Divine justice refers to the actions of God based on rational goodness and badness, and the absence of any wrongdoing or immoral acts by Him. Stay with Saadnews for more on this topic.
Justice is used in meanings such as intention, balance in matters, placing and positioning everything in its rightful place, harmony, and equality, none of which are opposed by injustice. Another meaning of justice refers to respecting the rights of individuals and giving to each the rights that belong to them. While this concept of justice is opposed to injustice, as injustice involves the violation and usurpation of others' rights, this form of justice is not applied to God and does not carry the title of "Divine Justice." As noted by Ayatollah Motahari, this interpretation of justice and injustice is inherently based on human priorities and characteristics, where humans are forced to employ certain notions and make distinctions between what is good and bad. These concepts are unique to human beings and do not apply in the realm of the Divine because God, in any action He undertakes, is acting upon what is fully His and belongs to His absolute dominion.
Shia Muslims regard Divine Justice as one of the five fundamental principles of the religion, or at the very least, one of the fundamental principles of their faith. Similarly, the Mu'tazilites regard justice as the second principle of their doctrine.
Belief in Divine Justice influences several theological discussions, with scholars of Islam dedicating entire sections of their books to the subject. The first impact of justice is in theology. Shia Muslims consider justice to be one of the attributes of God, as a positive act of God. According to a narration, Imam Sadiq (a.s.) presented justice alongside monotheism as the foundation of religion.
Abd al-Razzaq Lahiji, a Shia theologian, believes that justice reflects the perfection of God's actions, and for Shia theologians, justice completes monotheism. Other principles of the faith, such as prophethood, leadership (Imamate), and the afterlife (ma'ad), are all dependent on it. Moreover, important topics such as heaven, hell, and the judgment of deeds in the afterlife are based on Divine Justice.
Belief in or denial of Divine Justice also has a clear impact on important anthropological issues such as predestination (jabr) and free will (ikhtiyar), fate (qada wa qadr), evil, and human happiness or misery. According to Tafseer-e-Namunah, justice is a vital principle of Islam, and none of the doctrinal or practical matters, whether individual or social, is free from the essence of justice.
Before addressing the main question, it is important to note that in the Quran, Divine Justice is mostly presented through the negation of oppression (zulm), such as:
"Indeed, Allah does not do injustice to people at all..."
"And Allah does not desire injustice for the worlds..."
In relation to God, justice means the granting of existence to every entity that has the potential to exist and the conferring of perfection to every entity that has the ability to receive it.
With this definition in mind, it can be said that God's justice in creation, as the Quran states: "He who made everything He created good..." refers to the creation of the universe in the best way possible and a beginning for the creation of humanity and its stages of development. In other words, the grand design of creation was established on an "optimal system," one that could not have been better. In all of creation, there is interconnection and harmony, and each creation receives what it needs for its purpose.
When we look at a human being and consider the body systems, we see that each organ, cell, and structure has been created in such a way that it can function perfectly in harmony with the others. Similarly, the universe operates with perfect interrelation and balance.
He is the One who imparts various delightful scents to different flowers and gives life to clay and dirt, creating from them a conscious, intelligent human. From this same dark earth, He creates all kinds of flowers, human beings, and other creatures, each with what it needs.
This idea is echoed in Ayah 50 of Surah Taha: "Our Lord, who gave each thing its form and then guided it."
In Ayah "He who made everything He created good...", the word "good" refers to anything that brings joy and motivates humans towards it. This goodness comes in three forms:
What is deemed good by reason (i.e., rational goodness).
What is considered good according to desires.
What is physically beautiful and good.
Logical arguments for the existence of Divine Justice have been presented by scholars. Sheikh Tusi argues that committing immoral actions (fahsha) would be a flaw in God, and based on logical reasoning, flaws cannot exist in God, so He cannot commit evil acts. He also posits that such acts are either due to ignorance or need, both of which do not apply to God, thus, God does not commit evil.
Allama Hilli, in explaining the beliefs of Shia and Mu'tazilite theology, discusses predestination and free will and has attempted to demonstrate how the concept of free will in human beings upholds Divine Justice.
In addition to logical proofs, Divine Justice is also confirmed through Quranic verses:
"God bears witness that there is no deity but Him, and the angels and those endowed with knowledge testify that His actions are based on justice."
"We will set up the scales of justice on the Day of Judgment, and no soul will be wronged in the least."
The core beliefs of the Ahl al-Bayt school of thought include monotheism (tawhid), justice (adl), the afterlife (ma'ad), prophethood (nubuwwah), and leadership (imamah). All Muslims agree on tawhid, ma'ad, and nubuwwah, but differences arise in the matters of justice and leadership, especially between Shia Muslims and other Islamic sects (except for the Mu'tazilites who also agree with Shia on the matter of justice).
Although justice is one of God's attributes and the term "tawhid" in theological discourse includes all of God's attributes, the issue of Divine Justice is so significant that it became a point of separation between the Ash'arites and the 'Adliyyah (Shia and Mu'tazilites who believe in Divine Justice). As it carries numerous implications, justice has been discussed separately and is included as a fundamental principle of faith. The main theological schools in Islam are divided into three groups: Ash'arites, Mu'tazilites, and Shia. The Mu'tazilites and Shia are called "Adliyah" because they both accept Divine Justice.
