The Concept of Justice in Islam — Page 6
concept but made the settlement of disputes through judicial deter- mination obligatory upon Muslims. But no, by thy Lord, they are not believers until they make thee judge of all that is in dispute between them and then find not in their hearts any demur concerning that that which thou decidest and submit with full submission. (IV. 66) This verse lays down, first, the obligation that disputes must be judicially determined; then the moral duty that once the judicial process has terminated in a final decision, the decision must be accepted· with- out leaving a trace of resentment or demur in the minds of the parties whichever way the decision may have gone, and finally that it should be submitted to and carried out to the full. Those who are not familiar with the style and idiom of the Quran might be disposed to restrict the operation of this verse to judgements delivered by the Holy Prophet himself. This would not be correct. Very often when the Prophet is addressed directly, the commandment, injunction, or obligation is laid upon all believers, or has a general ap- plication. Nor is there any room here for attributing special sanctity to judgements delivered by the Holy Prophet. He has himself been quite clear on the point. He has explained that in determining a dis- pute he tries to arrive at the truth of the matter on the basis of the pre- sentation of the case by the parties. He may go wrong and award somthing to a party to which the party is not entitled. Should that happen the party that under the judgement takes or recovers that to which he or she is not entitled is guilty of appropriating wrongfully that which does not belong to him or her. This verse is thus emphatic in making obligatory the determina- tion of disputes through judicial process and complete submission to the final judgement in not merely carrying it out, but in reconciling