The seventh obligation which the habit of congregating by the roadside demands from us is helping the oppressed. Oppression (adh-dhulm) is often defined as: "Acting in that which involves another person's rights in a way which is not your right." Or, "Transgression of boundaries and transgression upon a soul, its honour, its property or causing harm to another human (without right)." The worst type of dhulm is that which is directed against Allaah i.e. associating partners with Allaah as mentioned in the Qur'an:
“Verily! Joining others in worship with Allaah is a great dhuIm ( wrong ) " (Q31[Luqman]:13)
All of these are forbidden in Islaam.
Allaah is in no wayan oppressor of anyone among His slaves and consequently, He has made it forbidden among us. Allaah said, in a hadith qudsee spoken by the Prophet (salallaahu alayhi wa sallam):
"O My slaves, I have forbidden Myself oppression and I have made it between you forbidden, so do not oppress one another." (Muslim)
Hisham Ibn AI-Hakim Ibn Hazim happened to pass by some people, the farmers of Syria, who had been made to stand in the sun. He asked: What is the matter with them? They said: They have been detained for (not paying) the Jizyah (tax on non-Muslims in an Islamic state).
Thereupon, Hisham said: I testify that I heard Allaah's Messenger (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) saying:
Allaah would torment those who torment people in the world." (Muslim)
Jabir Ibn Abdullah (RA) quoted the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) as saying:
"Be on your guard against committing oppression, for oppression is a darkness on the Day of Resurrection (Muslim)
There are two typ'es of Oppression
Dhulm al-insaani nafsahu (for a person to oppress themselves): A person oppresses himself by following his desires, his feelings or his inclinations instead of following Allaah, His Messenger (salallaahu alayhi wa sallam) and his sound instincts (fitra) which are found within every human being. This wrong turn causes him to ignore the guidance given by Allaah through His messenger to mankind and through his last and final Messenger, Muahammad (salallaahu alayhi wa sallam). He then begins to neglect his obligations and to contaminate his heart by all kinds of disobedience to Allaah and His Messenger.
This leads to keeping the wrong company, seeing the wrong things, hearing the wrong things and being in the wrong places. All of this fills and contaminates the heart making it more and more difficult for the one oppressing himself to ever return to justice and kindness to himself. Our eternal future is determined by choices we make right now.
Allaah says:
“Those whom the angels take (in death) in a state of purity, they say to them: Peace be upon you. Enter the Garden by that which you used to do. Are they expecting anything but that the angels will come to them or Allaah's order will come to them? Likewise did those before them do. And Allaah did not oppress them, rather it was their own selves which they used to oppress." (Q16[Nahl] :32-33)
Dhulm al-insaani li ghairihi (for a person to oppress others) among the slaves of Allah and His creation: This is for a Muslim to unjustly take the property of another or harm and oppresses them with violence, insult, other forms of aggression and taking advantage of another's weakness. Most oppression falls on the weak and defenseless such as orphans, children or citizens who do not possess the horrible weapons and invasive intelligence apparatus of their oppressors.
Some would add a third category: "Oppression against Allaah Most High." In reality however, all oppression directed towards Allaah in fact falls back on the doer, not Allaah. Allaah said about the many transgressions of the Jews in spite of His many favours upon them:
And we made the clouds a shade for them and sent down to them al-mann and as-salwaa. Eat from the good things we have provided you. And they did not oppress us, rather it was their own selves which they used tooppress." (Q2 [Baqarah]:5 7)
Allaah also says in an hadeeth qudsee:
"O My servants, you will not be able to harm Me so as to bring any harm to Me: and you will not be able to benefit Me so as to bring any benefit to Me." (Muslim)
A fourth type of dhulm is that committed toward the other creatures Allaah has created or toward creation in general. For example, if a person kills an animal just for sport, or play, he has committed dhulm and is deserving of being stopped. Bukhari records from ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allaah cursed the person who mutilated animals.
Consequences of Dhulm
Oppression is not just the obvious one which we can see from rulers and holders of authorities, dhulm also includes our speaking about someone behind their back, insulting someone and many other things which we do on a regular basis. Whatever type it is, all oppressions are forbidden and have dire consequences some of which are:
- Denial of Success: Verily, the people who commit dhulm will never be successful. "(Q6[An'am]:21)
- Denial of Allaah's Love: Oppression is hated by Allaah and He says so: "And Allaah does not like those who commit dhulm." (Q3[Aal-Imraan]:57)
- Allaah Will Take the Oppressor to Task: He says: "Consider not that Allaah is unaware of that which those who commit dhulm do, but He gives them respite up to a Day when the eyes will stare in horror (Q14[Ibrahim]:42
- Dhulm is a reason for Destruction: "and these towns (of Ad and Thamud) We destroyed when they did wrong (dhalamoo)." (Q18[Kahf]:59)
- It’s is cause of Darkness: Allaah's Messenger (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "Beware of dhulm, for dhulm is darkness on the Day of Resurrection." (Muslim) .
How to Keep Away from Oppression
Allaah has described mankind as prone to committing a great deal of dhulm to itself and others. For example Allaah says:
"If you count the blessings of Allaah, never will you be able to count them. Verily, man is indeed an extreme wrongdoer, an extreme ingrate." (Q14[lbrahim]:34).
This gives impression that it is easy for man, given his nature, to commit dhulm and he is prone to committing oppression often. When a Muslim realises this fact and he also ,realises how dangerous dhulm is to his religion and well-being, he will seek the means that will help him avoid dhulm as much as possible.
The following are some means that may be employed in preventing oneself from committing dhulm:
- Developing Taqwa Within Oneself.
- Developing humility which is the opposite of pride and arrogance which are two of the factors that lead many people to commit dhulm.
- Freeing oneself from hasad (envy) which is a major cause behind dhulm.
- Thinking about the serious consequences of committing dhulm.
Helping the Oppressed
It is reported that Prophet Dawud (alayhi salaam) said:
"O Allaah, You know that I love You and I love all those who love You, but how may I endear You to Your servants? Allaah said: Remind them of My Favours, My trials and My anger. O Dawud, any of My servants who helped an oppressed person and stood by him in his oppressed state, I’11 keep his feet firm on the Day when all feet will be shaken." (Bayhaqi, hadeeth Qudsee)
In another hadith qudsee, Allaah says:
I shall take revenge on the oppressor in this life and the next. I shall take revenge on someone who saw a person being oppressed and was able to help him but did not help him." (Tabarani)
The rights of the road include helping the oppressed and this can be done in the following ways:
Disliking the Oppressor: He should dislike him for the oppression he is committing for Allaah Himself dislikes him:
And Allaah does not like those who commit dhulm." (Q3 [Aal- Imraan157)
Second, he must oppose the wrongdoer. The Messenger of Allaah (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "
If the people see a wrongdoer and they do not take him by his hand (to stop him), then soon Allaah may inflict them all with a punishment from Him." (Tirmidhi)
Third, it is an obligation upon the Muslim to help both his brother the wrongdoer and his brother the wronged. Allaah's Messenger (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
"Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or he is an oppressed one." People asked, "O Allaah's Messenger! It is all right to help him if he is oppressed, but how should we help him if he is an oppressor?" The Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, "By preventing him from oppressing others." (Bukhari)
Fourth, when a person himself is being wronged, he has the right to redress the wrong by going through the proper judicial procedures. If he is being attacked or someone is trying to steal his wealth or kill him, he has the right to defend himself. If while trying to defend himself, he ends up being killed, he will be rewarded as a martyr. The Messenger of Allaah (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
"Whoever is killed defending his wealth is a martyr. Whoever is killed defending his religion is a martyr. Whoever is killed defending his life is martyr. Whoever is killed defending his family is a martyr ." (Ahmad)
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited