The Concept of Justice in Islam — Page 5
ignominy in one case and being subjected to ignominy in the other is, in the strict sense, not a part of the reward or the penalty, but is a con- sequence which flows from the nature of the act in each case. It is a quality of good and evil respectively. Whoso does a good deed shall have ten times as much; but he who does an evil deed, shall have only a like reward; and they shall not be wronged. (VI. 161) Whoso does evil will be requited only with the like of it; but whoso does good, whether male or female, and is a be- liever-these will enter the Garden; they will be provided therein without measure. (XL. 41 ) It may be explained that as the object of Islam is to bring about complete integration and planned development between all faculties and in all spheres, the sanctions in respect of all action and conduct are not only material but also moral and spiritual. In fact it is interesting to note in connection with the controversy what is the province of reli- gion and what is the province of law and politics, or, in other words, the controversy with regard to a secular state and a religious state, that Is- lam does not make that distinction at all. Islam is a way of life and is a code of laws regulating all aspects of human life. From that point of view it is, if one may so express it, the most secular of all religions. It is. common knowledge that there is no priesthood or church hierarchy in Islam. Consequently, there are no sacraments nor any ceremonial which can be performed only by or through an ordained priesthood. Before Islam, the concept of justice in Arabia was purely patri- archal inside the family and the tribe, and between different tribes a rough and ready balancing up through a succession of tribal feuds and vendettas. The administration of justice on the basis of law, rights, duties, and penalties through the machinery of courts and judges was something unfamiliar to the Arabs. Islam not only introduced this