197- The Holy Qur’an on Administration of Justice System

After a long experience the mankind has learnt that it is only administration of justice which can keep a society integrated; and, on international level the policies of self-determination of all nations, mutual respect between world religions and helping the ailing humanity in various part of the world can make this globe livable. The Holy Qur’an offers a complete package for a society on the bases of “Al-‘Adl al-Ijtima’i”: ????? ??????????????  which entails that in an Islamic society everyone should be recompensed in accordance with his/her capabilities and work. At international level the Holy Qur’an rejects “Selective Morality”. Allah ordains:

???????????? ????????? ?????????? ???????? ??????????? ??????? ????????? ??????????? ? ????? ??????????????? ?????????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??????????? ? ?????????? ???? ???????? ???????????? ? ??????????? ??????? ? ????? ??????? ???????? ????? ???????????

(O you who believe! Stand out firmly for Allah, as witnesses to fair dealing; and let not the hatred of a certain people (nation) prevent you from acting justly. Adhere to justice, for that is nearer to piety, and fear Allah. Allah is informed of what you do). Surah 5: Verse 8.

In another surah Muhammad, peace be upon him, is ordained by Allah to proclaim:

“.... ?????????? ?????????? ??????????” (And I am commanded to establish justice between you). Surah: 42, Verse: 15.

The Qur’anic view about administration of justice can be understood from the following verse:

???????????? ????????? ?????????? ???????? ??????????? ??????????? ?????????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ??????????? ???? ?????????????? ???????????????? ? ??? ?????? ???????? ???? ???????? ????????? ???????? ??????? ? ????? ???????????? ?????????? ??? ??????????? ? ????? ?????????? ???? ??????????? ??????? ??????? ????? ????? ??????????? ????????.

(O you who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even if against yourselves, or your parents, or your relatives. Whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. So do not follow your desires, lest you swerve. If you deviate or turn away-then Allah is Aware of what you do). Surah: 4, verse: 135.

."???? ????? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ? ??????: ??? ???????????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????????? ???? ????? ??? ???????? ???????"

(The Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said: The people who perform justice (on the Day of Judgment) will be seated on the (raised) plate forms of light on the right side (the most exalted) of The Rahman). Sahih Muslim, Hadith:1827.

. "....???? ????? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ? ????: ????? ????????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ?? ??? ???? ????: ???? ???? ?"

(The Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said: There are seven people who will be (accommodated) under shadow (protection) of Allah on that day when there will be no shelter except shelter of Allah (i.e. qiyamah : the Day of Judgement). Among them will be Honest and Just Ruler and the Judge who decides the disputes among people on merit….). Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith: 1423; and Sahih Muslim, Hadith: 1031.

Nowadays, there are proclamations for adoption of the model of the State of Madina, particularly in Pakistan and some other Islamic countries. In order to understand the spirit of the State of Madina, in changing socio-cultural circumstances, it seems imperative to extend and promote justice to the marginalized communities. In this regard, the leadership, judges of the apex courts and intelligentsia of the Muslim countries are suggested to consider the following points:

(A) In all schools of the Islamic jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali and Ja’fariyyah), the phenomenon of “Revoking or Annulling Decision by the Judge himself” i.e. ?????? ?? ?????? or ?????? ?? ??????? has been discussed at length. That if a judge gives a decision, and he / she erroneously ignores something and after issuing the verdict, any evidence or argument or proof is presented, from which he / she is convinced that the wrong verdict was issued, then he/she should revoke his / her decision. It is to be noted that in order to emphasize the same, ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab RA wrote to his governors to restrain the judges of their own territory to revoke or annul, any wrongdoing or misdirection of their own decision if he is convinced of the error in his decision. These letters of the ‘Umar RA are extant in the Hadith books with full text. This procedure continued even in the days of the later caliphs. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, used to highlight the duties and fragile status of a judge in these words:

."?? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ????"           

(The one who was made a judge was slaughtered without a knife).

For the upright judges, he, peace be upon him announced two rewards: one for giving a verdict with the feeling of accountability before Allah and the other for addressing the grievance of the oppressed. And even if the wrongful decision is taken by the judge due to human error, he will still get one reward. According to Article 188 of the Constitution of Pakistan, when the Supreme Court gives a verdict after the "Review" then the decision of the Supreme Court holds finality and the same cannot be opened again. It is intended to bring to the attention of law experts to the spirit of Article 188, by making minor modifications or adding a new article to make “Revoking or Annulling Decision ?????? ?? ?????? a part of the constitution. The significance of this is further highlighted in the light of another hadith, as mentioned earlier, that God Fearing Judges will be under the shadow of the Throne of the Almighty Allah on the Day of Judgement. If a judge has taken suo-moto and has ordered a wrongful arrest, merely due to the verbosity of the complainant, without listening to the accused, or the judge is convinced about the error of his decision, ’?????? ?? ?????? will give this Judge an opportunity to be compensated before appearing before Allah. The state of Madina was blessed with divine directions, while other world nations have learned the principle of "?????? ?? ??????" after their centuries’ old experience of learning. And now this principle is applicable in at least 117 countries around the world, under the Clauses like: Special Curative Jurisdiction or other akin names.

(B) Promoting justice and to safeguard the rights of the subjects of the state is the responsibility of the chief executive of the Islamic government, even before the judges in Islamic society. The head of the Islamic State and its empowered elites are accountable before Allah, for why an innocent was kept in unjust captivity. Keeping a person in prison before a trial is decided and after many years his "honorable acquittal " would be a good catch before Allah. In this regard, the responsibility of the chief executive of the Islamic State is also of concern because he often listens to with the ears of his kitchen cabinet (in Arabic, the group of courtiers is called the Hashiyya) and sees with their eyes. Recovery departments, in particular, have always been rendering such suggestions to their chief executive throughout human history, which pleases him. This is illustrated by only one spectacle example, which ‘Allama Sarkhasi wrote in detail in his celebrated book Al-Mabsut. Allama writes that the finance minister of ‘Umar b. Abdul Aziz (time of Caliphate: 99 AH to 101 AH) came to him and said: "O Amir al-Mu'menin! Today, please issue a decree that no one will be allowed to convert to Islam in the future. ”Amir al-Mu'menin exclaimed and asked the Minister of State in a very disturbing way, why should I issue such a void and unlawful order? The minister said: "People are converting to Islam en masse, tribute has diminished, and government treasury has become empty due to lack of treasure." Amir al-Mu'menin said: "Look, Allah has appointed me Amir al-Mu'menin, not a tax collector, I can't issue such an order". In the 21st century, if we want to adopt the model of the state of Madina, the chief executive of the state will have to examine all the autonomous bodies who issue statements every day that so many billions have been collected in the state exchequer. Once the chief executive conducts an audit of these institutions, it will be found out that those who are being fined and released from prisons could have been prosecuted or not? or some people are getting out of jail for fear of prolonged jail and confessing to irreproachable sin. If the issue was not taken seriously, I am afraid that in the coming days a storm of immigration will arise and innocent detainees will somehow be released and move to countries where Rule of Law exists, where people are not held for years without evidence based solely on suspicion or because of enmity or disagreement. Of course, if some criminal is convicted after proper inquiry and following the lawful procedures, the offender must be severely punished.

(C) The Prophet, peace be upon him, himself made hundreds of decisions in civil and criminal cases. His Criminal and Civil Affairs’ decisions have been compiled separately by Imam Qurtubi and Mullah Ali Bihari under the same title. Both have named their own books "Court Decisions of the Prophet":  "????? ???????". Mullah Bihari has recorded 350 decisions and Allama Qurtubi has recorded 150 decisions. In addition to these 500 decisions, forty to fifty more decisions are also mentioned in the books of Hadith or Islamic heritage. In addition, the scholars of the Hadith in the Arab world have also recorded 16,000 instances of Prophet Muhammad and the Caliphs of Islam in the name of "Al-Mutun al-Mujamma’a"": " ?????? ?????????, which can form the basis of Islamic legislation in civil and criminal matters. In addition, the University of Madina has published the judicial decisions of Khulafa Rashidun in three volumes under the name of “Judgments of Al-Khulafa al-Rashidun”:  ????? ??????? ????????". The Prime Minister or the Chief Justice of Pakistan, should order Shari’a department of Pakistan International Islamic University, Islamabad, that these decisions be rewritten in the style of PLD or Legal Digest and that in each decision the names of the two parties (i.e. The plaintiff and the defendant), the events and finally the decision of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, or the Caliph Rashid, is explicitly written. Then it will be an important step towards the State of Medina. In none of these decisions one can find any instances where Prophet’s statement: "Al-Bayyinah ‘ala al-Mudda’i”: ?????????? ????? ?????????  (to bring proof is the responsibility of the prosecution), is violated. In all decisions we cannot find even a single example that any person was held without proof or he was kept in prolonged locked up without proof. In my opinion, our experts can determine whether or not the accused should be detained for investigation. A small portion of one of the Prophet’s long hadith in Sahih Bukhari is an eye-opening statement for the ruling elite and the policy makers. He, peace be upon him said:

."????? ?? ???? ??? ??????"

(The Truth and Goodness comes from the straight path i.e. never from the back door).

In the English language we can state the above hadith in following words:

"Ends never justify means". I am sure that by establishing justice with sincerity, our homeland can become a model of the State of Medina.