The exemplary justice of the Prophet (saas)

In the Qur'an, Allah commands believers to"Be upholders of justice,
bearing witness for Allahalone, even against yourselves or your
parents and relatives. Whether they are rich orpoor, Allah is well
able tolook after them. Do not follow your own desires and deviate
from the truth..."(Surat an-Nisa': 135). With the rules he imposed on
Muslims, his just and tolerant attitude towards those of other
religions, languages, races and tribes, and his way of not
discriminating between rich and poor, but treating everybody equally,
Allah's Messenger (saas) is a great example to all of mankind. Allah
says this to His Prophet (saas) in one verse:
They are people who listen to lies and consume ill-gotten gains. If
they come to you, you can either judge between them or turn away from
them. If you turn away from them, they cannot harm you in any way. But
if you do judge, judge between them justly. Allah loves the
just.(Surat al-Ma'ida: 42)
The Prophet (saas) abided by Allah's commands, even with such
difficult people, and never made any concessions in his implementation
of justice. He became an example for all times with the words,"My
Lordhas commanded justice…"(Surat al-A'raf: 29).
A number of incidents testify to the Prophet (saas)'s justice. He
lived in a place where people of different religions, languages, races
and tribes all co-existed. It was very difficult for those societies
to live together in peace and security, and to check those who sought
to spread dissension. One group could grow aggressive towards and even
attack another over the slightest word or action. Yet, the justiceof
the Prophet (saas) was a source of peace and security for those other
communities, just as much as it was for Muslims. During the timeof the
Prophet (saas), Christians, Jews and pagans were all treated equally.
The Prophet (saas) abided by the verse"There is no compulsion where
the religion is concerned…"(Surat al-Baqara: 256), explaining the true
religion to everyone, butleaving them free to make up their own minds.
In another verse, Allah revealed to the Prophet (saas) the kind of
justice and and conciliation he needed to adopt towards those of other
religions:
So call and go straight asyou have been ordered to. Do not follow
their whims and desires but say, "I believe in a Book sent down by
Allah and I am ordered to be just between you. Allah is our Lord and
your Lord. We have our actions andyou have your actions. There is no
debate between us and you. Allah will gather us all together. He is
our final destination."(Surat ash-Shura: 15)
This noble attitude of the Prophet (saas), beingin total harmony with
the morality of the Qur'an, should be taken as an example of how
members of different religions today should be treated.
The Prophet (saas)'s justice brought about understanding between
people of different races. In many of his addresses, even in his final
sermon, the Prophet (saas) stated that superiority lay not in race but
in godliness as Allah states in the verse:
Mankind! We created you from a male and female,and made you into
peoples and tribes so that you might come to know each other. The
noblest among you in Allah's sight is that one of you who best
performs his duty. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.(Surat al-Hujurat:
13)
Two hadiths report the Prophet (saas) as saying:
"You are sons of Adam, and Adam came from dust. Let the people cease
to boast about their ancestors." ( 1)
"These genealogies of yours are not a reason torevile anyone. You are
all children of Adam. No one has any superiority over another except
in religion and taqwa (godliness)." (2)
During his final sermon, the Prophet (saas) called on Muslims in these terms:
"There is no superiority for an Arab over a non-Arab and for a
non-Arab over an Arab; nor for white over the black nor for the black
over the white except in piety. Verily the noblest among you is he who
is the most pious." (3)
The agreement made with the Christians of Najran in the south of the
Arabian Peninsula was another fine example of the justice ofthe
Prophet (saas). One of the articles in the agreement reads:
"The lives of the people of Najran and its surrounding area, their
religion, their land, property, cattle and those of them who are
present or absent, their messengers and their places of worship are
under the protection of Allah and guardianship of His Prophet." (4)
The Compact of Medina, signed by the Muslim immigrants from Mecca, the
indigenous Muslims of Medina and the Jews of Medina is another
important example of justice. As a result of this constitution, which
established justice between communities with differing beliefs and
ensured the protection of their various interests, long years of
enmity were brought to an end. One of the most outstanding features of
the treaty is the freedom of belief it established. The
relevantarticle reads:
"The Jews of Banu 'Awf are one nation with the Muslims; the Jews have
their religion and the Muslims have theirs…" (5)
Article 16 of the treaty reads: "The Jew who follows us is surely
entitled to our support and the same equal rights as any one of us. He
shall not be wronged nor his enemy be assisted." (6)The
Prophet(saas)'s companions remained true to that article in the
treaty, evenafter his death, and evenpracticed it with regard to
Berbers, Buddhists, Brahmans and people of other beliefs.
One of the main reasons why the golden age of Islam was one of peace
and security was the Prophet (saas)'s just attitude, itself a
reflection of Qur'anic morality.
The justice of the Prophet (saas) also awoke feelings of confidence in
non-Muslims, and many, including polytheists, asked to be taken under
his protection. Allah revealed the following request from the
polytheists in the Qur'an,and also told the Prophet (saas) of the
attitude he should adopttowards such people:
If any of the idolators ask you for protection, give them protection
until they have heard the words of Allah. Then convey them to a place
where they are safe. That is because they are a people who do not
know. How could any of the idolators possibly have a treaty with Allah
and with His Messenger, except for those you made a treaty with at the
Masjid al-Haram? As long as they are straight with you, be straight
with them. Allah loves those who do their duty.(Surat at-Tawba: 6-7)
In our day, the only solution to the fighting and conflict going on
all over the world is to adopt the morality of the Qur'an, and, like
the Prophet (saas), never to depart from the path of justice, making
no distinction between different religions, languages, or races. The
Prophet (saas)'s human love, kind thought and compassion, which turned
those around him to true religion and warmed their hearts to faith, is
that superior morality which all Muslims should seek to reproduce.
(For further reading about the attributes of the Prophet(saas), see
"The Prophet Muhammad (saas)" by Harun Yahya)
1 Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 41, Number 5097
2 Ahmad, 158/4
3 Prophet Muhammad's Last Sermon ( http://www.stanford.ed u/~jamila/Sermon.html)
4 The Pact of Najran, Article 6, http://www.islamicresou
rces.com/Pact- of-Najran.htm
5 The Constitution of Madina, http://www.islamic-
study.org/jews-prophet- p.-2.htm
6 The Constitution of Madina, http://www.islamic-
study.org/jews-prophet- p.-2.htm