Imagine waking up one morning to the sound of gunshots. A man has just been killed. You pass by a home where you hear some children crying, orphaned and left alone to suffer because of the crimes of other people. On the other side of town, you witness a home that has just been robbed, its residents thrown out mercilessly. You walk past a quiet street and see a car that has been vandalized, its windows broken to shattered glass. Now just for a moment, stop imagining, switch on the TV and go watch the news. Chances are you will see all this happening right in front of your eyes, and even more, in our very real world!
We live in a world where there are people who commit crimes and create chaos in society. There are people who commit thefts. There are people who vandalize cities. There are people who torment others. There are people who are not fair and just when it comes to their dealings with people. They, often, get away with their wrongdoings. When so much wrong exists, sometimes, seeing the good in society can become difficult. We find ourselves wondering, “There were just Prophets and Messengers sent by Allah in the past. Are there not any just people today?”
Injustice is highly widespread on this earth. There can be no peace without the firm establishment of justice. The more you see injustice, the more you realize the importance of establishing justice in the land. When making lacks on how to live their lives, the entire structure of society is damaged.
Holy Quran recommends the believers, “Oh you who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah; even though it be against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, be he rich or poor, Allah is a better protector to both (than you). So follow not your lusts, lest you may avoid justice, and if you distort your witnesses or refuse to give it, verily, Allah is ever well acquainted with what you do.” (4: 135)
In the above verse, Allah has commanded in explicit words the importance of standing up for justice. Before Islam, the Arabs were living in a state of ignorance. Their loyalty was to themselves, their families, their own tribes, even when their own were committing great injustices. Allah then sent down this verse, commanding the Muslims to be just, even if it goes against themselves, their parents, their kith and kin, and whether they be rich or poor.
Naturally, it is very easy for human beings to wish for justice against others who have done injustice upon them, or to a third party. The heart is prone to inclining towards that which is just. This natural inclination, however, changes when we are the ones at fault. Let’s take a look at the following scenario.
Suppose your neighbor’s house has been robbed. Their doors have been broken, windows shattered, and belongings taken away. Their lives are left in ruins. Naturally, your heart will incline towards bringing the burglar to justice. The victims would definitely want the thief to be punished. Now, let’s say that thief is you. Would you still want justice to be served? As the criminal, you would do your utmost to get away with the crime. Now that your own self is at stake, you no longer incline towards justice. So what if the thief is your brother? Most likely, you would still incline towards saving your family by concealing their crime, and helping them get away with it. Yet, if the culprit is not yourself or your family member, you would want justice to be served, for the exact same crime. Why the double standards? These double standards are the result of our lusts and desires, which often lead to injustice.
To perfect the concept of justice, Allah orders us to stand firmly for that which is true, even in situations where our hearts will incline towards that which is unjust. Regardless of who is at fault, we must stand for that which is right. Even if we ourselves are the ones at fault, we do not have the right to escape punishment. We are not supposed to conceal the wrongdoings of our family members. Allah knows our natural inclinations, and therefore firmly commanded us to refrain from following our heart’s desires, lest we avoid justice.
From Imam Ali's perspective, divine decrees and commandments were like a body whose soul was justice: "Justice is the spirit of laws.” He believed that in order to enjoy harmony and proper integration, individual and social affairs require an integrating principle which is none other than justice: "Justice is the system of government”. According to this exalted school of thought nothing may serve as a foundation for social order unless it is just: “Justice is the criterion.”
Socrates uses the parable of the chariot to illustrate his point: a chariot works as a whole because the two horses’ power is directed by the charioteer. Lovers of wisdom – philosophers, in one sense of the term – should rule because only they understand what is good. If one is ill, one goes to a doctor rather than a farmer, because the doctor is expert in the subject of health. Similarly, one should trust one's city to an expert in the subject of the good, not to a mere politician who tries to gain power by giving people what they want, rather than what's good for them. Socrates uses the parable of the ship to illustrate this point: the unjust city is like a ship in open ocean, crewed by a powerful but drunken captain (the common people), a group of untrustworthy advisors who try to manipulate the captain into giving them power over the ship's course (the politicians), and a navigator (the philosopher) who is the only one who knows how to get the ship to port. For Socrates, the only way the ship will reach its destination – the good – is if the navigator takes charge.
Considering this fact, we have the responsibility of selecting a leader who cherishes justice. Indeed, justice is the “spirit of laws” and the lifeblood of a society.