Surah An-Nahl (16) — Ayah 90

(Ayah90) ➊ { اِنَّ اللّٰهَ يَاْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَ الْاِحْسَانِ:} The meaning of justice is to adopt moderation and the middle path in one's beliefs and actions, avoiding excess or deficiency. This is also what fairness and equity mean. The word {’’ الْاِحْسَانِ ‘‘} comes in two ways: one, without the intermediary of {’’إِلٰی‘‘} or any other particle, in which case it means to do a task very well, with perfection and strength, for example, {’’أَحْسَنْتُهٗ ‘‘} meaning "I did this work very well." And one, with the intermediary of {’’ إِلٰی‘‘} etc., such as {’’أَحْسَنْتُ اِلَيْهِ‘‘} meaning "I treated him well," that is, the meaning of this {’’اِحْسَانٌ‘‘} is to benefit the creation of Allah.

The requirement of Allah Almighty creating all creation and granting every blessing is that neither should there be negligence (deficiency) nor excess in His right. Deficiency is to deny His existence, or to deny any of His attributes (as He has described them), which is called تعطیل (ta'til), or to liken Him to the creation, which is called تشبیہ (tashbih). Or to interpret it in such a way that it leads to the denial of that attribute, which is called false interpretation or distortion (باطل تاویل or تحریف). Or to say that we do not know the meaning of Allah's attributes, such as سمیع (All-Hearing) or بصیر (All-Seeing), only Allah knows, this too is a form of denial, called تفویض (tafwid). All these are forms of negligence (deficiency) regarding the right of the Most Merciful and are against justice and equity. Excess regarding Allah Almighty is to consider any creation as His partner in His essence or any attribute, which is a severe injustice and a great oppression against the One and Only Creator and Owner. That is why Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) has interpreted the justice mentioned in this verse as the testimony of "La ilaha illallah." (Tabari with a Hasan chain: 21995)

Justice regarding creation is that no one should be given less or more than their due right, but everyone should be given their full right, even if it is burdensome for oneself, or if there is enmity or friendship with any of those between whom you are judging, that enmity or friendship should not prevent you from giving full rights. Allah Almighty has greatly emphasized this, as He said: «{ وَ اِذَا حَكَمْتُمْ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ اَنْ تَحْكُمُوْا بِالْعَدْلِ }» [ النساء : ۵۸ ] "And when you judge between people, judge with justice." And He said: «{ وَ لَا يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شَنَاٰنُ قَوْمٍ عَلٰۤى اَلَّا تَعْدِلُوْا اِعْدِلُوْا هُوَ اَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوٰى }» [ المائدۃ : ۸ ] "And let not the enmity of a people incite you to not act justly. Act justly; that is nearer to piety." And He said: «{ يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا كُوْنُوْا قَوّٰمِيْنَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَآءَ لِلّٰهِ وَ لَوْ عَلٰۤى اَنْفُسِكُمْ اَوِ الْوَالِدَيْنِ وَ الْاَقْرَبِيْنَ اِنْ يَّكُنْ غَنِيًّا اَوْ فَقِيْرًا فَاللّٰهُ اَوْلٰى بِهِمَا }» [ النساء : ۱۳۵ ] "O you who have believed! Be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, Allah is more worthy of both."

➋ If the meaning of {’’ الْاِحْسَانِ ‘‘} is to do a task well, then its explanation is in the hadith of Jibril (peace be upon him), where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in response to Jibril's question, "What is Ihsan?" said: [ أَنْ تَعْبُدَ اللّٰهَ كَأَنَّكَ تَرَاهُ فَإِنْ لَّمْ تَكُنْ تَرَاهُ فَإِنَّهُ يَرَاكَ ] [ بخاری، الإیمان، باب سؤال جبریل النبي صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم عن الإیمان و الإسلام… : ۵۰۔ مسلم : ۸ ] "Ihsan is that you worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you do not see Him, then (know that) He sees you." Obviously, one who does every task with the awareness of being watched tries to do it in the best possible way. Then, in every action—prayer, fasting, charity, Hajj, trade, industry, agriculture, and labor—if one keeps in mind that the Lord of the worlds is watching, then surely a person will do every deed in the best way and will avoid every sin.

And if, due to {’’إِلٰي‘‘ }, kindness to another is meant, then the best example is the saying of the Children of Israel to Qarun: «{ وَ اَحْسِنْ كَمَاۤ اَحْسَنَ اللّٰهُ اِلَيْكَ }» [ القصص : ۷۷ ] "And do good as Allah has done good to you." Whatever Allah has given to man, He has not given in exchange for anything, but it is His favor and immense grace that He has given every blessing to them without any right of the creation upon Him. The purpose is that man should treat the creation well without expecting any compensation, and give them more than their due right. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) also commanded kindness to animals and explained how a sinful woman entered Paradise for giving water to a dog, and a woman entered Hell for tying up a cat and letting it die of hunger. (See Bukhari, 3321, 2365) Even the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ كَتَبَ الْإِحْسَانَ عَلٰی كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، فَإِذَا قَتَلْتُمْ فَأَحْسِنُوْا الْقِتْلَةَ، وَإِذَا ذَبَحْتُمْ فَأَحْسِنُوا الذَّبْحَ، وَلْيُحِدَّ أَحَدُكُمْ شَفْرَتَهُ، فَلْيُرِحْ ذَبِيْحَتَهُ] [مسلم، الصید والذبائح، باب الأمر بإحسان الذبح والقتل… : ۱۹۵۵، عن شداد بن أوس رضی اللہ عنہ ] "Allah has prescribed kindness in everything, so when you kill, kill in a good way (i.e., do not torture or mutilate), and when you slaughter, slaughter in a good way. Sharpen your knife and give comfort to your slaughtered animal." In many places in the Noble Qur'an, the command of kindness and its virtue is mentioned, as He said: «{ وَ بِالْوَالِدَيْنِ۠ اِحْسَانًا }» [ البقرۃ : ۸۳۔ بنی إسرائیل : ۲۳ ] "And do good to parents." And He said: «{ وَ اَحْسِنُوْا اِنَّ اللّٰهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِيْنَ } » [ البقرۃ : ۱۹۵ ] "And do good; indeed, Allah loves the doers of good." And He said: « { اِنَّ رَحْمَتَ اللّٰهِ قَرِيْبٌ مِّنَ الْمُحْسِنِيْنَ }» [ الأعراف : ۵۶ ] "Indeed, the mercy of Allah is near to the doers of good." And He said: «{ وَ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِيْنَ }» [ العنکبوت : ۶۹ ] "And indeed, Allah is with the doers of good."

➌ {وَ اِيْتَآئِ ذِي الْقُرْبٰى:} Although this was also included in kindness, it was mentioned separately for special emphasis, because the rights of relatives are greater and giving to them is generally more difficult, as they are rarely appreciative and mutual grievances become obstacles in giving and receiving. For the verses about giving to {’’ ذِي الْقُرْبٰى ‘‘}, see Surah Ar-Rum (38), Bani Isra'il (26), Al-Baqarah (177), and Surah Al-Balad (14, 15), etc.

➍ {وَ يَنْهٰى عَنِ الْفَحْشَآءِ وَ الْمُنْكَرِ وَ الْبَغْيِ : ’’ الْفَحْشَآءِ ‘‘} are those sins which are excessive in evil, such as adultery and the act of the people of Lot; in Surah Al-Baqarah, severe miserliness is also called {’’ الْفَحْشَآءِ ‘‘}. See Surah Al-Baqarah (268). {’’ الْمُنْكَرِ ‘‘} are those evils which reason rejects and human nature also considers bad. {’’ الْبَغْيِ ‘‘} is to oppress someone, to exceed limits, to be abusive or violent, to be rebellious.

➎ In this verse, three virtues (justice, kindness, giving to relatives) have been commanded, which include all fundamental good deeds, and three evils (lewdness, evil, oppression) have been forbidden, which can ruin all individual and collective affairs of Muslims. Therefore, this is one of the most comprehensive verses of the Noble Qur'an.

90. 1 The well-known meaning of 'justice' is to act with fairness. That is, to be just with everyone, whether they are close or strangers, and not to let enmity, hatred, love, or kinship harm the requirements of justice. Another meaning is moderation, that is, not to commit excess or deficiency in any matter, even in matters of religion. Because excess in religion results in going beyond limits, which is very harmful, and deficiency is negligence in religion, which is also undesirable.

90. 2 One meaning of 'ihsan' is good conduct, forgiveness, and pardoning. Another meaning is favor, that is, to give more than the obligatory right or to do more than the obligatory act. For example, if the wage for a task is fixed at one hundred rupees, but at the time of payment, ten or twenty rupees are given extra, the payment of the fixed one hundred rupees is the obligatory right and this is justice. The additional ten or twenty rupees is ihsan. Justice also establishes peace in society, but ihsan further nurtures feelings of pleasantness, closeness, and devotion. And along with fulfilling obligations, the observance of voluntary acts, doing more than the obligatory act, through which special closeness to Allah is attained. A third meaning of ihsan is sincerity in action and excellence in worship, which is described in the hadith as "to worship Allah as if you see Him." Giving to relatives means fulfilling their rights, that is, helping them; in hadith, this is called 'silat-ur-rahm' (maintaining family ties), and its great emphasis is mentioned in the ahadith. After justice and ihsan, its separate mention also highlights the importance of maintaining family ties. 'Fahsha' refers to acts of indecency. Nowadays, indecency has become so common that it is called civilization, progress, and art, or its justification is accepted in the name of entertainment. However, merely putting a beautiful label on something does not change its reality. Similarly, Islamic law has declared adultery and its preliminaries, dancing and singing, immodesty, fashion-following, and the bold intermingling and a mixed society of men and women, and other such absurdities as indecency. No matter how good a name is given to them, these evils imported from the West cannot be considered permissible. 'Munkar' is every act that the Shariah has declared unlawful, and 'baghy' means committing oppression and excess. In a hadith, it is stated that severing family ties and oppression—both these crimes are so disliked by Allah that, apart from the Hereafter, there is a strong possibility of their immediate punishment from Allah in this world as well.

90. Allah commands justice, excellence, and giving to relatives, and forbids indecency, evil, and rebellion [93]. He admonishes you so that you may take heed and remember.

[93] In this verse, three things have been commanded and three things have been prohibited, and these six words are so comprehensive in meaning that the entire teachings of Islam are summarized within them. That is why some scholars say that if there were no other verse in the Quran, this single verse would have been sufficient for the guidance of mankind. And Sayyiduna Uthman bin Maz'oon ؓ says that upon hearing this verse, faith became firmly rooted in my heart and the love of Muhammad ﷺ settled in my heart. Due to this comprehensiveness of the verse, the rightly guided Caliph Sayyiduna Umar bin Abdul Aziz included it in the Friday sermon and thus established a beautiful example for the Ummah. In reality, if these commands and prohibitions are acted upon, the moral, social, and economic condition of society can become excellent. After this introduction, we now present a brief explanation of these words:
1.
The Meaning of Justice (Adl):

There are two fundamental meanings found in 'Adl': ➊ To maintain balance and proportion ➋ To give others their due right impartially [الفروق اللغويه از ابو هلال عسكري]
And the narration "bil-adli qāmat as-samāwāt wal-ard" (i.e., the heavens and the earth are established upon justice) means that there is such balance, proportion, and harmony among the planets of the universe that if there were even a slight decrease or increase in their attraction or movement, the earth and the heavens would collide and destroy the universe. The application of justice is equal in both outward and inward matters. (Fiqh al-Lughah 194 by Tha'alibi) The following verse of the Noble Quran is used in the first meaning: ﴿ الَّذِيْ خَلَقَكَ فَسَوّيٰكَ فَعَدَلَكَ﴾ [7: 82] "Who created you, then fashioned you, then proportioned you." Then, based on this first meaning, two further meanings are also derived.
(1) In the sense of equality, as in the Divine statement: ﴿أَوْ كَفَّارَةٌ طَعَامُ مَسَاكِينَ أَوْ عَدْلُ ذَٰلِكَ صِيَامًا﴾ [95: 5] "Or feed the poor as an expiation, or fast the equivalent number of days."
(2) In the sense of compensation, recompense, or exchange, as in the Divine statement: ﴿وَلَا يُقْبَلُ مِنْهَا شَفَاعَةٌ وَلَا يُؤْخَذُ مِنْهَا عَدْلٌ﴾ [48: 2] "No intercession will be accepted from him, nor will any compensation be taken from him." And the second fundamental meaning of 'Adl' is to give someone their rightful due, and this is the responsibility of the judiciary of a country. The meaning of 'Adl' is often rendered as 'insaf' (fairness) among us, but this does not convey the true sense of 'Adl'. The meaning of 'insaf' is that if there are two claimants to the ownership of something, it should be divided equally between them, whereas the meaning of 'Adl' is that after hearing the statements of both parties, the court investigates whether a particular party has any right in it or not, and if so, how much? If one party's right is only one-fifth, then only that much should be given to him. And if one party has no right at all, then nothing should be given to him. The following verse is in this meaning: ﴿اِعْدِلُوْا هُوَ اَقْرَبُ للتَّقْويٰ﴾ [8: 5] "Be just; that is nearer to piety."
2.
The Meaning of Ihsan (Excellence):

Ihsan means every good and virtuous deed, whether it relates to oneself or to others (Fiqh al-Lughah 158 by Tha'alibi), and this word is used for every act of goodness, from the smallest to the greatest. Its second meaning is to perform an act in the best possible manner. Thus, in the Hadith of Jibril, Jibril asked the Prophet ﷺ, "What is Ihsan?" He replied, "Ihsan is that you worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot achieve this state, then at least know that He sees you." And the meaning of worship is not limited to performing obligatory or voluntary prayers; rather, any act done with the intention of obeying Allah is His worship, and performing the act cheerfully and in the best manner is called Ihsan. In this sense, even sharpening the knife well before slaughtering an animal so that the animal suffers the least is also Ihsan.

The Difference Between Justice and Ihsan:

Although justice is itself a high value, the rank of Ihsan is even higher than justice. We can explain the difference between justice and Ihsan with a simple example: For instance, if a shopkeeper keeps the scale perfectly straight while weighing goods and does not cheat at all, this is justice. But if he gives a little extra while weighing, or after agreeing on a price, gives some further discount, this is Ihsan, which can also be called self-sacrifice. However, this example only highlights one aspect of the difference between justice and Ihsan.

The Effects of Ihsan in Social Life:

In a society where justice is established, the rights of others are not usurped, but some conflict still remains. However, in a society where Ihsan prevails, or in other words, where everyone is content with a little less than their due right, then in such a society, the question of dispute does not arise at all. Rather, high values such as love, affection, and brotherhood begin to flourish. Furthermore, both these words apply to beliefs, actions, worship, morals, dealings, and emotions.

3.
Giving to Close Relatives:

The conduct of justice and Ihsan should also be extended to close relatives, but their rights are greater than those of the general public. This is a vast subject, which includes the rights of parents and other relatives and treating them well. One aspect of this is that Islamic law holds the well-off members of every family responsible for not leaving their family members hungry or naked. In its view, there is no worse condition for a society than that one person lives a life of luxury while his own relatives in the same family are in need of food and clothing. And if the well-off members of a society fulfill this responsibility, you can yourself imagine how much economic prosperity, social sweetness, and moral purity and elevation will be produced in that society. And the things that have been prohibited are as follows:
1.
Lewd Acts (Fahsha):

Fahsha and fahsh mean every word or deed that exceeds all bounds in obscenity and evil (Mufradat), and this word is generally applied to such words and deeds that lead towards adultery or other similar lustful acts. All acts and words of indecency are included in this, such as nudity, nakedness, sodomy, marrying forbidden women, slander, cursing, publicizing hidden crimes, stories, dramas, and films that incite immorality, obscene pictures, women appearing in public adorned, free mixing of men and women, women dancing and displaying themselves on stage—all of this falls under the category of fahsha.

2.
What are Munkarat (Evil Acts):

Munkar refers to some evil acts that have been explicitly prohibited by the Shariah; these are definitely included among the munkarat. But there are some acts about which the Shariah is silent, but in a particular country or society, they are considered shameful and evil. Such acts are munkar in that particular country or society, but in another country or society, they cannot be called munkar. (The opposite of munkar is ma'ruf.) For example, in our society, elders are addressed with respect, such as 'ji' or 'sahib', but in Arab society, there is no such custom, nor is there any command in the Shariah regarding this. Therefore, addressing elders respectfully, with titles like 'ji' or 'sahib', or using the plural form instead of the singular, is considered ma'ruf, and if someone addresses them as 'tu' (informal 'you'), it is munkar. Similarly, sitting or lying with one's feet stretched towards the qiblah is considered munkar in our society and is regarded as bad and shameful, whereas the Shariah is silent on this, and people of many countries do not consider it munkar nor ma'ruf. In this verse, it is stated that Allah forbids you from munkarat as well.

3.
The Various Meanings of Baghy (Transgression):

Baghy means to go beyond the proper limits in seeking or desiring something, to try to take more than one's due right, and accordingly, to suppress the rights of others, to exceed the limits set by Allah, to disobey, to unjustly violate the life, property, or honor of others, to break the law, to rebel, etc.—all of this is included. The well-known word 'rebellion' (baghawat) is also derived from this. In short, if these three types of evils mentioned above are avoided, such a society becomes refined and pure from all kinds of vices and evils.