The idea of equal distribution naturally leads to equity and justice.
The idea of equal distribution naturally leads to equity and justice. And, as a result, ‘adl came to denote justice, equity, to be on straight path, straight :forwardness, to be of exact standard neither less nor more, and to keep everything in its proper place. The opposite words are jawr and zulm. Jawr means to be inclined to one side, which consequently means not to be impartial in justice, to be biased for or against one party. Zulm means to put a thing in a wrong place.
As an unjust judge misplaces. his judgement by not giving the aggrieved party its due, he is called zalim. The Muslim Sects Frequently Mentioned in this Book The reader will come across the following sects again and again: Shi ah Ithna‑'Ashari: Those Muslims who believe in the imamat of twelve Imams beginning with Imam 'Ali bin Abi Talib, Imam Hasan, Imam Husayn and his nine descendents. The twelfth Imam is Muhammad al‑Mahdi, the awaited saviour. This group is also known as Imamiyyah.
Asha'irah: All the Sunni Muslims of the present time are Asha'irah in their beliefs. They follow Abu l‑Hasan al‑Ash'ari (d. 324 A.H./936 C.E.). Mu'tazilah: Before Abu 'l‑Hasan al‑Ash'ari, many Sunnis were Mu'tazilah in their beliefs. They followed the beliefs of Wasil bin 'Ata' (d. 131 A.H. /748 O.E.).However, the Mu'tazilah sect became almost extinct in the fourth hijrah century. B.
The Place of Reason in Religion The first and most important difference among the Muslims is concerning the role of human reason and intellect ('aql) in religion. The Asha'irah are on one side of the issue whereas the Shi'ah Ithna'Ashariyyah and the Mu'tazilah are on the other side.
The Shi'ahs says that irrespective of religious commandments, there is a rational merit and demerit in different courses of action, and that God orders a certain action because it is rationally good and He forbids another action because it is rationally bad. The Asha’irah deny this concept. They say that nothing is good or bad in se. Only what God has ordered us to do is good and what He has forbidden us is bad.
[^2] In other words, the Shi'ahs, for example, say that God has forbidden us to tell a lie because lying is bad; whereas the Asha’irah says that lying has become bad because God forbade it. Abu 'l‑Hasan al‑Ash'ari writes, "Question: Then lying is evil only because God has declared it to be evil? Answer: Certainly. And if He declared it to be good, it would be good; and if He commanded it, no one could gainsay Him.