(135). Then Allah Most High says: “O you who believe, stand firm for justice as witnesses for Allah, even against yourselves, your parents, or close relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, Allah has a greater claim over both. So do not follow your desires, lest you deviate from justice. If you distort your testimony or turn away, Allah is indeed All-Aware of what you do.”
Allah Most High commands His believing servants to “stand firm for justice as witnesses for Allah.” The term qawwām (one who stands firm) is an intensive form. That is, in all circumstances, steadfastly uphold justice regarding the rights of Allah and the rights of His servants. Justice regarding Allah’s rights means that His blessings must not be used to disobey Him; rather, they must be devoted to obeying Him.
Justice regarding people’s rights means that you fulfill every right incumbent upon you (1), just as you demand your own rights. Thus, you must pay obligatory maintenance and debts and treat people as you would like them to treat you—in conduct, reciprocation, and all other matters.
Among the greatest forms of justice is fairness toward opinions and those who hold them. One must not judge in favor of either of two opinions or either of two disputants merely out of affiliation or inclination toward one side. Rather, justice between them must be one’s sole aim. Justice also includes giving whatever testimony one possesses, whatever its implications, even against loved ones—and indeed against oneself. Hence He says: “As witnesses for Allah, even against yourselves, your parents, or close relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, Allah has a greater claim over both.” That is, do not favor the rich because of his wealth, nor the poor out of what you presume to be compassion for him. Instead, testify to the truth, whoever the person concerned may be.
Upholding justice is among the gravest matters and is one of the clearest indications of a person’s religious commitment, scrupulous piety, and standing in Islam. Anyone who sincerely seeks his own good and wishes for salvation must therefore give it the utmost attention, keep it ever before his eyes, ⦗209⦘ make it the object of his resolve, and remove from within himself every obstacle and hindrance that prevents him from seeking justice or acting upon it.
The greatest obstacle to this is following one’s desires. Allah Most High therefore draws attention to the need to remove this obstacle when He says: “So do not follow your desires, lest you deviate from justice.” That is, do not follow the passions of your souls that oppose the truth. If you follow them, you will stray from what is right and will not be guided to justice. Desire either blinds a person’s insight until he sees truth as falsehood and falsehood as truth, or else he recognizes the truth but abandons it because of his desires. Whoever is spared the sway of his own desires is granted success in adhering to the truth and is guided to the straight path.
After explaining that upholding justice is obligatory, He forbade its opposite: twisting one’s tongue away from the truth in testimony and other matters, and distorting one’s words away from the intended truth, whether entirely or partially. This includes altering testimony, failing to give it in full, or a witness’s interpreting it as relating to something else. All of this constitutes twisting, for it is a deviation from the truth. “Or turn away” means abandoning the justice entrusted to you, such as a witness withholding his testimony or a judge neglecting the judgment he is duty-bound to render.
“Allah is indeed All-Aware of what you do.” That is, He encompasses all that you have done and knows your deeds, both hidden and manifest. This contains a severe threat to anyone who distorts the truth or turns away. Even more deserving of this threat is one who judges falsely or gives false testimony, since his sin is greater: those in the first two cases merely abandon the truth, whereas he both abandons the truth and upholds falsehood.