he is infallible? Every human is expected to make mistakes, and this
is not in itself a defect, for the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa
sallam, said:"All the sons of Aadam constantly commit sins, but the
best of those who constantly commit sins are those who are constantly
repentant."]Ibn Maajah[ The real defect lies in insisting on making
the mistake and adhering to falsehood. The mistake becomes even graver
when its doer endeavors to justify it in order to make himself and
those around him believe that he did not make a mistake at all.
The Definition of Justification
Justification, in the false sense, is the process of fabricating
excuses for one's behavior, thoughts or views, in order to replace the
real motives and reasons. It is the process of concealing the reality
and truth with a justification that one would accept and approve of,
without any reaction or feeling any guilt.
The Evil End of Justification
Justification is an incurable disease that leads to a tragic end,
which results in bitter consequences for the doer, as his continuous
justification distracts him from correcting himself and reflecting on
his defects. Accordingly, he always thinks that he is doing well. If a
slave of Allaah The Almighty reaches this state, it becomes difficult
to reform him and he loses his self-harmony because he is living in a
state of internal psychological warfare in which he is both the
executioner and the victim. The one who suffers from this disease is a
curse on himself and others, as he is extreme in enmity and frequently
argues with others. At this point, he is the most detested of
creatures in the sight of Allaah The Almighty. In this respect the
Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said:"The most hated person in
the sight of Allaah is the extremely quarrelsome person."]Al-Bukhaari[
The Quran Vilifies such People
Such people have existed throughout history. The Quran relates to us
the stories of some of them; for instance, Allaah The Almighty Says
)what means(;}And among them is he who says: "Permit me ]to remain at
home[ and do not put me to Fitnah." Unquestionably, into Fitnah they
have fallen. And indeed, Hell will encompass the disbelievers.{]Quran
9:49[ Commenting on this verse, Al-Qurtubi, may Allaah have mercy upon
him, said,
Muhammad ibn Is'haaq, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said: "The
Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said to Al-Jadd
ibn Qays, when he wanted to set out for the Battle of Tabook:"O Jadd,
would you like to fight the yellow people ]the Romans[, so that you
could take female captives and servants from them?" Al-Jadd replied,
"My people know that I am besotted by women, and I fear that if I see
the women of the yellow people, I would fall into Fitnah. So, do not
put me in Fitnah but permit me to remain behind, and I will support
you with my money."Thereupon, the Messenger of Allaah turned away from
him, and said:"I permit you."Just look at this man, who, when knowing
the hardship of traveling to Tabook and the difficulty of confronting
and fighting the Romans, wanted to justify his situation and protect
himself! He therefore invented a fabricated excuse which was his
infatuation by women and his fear that he may be tempted upon seeing
them and would then be forced to leave the Muslim army because he
would not have the self-restraint to keep himself from them.
Shaykh-ul-Islam Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah, may Allaah have mercy upon him,
commented on this incident, saying, "Since enjoining good, forbidding
evil, and Jihaad are some of the tests and trials that subject a
person to Fitnah, some people began justifying their abandonment of
these obligations by seeking safety from Fitnah. Allaah The Almighty
Says )what means( with regard to the hypocrites:}And among them is he
who says: "Permit me ]to remain at home[ and do not put me to Fitnah."
Unquestionably, into Fitnah they have fallen. And indeed, Hell will
encompass the disbelievers.{]Quran 9:49["
Similarly, another group of people justified their abandonment of
Jihaad by saying that they could not set out for Jihaad in the heat.
Therefore, Allaah The Almighty Says about them )what means(:}And
]they[ said: "Do not go forth in the heat." Say: "The fire of Hell is
more intensive in heat" - if they would but understand.{]Quran 9:81[
Sayyid Qutb, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said in this regard, "It
is therefore either fighting in the cause of Allaah in the heat for a
limited period, or being cast into Hell for a duration that no one
knows the length of but Allaah."
Does a Believer Justify Himself?
In the previous examples there were some cases which might not be
stated by those who form the cream of Muslim society. However, reality
proves that even some truthful believers might be afflicted by
justification, as Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}And We have
certainly diversified in this Quran for the people from every ]kind
of[ example; but man has ever been, most of anything, ]prone to[
dispute.{]Quran 18:54[ Some scholars of Tafseer )Quranic exegesis(
commented on this verse by mentioning what was narrated in Saheeh
Muslim, that 'Ali ibn Abi Taalib, may Allaah be pleased with him,
narrated that the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam,
came one night to him and his wife Faatimah and said:"Do you not
observe ]late-night Tahajjud[ prayer?"'Ali, may Allaah be pleased with
him, replied, "O Messenger of Allaah, indeed our souls are in the
Hands of Allaah and when He wants to awaken us, He does so." The
Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, set off when he
said this to him. He was slapping his hand on his thigh while going
while saying )what means(:}but man has ever been, most of anything,
]prone to[ dispute{.Ibn 'Aashoor, may Allaah have mercy upon him,
said,
What the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, meant here was that
it would have been more appropriate for 'Ali, may Allaah be pleased
with him, to praise Allaah The Almighty and thank the Messenger of
Allaah, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, for waking him up to pray
Tahajjud, be keen on repeating this act, be pleased with the rebuke of
the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, and not counter these
words with others in order to justify his sleeping! This is the cause
of the Prophet's astonishment at the words of 'Ali, may Allaah be
pleased with him.
Some Causes of Justification
The main obstacle in justification is the absence of frankness with
one's self, as we fail to talk to ourselves about our own reality.
This is because, from a very early age, we were taught to elevate
ourselves to high moral levels and sublime traits that are often
difficult to attain. Therefore, we try to conceal our reality in a
framework of lies about oneself that were set by the methods of our
early upbringing. ]Qiraa'ah fi mushkilaat at-tufoolah[
Justification might also be due to arrogance that has affected the
heart, and this results in making it difficult to apologize or
appearing to be in a state of weakness according to the thoughts of
such an arrogant person. Love and inclination to this worldly life is
another cause of justification, and perhaps this reason specifically
is what leads many people to do what Allaah The Almighty has
prohibited, and people then justify their actions with false excuses.
For instance, the person who consumes Riba )interest(, claims that he
is compelled to do so; however, if one looks at his case, he would not
find him compelled at all. He might not even be in any kind of a need.
There are many similar violations of the Sharee'ah nowadays, and those
who commit such violations try to justify them.
Is There Treatment?
Undoubtedly, truthfulness with one's self is the clear and easy way in
order not to indulge in the confusion that comes about due to
justification. Reckoning one's self for negligence and acknowledging
its mistakes protects it from a foul final stage of life and leads us
to not accumulate our mistakes. In fact, being truthful with one's
self is one of the highest and hardest degrees of truthfulness.
Let us contemplate the story of the great Companion, Ka'b ibn Maalik,
may Allaah be pleased with him, when Allaah The Almighty saved him by
virtue of his truthfulness. He sat before the Prophet, sallallaahu
'alayhi wa sallam, and said, "O Messenger of Allaah, if I had been in
front of anyone other than you of the people of the worldly life, I
would have thought of an excuse to avoid his dissatisfaction. But by
Allaah, I had no excuse." Consequently, Allaah The Almighty accepted
his repentance, excused him and turned to him. On the other hand,
those who lie and invent weak and false excuses, are exposed by Allaah
The Almighty.
One of the most important means of treatment is the reading of the
biographies of the people who fell into this malady. When
justification dominated the Children of Israa'eel, they used trickery
and various methods to violate the ruling of Allaah The Almighty and
caught fish on the Sabbath. Consequently, Allaah The Almighty
transformed them into apes and pigs. Allaah The Almighty Says )what
means(:}And you had already known about those who transgressed among
you concerning the Sabbath, and We said to them: "Be apes,
despised."{]Quran 2:65[ When one contemplates this punishment for the
one who dares to violate the limits that Allaah The Almighty has set,
undoubtedly, he will think many times before doing such an act when
knowing its evil end.
We supplicate to Allaah The Almighty to guide us to the best manners
and to ward off from us the worst of manners, as He is the most
Gracious and Noble.
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