Title: God's Mercy & Justice Question: The Qur'an says that Allah is a merciful being. It also says Allah is full of justice. I do not understand the meaning of being Merciful and Just, when we know that if a person does something wrong, the justice demands punishment, and if you do not punish him/her and instead show mercy, then that can be categorised as injustice. On the contrary, it could also mean that Allah would do justice to some and be merciful to others. However, the dividing line between justice and mercy is beyond my comprehension. If I would have to reward someone, I would do so according to my moods, likeness towards the other being, my general demeanor, my attitude towards fellow human would over rule my capability of doing justice and instead force me to show mercy. Obviously this decision has shown a greater element of mercy and a smaller element of justice. I can not understand the equality between the two. Secondly, the justice has to be a standard in Islam. Certain acts must be followed by certain rewards and or punishments. It must not mean relaxation for one person who drinks alcohol and strict penalties for another. Here, the 'hakooq Allah' (duties towards Allah) makes it difficult for me to understand, when I have heard that Allah may forgive 'hakooq Allah' but He would not forgive 'hakooq Al Ibaad' (duties towards fellow humans). How could this standard suddenly change and Allah would revert from being just to being merciful where 'hakooq Allah' are an issue? Nohman Ishtiaq Answer: Firstly, in most of the cases, justice, in itself, is a requirement of mercy. One can so easily realize this point if he/she has ever been wrongfully deprived of his/her rights and, consequently, had to knock at the doors of the authorities. In such circumstances, no one is more 'merciful', from the perspective of the deprived, than a just officer. When a person, who has been wrongfully deprived of his rights, knocks at the doors of a court of law, the judge is required to take a just action (according to the best of his knowledge and understanding), undue mercy for the criminal by the person passing the judgment, may be considered as 'mercy' by the criminal, who himself is devoid of all mercy, yet it would, from the perspective of the deprived, be considered as partiality and injustice and would take away all hope for the weak and the law abiding citizens. Secondly, forgiveness or mercy is not always unjust. On the contrary, forgiveness (mercy) can be administered with complete justice. When a person is forgiven for crime X, in view of his specific circumstances, while anther person is severely punished for the same crime committed under the same circumstances then the punishment of the second may not be considered 'unjust'. Nevertheless, if forgiveness is administered with justice then no objections of injustice can be raised against it. Besides the stated principles, some of the other important factors in the balance between 'mercy' and 'justice' may be: People should generally be informed about the consequences of their crimes (administration of justice with mercy); A person, who has unintentionally done a wrong, deserves forgiveness (a show of mercy, without being unjust); A person, who has committed a crime, but, before being apprehended, has repented for his uncalled for behavior and has sincerely tried his best to correct his behavior may also be dealt with a softer hand (a show of mercy, without being unjust); No one should be administered a severer punishment than what his crime actually deserves (administration of justice with mercy); Forgiveness of one individual should not result in depriving another individual of his rights; (administration of mercy with justice); and Forgiveness should be impartial (administration of mercy with justice); I am sure you would agree that in the foregoing cases, forgiveness and mercy are not against justice nor is the administration of justice against mercy. The Qur'an has promised that on the Day of Judgment, God shall be extremely Merciful to all those, who prove themselves to be deserving of His mercy, during the life of this world, without being unjust. Punishment shall only be the fate of those, who - by their own misdeeds, disobedience and arrogance - close upon themselves the wide-open doors of God's abounding mercy. However, even in this case, their punishment shall not be administered unjustly. In view of our lack of absolute knowledge, we cannot draw analogies between our own implementation of justice and mercy with that of God's. However, we have been assured by the Qur'an that in the Hereafter, God's decisions shall not only be based on the principles of justice and mercy, but also that this justice and mercy shall be manifest in all the decisions to the extent that even those who are subject to severe punishments shall admit this fact. As for your second question, both the Huqooq Allah (rights of the Almighty) and the Huqooq al-Ibaad (rights of fellow humans) shall be decided on the same principles. The only difference between the two kinds of rights is that in the case of the latter, we shall not only have to seek God's forgiveness and mercy, but also that of the particular person, whom we have wronged. I hope this helps. Regards, Moiz Amjad January 16, 2002