Justice in the Qur'an
What does the Qur'an teach about justice?
Study the Qur'an's call to stand firm for justice, even against oneself, one's family or people one dislikes, and see how the Prophet applied equality before the law.
Why it matters
Being fair is easy when it costs nothing. It becomes difficult when justice goes against our interests, our family or our friends, or when it benefits someone we dislike.
The Qur'an addresses exactly these hard cases. Justice ('adl) is one of its most frequently emphasised values, and the Qur'an describes the purpose of sending messengers as helping people 'maintain [their affairs] in justice' (57:25).
The teaching
Justice even against yourself
In 4:135 the Qur'an tells believers to be 'persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives', and whether the person concerned is rich or poor.
The verse identifies what usually corrupts fairness: self-interest, family loyalty and assumptions about wealth or status. It warns, 'follow not [personal] inclination, lest you not be just.'
Justice even towards those you dislike
In 5:8 the Qur'an adds: 'do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness.' Fairness is owed even to opponents.
This principle has wide application: in how we speak about other groups online, how we judge a colleague we do not get on with, and how communities treat people outside them.
Justice and excellence together
Qur'an 16:90 says God 'orders justice and good conduct' and forbids 'oppression'. 'Good conduct' here translates ihsan, which means going beyond the minimum. Justice is the foundation: giving everyone their due. Ihsan builds on it with generosity and kindness.
Equality before the law
When influential people in Madinah tried to secure special treatment for a woman from a noble family, the Prophet refused. He warned that earlier nations were destroyed because they punished the poor but let the powerful go free (Sahih al-Bukhari 3475).
He also redefined what it means to help someone who is doing wrong: 'Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or he is an oppressed one'. When asked how one helps an oppressor, he answered: 'By preventing him from oppressing others' (Sahih al-Bukhari 2444).
From the Qur'an
Each passage shows the Arabic text, an attributed English translation, and our explanatory note, kept visually separate.
Arabic text
۞يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ كُونُواْ قَوَّـٰمِينَ بِٱلۡقِسۡطِ شُهَدَآءَ لِلَّهِ وَلَوۡ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِكُمۡ أَوِ ٱلۡوَٰلِدَيۡنِ وَٱلۡأَقۡرَبِينَۚ إِن يَكُنۡ غَنِيًّا أَوۡ فَقِيرٗا فَٱللَّهُ أَوۡلَىٰ بِهِمَاۖ فَلَا تَتَّبِعُواْ ٱلۡهَوَىٰٓ أَن تَعۡدِلُواْۚ وَإِن تَلۡوُۥٓاْ أَوۡ تُعۡرِضُواْ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعۡمَلُونَ خَبِيرٗا135
Translation · Saheeh International
135O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, Allah is more worthy of both. So follow not [personal] inclination, lest you not be just. And if you distort [your testimony] or refuse [to give it], then indeed Allah is ever, with what you do, Acquainted
Explanatory note (our words, not part of the Qur'an)
Justice must be upheld even against oneself and one's family, and regardless of wealth or poverty.
Arabic text
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ كُونُواْ قَوَّـٰمِينَ لِلَّهِ شُهَدَآءَ بِٱلۡقِسۡطِۖ وَلَا يَجۡرِمَنَّكُمۡ شَنَـَٔانُ قَوۡمٍ عَلَىٰٓ أَلَّا تَعۡدِلُواْۚ ٱعۡدِلُواْ هُوَ أَقۡرَبُ لِلتَّقۡوَىٰۖ وَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ خَبِيرُۢ بِمَا تَعۡمَلُونَ8
Translation · Saheeh International
8O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allah, witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do
Explanatory note (our words, not part of the Qur'an)
Hostility towards a group must never prevent fair treatment of them.
Arabic text
۞إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَأۡمُرُ بِٱلۡعَدۡلِ وَٱلۡإِحۡسَٰنِ وَإِيتَآيِٕ ذِي ٱلۡقُرۡبَىٰ وَيَنۡهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلۡفَحۡشَآءِ وَٱلۡمُنكَرِ وَٱلۡبَغۡيِۚ يَعِظُكُمۡ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَذَكَّرُونَ90
Translation · Saheeh International
90Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded
Explanatory note (our words, not part of the Qur'an)
Justice and ihsan (excellence, good conduct) are commanded together; oppression is forbidden.
Arabic text
لَقَدۡ أَرۡسَلۡنَا رُسُلَنَا بِٱلۡبَيِّنَٰتِ وَأَنزَلۡنَا مَعَهُمُ ٱلۡكِتَٰبَ وَٱلۡمِيزَانَ لِيَقُومَ ٱلنَّاسُ بِٱلۡقِسۡطِۖ وَأَنزَلۡنَا ٱلۡحَدِيدَ فِيهِ بَأۡسٞ شَدِيدٞ وَمَنَٰفِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَلِيَعۡلَمَ ٱللَّهُ مَن يَنصُرُهُۥ وَرُسُلَهُۥ بِٱلۡغَيۡبِۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ قَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٞ25
Translation · Saheeh International
25We have already sent Our messengers with clear evidences and sent down with them the Scripture and the balance that the people may maintain [their affairs] in justice. And We sent down iron, wherein is great military might and benefits for the people, and so that Allah may make evident those who support Him and His messengers unseen. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might
Explanatory note (our words, not part of the Qur'an)
The messengers and scripture were sent so that people might maintain justice. 'The balance' is a recurring Qur'anic image for fairness.
Differences of interpretation and context
This verse also mentions iron and its 'great military might'. Commentators generally read this as describing iron's strength and uses, including defence; it is not a command to use force, and this lesson focuses on the verse's statement about justice.
From the hadith
Hadith are reports of the Prophet Muhammad's words and actions. Each one below shows its collection, reference number and grading, with the authority that graded it.
Narrated `Aisha:
What destroyed the nations preceding you, was that if a noble amongst them stole, they would forgive him, and if a poor person amongst them stole, they would inflict Allah's Legal punishment on him.
Why it matters here
Equal application of law regardless of status.
Source, grading and translation details
- Collection
- Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 3475 (Book 60, Hadith 142)
- Numbering
- Muhammad Fu'ad 'Abd al-Baqi numbering, as used on sunnah.com
- Grade
- Sahih: Included in Sahih al-Bukhari, a collection accepted as authentic (sahih) by Sunni hadith scholarship
- Translation
- Muhammad Muhsin Khan (English translation as published on sunnah.com)
- Checked
- sunnah.com English dataset (offline copy in the `hadith` npm package v1.3.0): wording, number, in-book reference and grade, on 2026-10-09
- Editorial note
- This is an excerpt from a longer narration about a legal case in Madinah. It is quoted here for its principle of equality before the law. Questions of criminal law are matters for qualified jurists and courts, not for individuals.
Narrated Anas:
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or he is an oppressed one. People asked, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) ! It is all right to help him if he is oppressed, but how should we help him if he is an oppressor?" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "By preventing him from oppressing others."
Why it matters here
Supporting someone can mean stopping them from wronging others.
Source, grading and translation details
- Collection
- Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 2444 (Book 46, Hadith 5)
- Numbering
- Muhammad Fu'ad 'Abd al-Baqi numbering, as used on sunnah.com
- Grade
- Sahih: Included in Sahih al-Bukhari, a collection accepted as authentic (sahih) by Sunni hadith scholarship
- Translation
- Muhammad Muhsin Khan (English translation as published on sunnah.com)
- Checked
- sunnah.com English dataset (offline copy in the `hadith` npm package v1.3.0): wording, number, in-book reference and grade, on 2026-10-09
Abu Dharr reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying that Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, said:
O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another.
Why it matters here
Oppression is forbidden in absolute terms.
Source, grading and translation details
- Collection
- Sahih Muslim, no. 2577 a (Book 45, Hadith 70)
- Numbering
- Muhammad Fu'ad 'Abd al-Baqi numbering, as used on sunnah.com
- Grade
- Sahih: Included in Sahih Muslim, a collection accepted as authentic (sahih) by Sunni hadith scholarship
- Translation
- Abdul Hamid Siddiqui (English translation as published on sunnah.com)
- Checked
- sunnah.com English dataset (offline copy in the `hadith` npm package v1.3.0): wording, number, in-book reference and grade, on 2026-10-09
- Editorial note
- This is a hadith qudsi: words the Prophet attributed to God, which are distinct from the Qur'an.
Context and key terms
Arabic terms in this lesson (4)
'Adl
عدل
Justice; fairness
Giving each person and thing its due, and treating people equitably regardless of status, relationship or feelings.
Zulm
ظلم
Injustice; oppression; wrongdoing
Putting something where it does not belong; taking or withholding what is due. It is the opposite of 'adl.
Ihsan
إحسان
Excellence; doing good beautifully
Going beyond the minimum: doing things well, with care and kindness, as though conscious that God sees you.
Taqwa
تقوى
God-consciousness
Awareness of God that guards a person from wrongdoing. Translations render it as 'fear of God', 'piety' or 'mindfulness of God'.
Personal justice and legal justice
This lesson focuses on justice as a personal and social value. Formal legal rulings, criminal law and courts are specialised fields. Their application depends on qualified judges, legitimate institutions and due process, never on individuals taking matters into their own hands.
Reading the Qur'an's 'O you who have believed'
Many verses on justice begin by addressing believers directly. This sets a standard for the community's own conduct, including towards outsiders, rather than a demand placed on others.
Go deeper: Justice as 'putting things in their place'
Classical Arabic lexicographers often defined zulm (injustice) as 'putting something in other than its proper place'. Justice, by contrast, gives each person and thing its due. This makes justice wider than law: it includes fairness in speech, in family responsibilities, and towards one's own body and the environment.
Everyday example
Illustrative story (fictional)
The team leader's decision
Kwame leads a small team. Two colleagues apply for a training opportunity: his close friend, and someone he finds difficult to work with. The second colleague's application is clearly stronger.
Kwame feels the pull of friendship. He remembers 5:8, 'do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just', and realises the same logic applies to affection. He chooses on merit, explains his reasons to his friend privately, and offers to help him prepare for the next round.
Justice often means resisting both dislike and affection. Fairness can be delivered kindly.
Activity
Scenario challenge
Witnessing unfair treatment
At work, you notice that a new colleague, who speaks with a strong accent, is repeatedly interrupted and mocked in meetings. Others laugh along. The person doing it is popular and senior to you.
What would you do?
Knowledge check
Answer each question to see an explanation. You can retry as many times as you like; nothing is graded.
Reflection
Try it in practice
The fairness check
- 1Before making a judgement about someone this week, ask: would I judge this the same way if it were my friend, or myself?
- 2When repeating something about another person or group, check that it is accurate and fair.
- 3Notice one situation where someone is overlooked, and give them a fair hearing.
Sources and further reading
Primary sources cited
- Qur'an 4:135 (Surah An-Nisa). Arabic: King Fahd Complex Uthmani text; translation: Saheeh International.
- Qur'an 5:8 (Surah Al-Ma'idah). Arabic: King Fahd Complex Uthmani text; translation: Saheeh International.
- Qur'an 16:90 (Surah An-Nahl). Arabic: King Fahd Complex Uthmani text; translation: Saheeh International.
- Qur'an 57:25 (Surah Al-Hadid). Arabic: King Fahd Complex Uthmani text; translation: Saheeh International.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3475, graded Sahih (Sahih collection). Sunnah.com (opens in a new tab)
- Sahih al-Bukhari 2444, graded Sahih (Sahih collection). Sunnah.com (opens in a new tab)
- Sahih Muslim 2577 a, graded Sahih (Sahih collection). Sunnah.com (opens in a new tab)
Further reading
- Qur'an 4:135 in context (opens in a new tab) · Quran.com
Read with several translations and tafsir.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 2444 (opens in a new tab) · Sunnah.com
'Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or oppressed.'
This lesson is educational and is not a fatwa (religious ruling). For personal religious questions, please consult a qualified scholar you trust. How we source and review lessons.
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