"If two parties among the believers fall to fighting, make peace between them. If one of them aggresses against the other, fight those who aggress until they return to God's Command. And if they return, make peace between them with justice and act equitably. Truly God loves the just."
Quran 49:9
Here is another passage drawn from surah 49, al-Hujurat, often rendered as "The Private Apartments." From Nasr, "Here the basic principles for dealing with disputes between Muslims are explained. The Prophet enjoined his followers, 'Help your brother whether he oppresses or is oppressed.' When asked what it means to help the oppressor, he replied, 'You help him by preventing him from oppressing.'" (p. 1260) As we've discussed previously, the concept of justice is at the heart of Islam. We are told to fight for justice, and that we're not supposed to sit out a fight. It's not that we're encouraged to fight, far from it, but injustice cannot be allowed to stand; there are a whole series of stipulations on what constitutes a just or unjust war. The hadith quoted above is one of the most famous sayings of the Prophet. Anyone who has lived any life at all also knows that it is one of the most difficult rules to follow. As difficult as it is to stand up for the oppressed, I think I would argue that it is more challenging to keep your brother/sister/friend from oppressing. However, isn't that the very nature of justice?
Quran 49:9
Here is another passage drawn from surah 49, al-Hujurat, often rendered as "The Private Apartments." From Nasr, "Here the basic principles for dealing with disputes between Muslims are explained. The Prophet enjoined his followers, 'Help your brother whether he oppresses or is oppressed.' When asked what it means to help the oppressor, he replied, 'You help him by preventing him from oppressing.'" (p. 1260) As we've discussed previously, the concept of justice is at the heart of Islam. We are told to fight for justice, and that we're not supposed to sit out a fight. It's not that we're encouraged to fight, far from it, but injustice cannot be allowed to stand; there are a whole series of stipulations on what constitutes a just or unjust war. The hadith quoted above is one of the most famous sayings of the Prophet. Anyone who has lived any life at all also knows that it is one of the most difficult rules to follow. As difficult as it is to stand up for the oppressed, I think I would argue that it is more challenging to keep your brother/sister/friend from oppressing. However, isn't that the very nature of justice?
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