The Value of Justice in the Works of Shaykh Muhammad al-Tahir Ibn Ashur (May Allah Have Mercy on Him) An Analytical Study

Abstract

This study examines the value of justice through the works of Shaykh Muhammad al-Tahir Ibn Ashur (may Allah have mercy on him). The research adopts the inductive method to collect and trace texts addressing justice in Ibn Ashur’s writings, and the analytical method to derive the concepts they indicate, their characteristics, and the Islamic approach to establishing and safeguarding them. The study arrives at several findings, most notably that justice, according to Ibn Ashur, is defined as equality among people in assigning things to those entitled to them and in enabling every rightful person to obtain his due without delay. A number of terms are synonymous with justice, including equality, equity (qist), benevolence (ma‘ruf), fulfillment, right (haqq), moderation, and fairness. Justice in judgment and bearing true testimony constitutes the foundation for the soundness of Islamic society, and deviation from it-even by the slightest degree-leads to a chain of corruption.