Absolute Justice, Kindness and Kinship — Page 91
— Part I 90 realm of ‘Adl or justice alone. It is something extra, as if unearned, granted to the body entirely by way of special kindness. Looking at it from another angle one can say that in view of human faults, excessive negligence and even accidents, a system of compensation is provided by God. When viewed from the vantage point of conscious human actions, it appears much like the term I h s a n in action, as we have previously discussed at some length. The benefaction of I h s a n and I t a ’i Dhil-Qurb a is over and above justice. For instance, if man was provided with digestive juices sufficient only to meet the daily requirements of food, that would imply that each animal eats exactly what he requires with there being no room for excess. This is only the dictate of justice. But God has treated animals with amazing benevolence. The excessive foods that he eats is preserved for him in the form of fats to maintain his life during lean days. Of course excessive fat is a burden but a moderate quantity of fat is needed by every living animal for the sake of his survival. Normally everyone can digest twice the amount of food required for healthy living. When he exceeds even this limit, then the domain of punishment begins. He cannot be a habitual violator of justice without suffering the consequences. We still do not know enough of this delicate system of maintaining balance. How unfortunate is the case of man, otherwise such a proud animal,