Crooked Lawyers and Unserved Justice

Our Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in a hadith stated, “Modesty/shyness and guilelessness are two branches of iman, while vulgarity and eloquence are two branches of hypocrisy.”

Many might be wondering why ‘eloquence’ is considered hypocrisy or a negative trait, as eloquence sometimes allows a person to take advantage of people; it can be used to deceive others.  Eloquence is not always a branch of hypocrisy because the Prophet (SAW) himself was called Al-Mubeen. However, He (SAW) used his eloquence for good. The Prophet (SAW) said, “Some eloquent speech is as effective as magic.”

In an incident during the lifetime of the Prophet (SAW) involving an Ansar man who was considered a hypocrite stole a shield from another Muslim.  Fearing that he would be caught, the Ansar man threw the shield into the home of a Jewish man.  The Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was about to punish the Jewish man when Allah (SWT) revealed the following Ayats in defense of the innocent Jewish man so that the eloquence and deception of the hypocrite would not persuade Prophet (SAW):

“Indeed, We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth so you may judge between the people by that which Allah has shown you. And do not be for the deceitful an advocate. And seek forgiveness of Allah. Indeed, Allah is ever Forgiving and Merciful. And do not argue on behalf of those who deceive themselves. Indeed, Allah loves not one who is habitually a sinful deceiver. They conceal [their evil intentions and deeds] from the people, but they cannot conceal [them] from Allah, and He is with them when they spend the night in such as He does not accept of speech. And ever is Allah, of what they do, encompassing. Here you are – those who argue on their behalf in [this] worldly life – but who will argue with Allah for them on the Day of Resurrection, or who will [then] be their representative? And whoever does a wrong or wrongs himself but then seeks to commits it against his own soul. And Allah is ever Knowing and Wise. But whoever commits an offense or a sin and then blames it on an innocent [person] has taken upon himself a slander and manifest sin.” [an-Nisâ’ (4):105-112]

Some use eloquence for the advocacy of negative causes. A great example includes the tobacco or gun lobbyists who advocate and use their eloquence for evil. Many lobbyists (like those who work for pharmaceutical and insurance companies), media analysts, and false advertisers (like the sugar industry) are crooked advocates.

Imam Shawkani said, “If the person being testified against is rich, he should not be favored because of his richness – in order to benefit from him or avoid his harm – and hence not testified against. And if he is poor, he should not be favored because of his poverty – out of mercy and compassion for him – and hence not testified against.”

We should be wary not to use our eloquence, power, wealth, or privilege to harm others, as false testimony is a major sin.

Duping others requires the skill to deceive others. Thus, in the case when two people argue about an issue of justice and one person is better at arguing their case even though they are in the wrong, that person is cheating others by their eloquence.  Therefore, if someone judges in favor of that person, they know they are getting more than they deserve; then, in reality, they are receiving a piece of hellfire.

If you are going to swindle someone then realize that you might have the resources to hire someone to win the case for you in this Dunya (world), however in the hereafter, you will have none but yourself to stand in front of Allah (SWT).

Today, power and relationships determine justice. The rich can hire the best lawyers whereas others end up with less skilled lawyers. This is something the Prophet (SAW) forbade.

During the Khilafah of Ali ibn Abi Talib (RA), there was a battle in which his shield was stolen. He noticed one day that there was a Christian citizen who had his shield. He told him that the shield belonged to him and the Christian man denied that. They both then went to a very eminent judge named Shurayh to settle the matter.

The judge asked Hazrat Ali (RA) whether he had any evidence to prove that this was his shield. He says that he would bring his son and servant to testify that the shield was his. Shurayh said that these two witnesses are unacceptable because the servant may fear you and therefore give false testimony and the other is your son, so there is a conflict of interest.

Hazrat Ali (RA) replied, “SubhanAllah, you would reject the testimony of one whom the Prophet (SAW) guaranteed Paradise?” Shurayh declared that these witnesses would not be accepted and Hazrat Ali (RA) agreed.  All the while, the Christian citizen was in amazement of the way justice was being dealt with. He said that this type of behavior could only have been taught by a messenger and proceeded to take the shahada and return the shield to him. He said that he had seen the shield fall from Hazrat Ali (RA) and that he had taken it wrongfully. Hazrat Ali (RA) then gave the shield back to the man as a gift for his shahada.

Justice must be applied equally to everyone. Whether a person has a better lawyer or is better able to represent themselves should not play a role.

We see this happening not just in Pakistan but all over the world that guilty parties receive favorable verdicts from the courts because of hiring an expensive and smooth-talking lawyer while the innocent parties do not receive the justice they deserve.  We need more judges like Shurayh who are not intimidated or influenced by wealth and power and deliver justice fairly.