Conclusion

Throughout this book, we dealt with what kind of an understanding a person of faith should have regarding justice and the sort of society that will be established once such justice and un-derstanding prevail. There is, however, another point that deserves mention here: Peoples' ef-forts to maintain justice in society also reflect their meticulousness in living by Allah's religion and observing His commands.

For this reason, Muslims who adhere to the Qur'an must internalize this real understanding of justice. A Muslim is responsible for ruling with justice and showing compassion, in the same way that he displays the greatest care in observing Allah's commands such as fasting, praying five times a day and covering the body. Adopting a contrary attitude would mean believing in some parts of the Qur'an and rejecting others. In the Qur'an, Allah draws attention to this situation that people might fall into:

A Muslim knows only too well how severe this punishment might be. Allah is the al-Adl, the Just, and He renders His servants perfect justice. He will show His justice to His servants in the Hereafter in the same way that He does in this world. People will give account of every deed, whether important or insignificant, they have done all through their lives, every remark they have uttered and every thought that occurred in their minds, and they will be repaid for them. This will take the form of either the endless blessings of Paradise or painful punishment:

For this reason, a Muslim avoids all kinds of behaviour which will not be pleasing to Allah. The social life marked by peace and compassion during the administration of the Prophet Muhammad (saas), the caliphs succeeding him and other Muslim administrators, depended on commitment to the Qur'an.

As exemplified in this book, Muslims have an honorable past with the justice, mercy, under-standing, compassion, conscience they displayed and the noble values they possessed. There is therefore nothing to prevent the Muslims of today drawing lessons from past experiences and re-establishing justice on earth, and putting an end to cruelty. The only thing that remains to be done is to act in unity and to strive seriously to attain the real justice promised in the Qur'an.