IOK Ramadan 2025: A Believer is Always Just | Sh Tarik Ata

This Ramadan, MuslimMatters is pleased to host the Institute Of Knowledge‘s daily Ramadan series: Ramadan Reflections. Through this series, each day we will spend time connecting with the Qur’an on a deeper, more spiritual, uplifting level.

Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5

Transcript

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and upon all his family and companions. Allah ﷻ gives us a verse in Surah Al-Ma’idah that is very easy and beautiful to read, but very difficult to apply.

Allah ﷻ here says, Oh, you who believe, I’m paraphrasing here, you are, we are responsible for being people of justice. And our fulfillment and our enactment of justice has to do with Allah ﷻ and not any system of government, not any ideology. It is for Allah, as a command from Allah ﷻ in hope for reward from Allah ﷻ . And Allah ﷻ says, ‘And this allows the believer to overcome a huge challenge when it comes to dealing with people who have wronged us. And that is maintaining justice. As people who claim to be on the truth, who claim to be following a messenger and the last and final messenger of Allah ﷺ , how we conduct ourselves plays a huge role on our ability to win the hearts and minds of individuals.

So Allah ﷻ, commands us to be people of justice, to do it for the sake of Allah. And then goes a step forward to say the following, and this is where things get difficult.’ Here Allah ﷻ is saying, don’t let the hatred of another people towards you. You know, the injustices that they have shown us, the brutality, the treachery, the lies and this deceit that they have shown us. That’s not an excuse for us to reciprocate that in the same way, but rather, we must be people of justice. Why? Because along with being people who seek to impose justice and to help those who are oppressed, we are also representatives of Allah ﷻ. We are also seen as a reflection of who Rasulullah ﷺ was. And so Allah ﷻ, you know, He teaches us this. He teaches us this in Surah Al-Baqarah and says, we are, this Ummah is, the most moderate Ummah so that we serve the purpose of being a role model for the rest of humanity.’ In the mind of a Muslim, we must maintain the utmost etiquette and akhlaaq. Why? For the sake of Allah, but beyond that, so that other people can benefit from us. That’s what it means to be a follower of Rasulullah ﷺ. Didn’t he die with nothing in his possession, with a few pennies in his possession? He ﷺ served his life as a prophet for other people to benefit from what Allah ﷻ sent him with. He ﷺ was always concerned about what others are going to take with them when they face Allah ﷻ. And we must, as difficult as it is, we must maintain that mindset.

And so, no matter how treacherous and evil people are in our pursuit of enacting justice and freeing the oppressed, we can never, ever let their atrocities towards us cause us to fall short of justice towards anyone and everyone else. And, when we apply justice, that is when we are closer to taqwa, which is, as we know, a primary function of the believer, primary behavior of the believer. So you look at the companions, they were people who enacted justice in any and all circumstances. And this shows not only that such a people are worthy of being emulated by Muslim and non-Muslim. It also shows you their growth and their level of maturity. These are people who are driven by principle, not driven by, you know, immediate gains; not driven by fame and popularity; not driven by what’s going to make the most money. They were driven by a mission. And all that they did was in support of that mission, to further that mission. And you know what? When a society, a developed society, a developed civilization begins to crumble, it’s not only simply when institutions begin to collapse. It can also be when the institutions are still intact, are still receiving as much funding as they ever had. But those institutions are being used for other than what they were established for.

So, for example, if the military is being used for other than advancing the military vision of the country. But rather in order to make people money, the military complex or industry, in order to get people richer, then that department is being used for other than what it was established for. And so when the companions grew to the level where their behaviors were always in line with the mission, the mission of calling people to Allah, and the mission of advancing the message of Rasulullah ﷺ, that is taqwa. And that is growth right there. And peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and upon his family and companions in general.