So He—glorified and exalted be He—commanded the establishment of qist, that is, justice. This command covers every person, whether foe or friend. The sphere in which the servant must most scrupulously uphold justice (1) is his statements, opinions, and schools of thought, for they pertain to Allah’s commands and His information. To approach them with whim and partisanship (2) runs counter to Allah’s order and clashes with what He sent His messengers (3) to deliver. Upholding them with justice is the task of the Prophet’s deputies among his community and his trustworthy heirs among his followers; none merits the title of “trustworthy” unless he maintains pure equity in these matters, offering sincere counsel to Allah, His Book, His Messenger, and His servants.
Those are the ones who truly inherit, not those who make their own companions, faction, or school the yardstick (4) of truth and its scale—showing enmity toward whoever differs from them and loyalty to whoever agrees with them merely (5) because of agreement or disagreement. How distant this is from establishing the justice that Allah has made obligatory upon everyone! In this field it is the greatest of obligations and the most emphatically required.
Then He said: “witnesses for Allah,” and a witness is one who conveys information: if he tells the truth, he is a just, acceptable witness; if he tells falsehood, he is a perjurer. Thus the Most High commanded that we be witnesses (6) for Him while establishing justice. This necessarily entails that the testimony itself be given with justice (7) and that it be offered solely for Allah, not for anyone else.