Principles– Justice 7 – “Retributive Justice” – Saturday 19th of October, 2013

   We are going to proceed with our topic, “social justice”. All religions asserted that all people should get their basic needs. We depicted the Jewish, Christian and Islamic points of view on that issue.

   Moreover, Islam urges people to feed the indigent and take care of the needy and poor. It also calls people to take care of the needy or their faith deemed untrue. “Have you seen him who cries lies to the Doom? That is the one who repulses the orphan And does not urge the (offering) of food to the indigent.”  Surat AL- MA’UN

   It warns people who do not feed the needy that their eternal fate is hell.“Take him, and shackle him up, Thereafter roast him in Hell-Fire; Thereafter in a chain of seventy cubits’ length insert him! Surely he used not to believe in Allah The Ever-Magnificent; And he did not urge (offering) food to the indigent.” Surat Al-Haqqa

   Islam also encourages people to take care of the orphan and the indigent “Not at all! No indeed, (but) you do not honor the orphan,And you do not urge one another on (offering) food to the indigent,And you eat the heritage with indiscriminate eating,And you love wealth with an ardent love.” Surat Al Fajr

   Hence, it is crystal clear that all religions urge us to preserve the dignity of our fellow brethrens. It is necessary that any country should fulfill the basic needs of its citizens and preserve their right to lead a decent life.

   Once upon a time, a king brought a virtuous and wise tutor to his son. He let him choose the method of teaching that he preferred. It came to pass that he was teaching the little prince and asked him if he understood the lesson well, the prince answered politely that he understood it completely. Surprisingly, the tutor slapped the prince on the face. The prince was perplexed and baffled as to why his tutor slapped him. That question remained in his mind with no answer.

   Days passed on and the prince became a king and he wanted to take vengeance of the tutor who wronged him. He summoned him and asked about the reason of slapping him on the face. The tutor told him that all those years had not helped him to forget that insult. He added that he slapped him with no reason so that he would understand that injustice is bitter and experience how hard and unforgettable it is; thus he would never judge unjustly, if he became a king.

   Social justice aims in essence at preserving human dignity of each person along with fair treatment and Retributive justice.

   Retributive justice was asserted by all religions in addition to the international charters and community’s powers. God asked people to do good deeds, ask for what is righteous, help the orphan and protect the widow. What God asked us to do was approved by international laws and charters concerning human rights after so many years. They acknowledged that human dignity should be preserved, all people should be treated equally under the umbrella of law which assures that no violence or harmful behaviors are committed against any person.

   According to God’s commandment that we must apply justice, any remiss is considered evil. Hence, spiritual practices would be void not to mention the disastrous impact of injustice on the society. Thus God’s punishment of the unjust is afflicting them with “Woes”.

   Evidence on that is the story of Ahab the king who had an argument with one of his subject on a grove that he owned yet the king wanted it. When the king asked to buy it, the man refused. Accordingly, the king was upset and he resorted to trickery by producing false witnesses who stated that Naboot committed blasphemy on God and he was sentenced to stoning. Thus, God’s punishment was that Ahab died at the same place where Naboot was stoned.

   On the other hand, people feared Solomon, the wise and just king for the wisdom that God bestowed upon him and he in turn used to apply justice.

   A society that is not based on justice is prone to demolition. Hence, governments shall apply justice; protect rights of its citizens and their lives too. As a result, societies will be established firmly.

To be continued…

General Bishop

Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center