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The Rights of the Accused in Islam
Introduction
As
a faith and a way of life, Islam includes among its most important
objectives the realization of justice and the eradication of
injustice. Justice is an Islamic ideal under all circumstances and
at all times. It is not to be affected by one’s preferences or
dislikes or by the existence (or absence) of kinship. Rather, it is
a goal to be achieved and an ideal to be sought: [Surely, Allah
commands justice and the doing of good] (Qur’an 16:90);
[And I was
commanded to deal justly between you] (42:15); and
[Allow not your
rancor for a people to cause you to deal unjustly. Be just, for that
is closer to heeding] (5:8). There are also many hadiths in the
Sunnah that command justice and prohibit wrong. Moreover, the
achievement of justice is one of the objectives towards which human
nature inclines, while the opposite value, injustice, is something
that humans naturally abhor.
Allah
has ordained measures by which justice may be known and by which it
may be distinguished from its opposite. He has clarified the means
by which all people might achieve this objective, facilitated the
ways by which it may be accomplished, and made those ways (the most
important of which is the institution of judgment, qada’) manifest
to them.
Allah
prescribed the institution of legal judgment [that men may stand
forth in justice] (57:25). This institution ensures that everything
will be measured by the same criteria, which would make it
impossible for one to be unjust to another’s person or wealth. As
a result, all people will live in the shade of peace and justice,
where their rights are protected and where contentment envelops
their hearts, souls, persons, honor, and wealth.
*
Taha J. Al-`Alwani is a member of the Fiqh Academy of the
Organization of the Islamic Conference, Chairman of the Fiqh Council
of North America, and President of the International Institute of
Islamic Thought in Herndon, Virginia, USA.
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