Hawzah News Agency ­– Divine Justice in Three Domains

There are various ways in which Divine Justice is expressed as regards the three domains of (a) creation, (b) religious dispensation, and (c) heavenly recompense. We shall explain some of these below, taking each of these domains in turn.
 

Justice in creation
God bestows upon each existent entity that which is appropriate
to it, never depriving it of the receptivity inherent in its nature; this receptivity being determined at the plane of effusion of Being, and in the invisible dimension in which the act of bestowing existence occurs. As the Quran says:
 

Our Lord is He Who gave unto everything its nature, then guided it aright. (Sura Ta Ha, XX:50)
 

Justice in religious dispensation
God guides man—endowed as he is with the capacity to acquire spiritual perfection—by sending Messengers to establish religious laws. He does not impose upon man obligations that go beyond his capacity. As the Quran says:
 

Verily God enjoineth justice and kindness and generosity to kinsfolk, and forbiddeth lewdness and abomination and wickedness. He exhorteth you in order that ye may take heed. (Sura al-Nahl, XVI:90)
 

Since justice, kindness and generosity contribute to human perfection, while the other three elements mentioned contribute to man’s downfall, the first three qualities have been made obligatory, and the second three are prohibited. Likewise, as regards man not being charged with religious obligations that are beyond his capacity, the Quran says:
 

And We task not any soul beyond its scope ... (Sura al-Mu’minun, XXIII:62)
 

Justice in recompense
When it comes to apportioning reward and punishment, God never treats the believer in the same way as the disbeliever, the good in the same way as the bad; rather, He gives each person an appropriate, fitting recompense. Accordingly, God will never punish a people whose religious obligations have not been revealed by means of divinely-guided Messengers, and who have not, consequently, received the full force of the divine proof. As the Quran says:
 

We never punish until We have sent a Messenger. (Sura Bani Isra ‘il, xvii:15)
 

And also:
 

And We set a just balance for the Day of Resurrection so that no soul is wronged in aught. (Sura al-Anbiya, XXI:47)

Reference:

 Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani, Doctrines of Shii Islam, A Compendium of Imami Beliefs and Practices, Translated and Edited by Reza Shah-Kazemi, published by I.B.Tauris Publishers, london • new york  2003