked, "Where is the questioner?" He replied, "I (am here)." The Prophet said (to him), "Take this (basket of dates) and give it in charity." The man said, "Should I give it to a person poorer than I? By Allah; there is no family between its (i.e. Medina's) two mountains who are poorer than I." The Prophet smiled till his pre-molar teeth became visible and then said, 'Feed your family with it."}}
On the surface it would appear that a rich man's penalty should be more than a poor man's because a poor man cannot afford to pay as much as one who is wealthy, and the hardship suffered by exacting equal payment will be unequal--the poor man will suffer more than the rich man would.
However, one must ask this important question: '''Why is the man poor or rich in the first place?'''
Wealth can be accumulated by luck or dishonest means, that is true. However, wealth is often-times acquired through perseverance, hard work, and intelligence.  In the same token, poverty can occur due to bad luck or being the victim of unjust acts, but it can also occur because of laziness and poor decision-making.
The scales of Allah violate not only the concept of justice in modern, developed nations but they also violate the concept of justice in the Torah by showing partiality to the poor.
True justice demands punishment based on the transgression...not the income level of the transgressor.


==The Dishonest Scales of Shari'ah==
==The Dishonest Scales of Shari'ah==
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