Surah An-Nahl (16) — Ayah 90

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.