The Relationship Between Right and Duty
Every individual has a duty toward society, and society owes every individual certain rights (Haq). If an individual’s rights are violated, society must take action. The same applies to an individual’s duty. Serving one’s parents or even raising one’s own child—these are actually the rights of the elderly and the children upon society, not upon the individual directly. By performing these acts, the individual is actually fulfilling their duty to society. Society may have assigned the state the task of overseeing this entire matter, or the state may have even sworn to oversee it and snatched it away from society!
Whatever the dialectic between society and the state, the state is necessary for this work because society does not generally operate in a formal manner—or perhaps, the act of becoming formal is precisely what it means to become the state! Besides formality, there is another major reason: society contains societies within it. Due to differences in religion and culture, there can be many conflicting moral codes within society. Therefore, a common ground is necessary; otherwise, chaos occurs, the probability of rule by force rather than justice increases, and the space for oppression (Zulm) is created or expanded.
Sin (Pap) and Crime (Keraim)
Establishing justice means making distinctions and taking various decisions. Not everyone can take decisions; decisions require freedom (Azadi), legitimacy, and authority (Ekhtiyar). Freedom, legitimacy, and authority—these three things together constitute a total package, and we can call that package ‘Sovereignty’.
Sovereignty, in turn, is of two types: one is Divine (Khodayi), and the other is Human, received by the grace of that very God. Most things in the world are beyond human authority, such as gravity, the solar system, or space-time, and even the air or the waves of water on Earth. Thus, human sovereignty is very limited; humans are quite minuscule!
There is no oppression in the animal world. There is rule by the will of the strong; killing occurs; animals chase, kill, and eat the innocent offspring of others—or sometimes their own—yet, oppression does not occur! It doesn’t, because animals lack a conscience (Bibek); they have not received this other grace of God; physical force is the animal’s religion.
Therefore, the discussion of oppression applies only to humans. That minuscule human is the one who commits, and can commit, oppression against other humans, and against animals. Because humans have a conscience, other creations have a right upon humans; that right arises from divine indication, and the violation of that right is called oppression. Thus, in place of rule by force, there is the rule of conscience; in place of physical force, there is justice (Insaf). Justice must exist in human society; God has given this duty to humanity.
But having a conscience alone is not enough to establish justice; establishing justice requires judgment (Foichala). To judge the complicated cases of social life and worldly affairs, God has given humans one more grace, and its name is Intellect (Aqqel).
The violation or transgression of a right gives rise to oppression (Zulm). Oppression means crime (Keraim). It is then the duty of human society to establish justice by judging that crime or oppression, and in that judgment, humans will use Intellect and Conscience. We can call this entire process by one name: Decision Making, taking a resolution, giving a judgment. By giving humans the intellect and conscience to establish justice in the world, God has given humans the authority to make worldly decisions. That is why God has made arrangements for Heaven and Hell after death. And this authority to take decisions is called the second type of sovereignty. The world is the test of the exercise of human sovereignty—whether humans will pass or fail in the court of God’s absolute sovereignty depends on whether humans exercised their sovereignty or authority correctly, and whether they transgressed the limits of that authority.
Violating the limits of human sovereignty and intruding into God’s sovereignty is a kind of idolatry (Sheriki), the act of becoming a Nimrod. A Nimrod then sees himself as limitless, becomes an oppressor (Jalem), and that is called tyranny.
So, we get oppression and crime easily and see that they are quite social matters—the violation of the rights of any creation by a human. So, what is sin (Pap)?
The Potential for Idolatry (Sheriki)
Sin is an event outside the limit of human judgment or sovereignty, a matter exclusively of Divine or Heavenly sovereignty—a private relationship solely between the individual human and God. Sin is the failure to be grateful as a servant (Banda) of Allah and the failure to worship that Supreme Owner of owners. Allah will judge this strictly. Allah has informed us of this through His Book and His Messenger. Beware!
Suppose 90% of the people in your society are Muslim. The month of Ramadan begins. Not only the remaining 10% but also many Muslims might not be fasting. Consequently, there is a business opportunity for lunch. So, a fasting Muslim might open a hotel, where non-fasters eat lunch.
Seeing this event, you are displeased; you suspect that an act of sin is taking place. What will you do?
Suppose the hotel owner’s parents’ medicine costs 30,000 Taka per month. After Ramadan comes Eid; he has to buy some nice clothes for his wife and children for Eid, and he has to buy some good groceries for the guests arriving on Eid day. That person then prays to God: O Allah, to fulfill the duty you have given me, there is no option but to run a lunch business. I am fasting, but I have to earn money by feeding the non-fasters lunch. If this is a sin, please forgive me!
How will human intellect and conscience judge this complex event?! You are empowered by the strength of the 90%; you can set fire to the hotel, you can beat the owner or the customers, you might even find one of the customers, who just ate there, joining in your vandalism. Will you start vandalizing?
My intellect and conscience say, it would not be right. I don’t know if he is committing a sin; that is outside the purview of human judgment, i.e., human sovereignty—it is a matter of Heavenly Sovereignty. Even if it is a sin, Allah might greatly reduce his punishment, or even forgive him. If the punishment inflicted by humans is too severe, how will Allah judge that event? Or what if Allah forgives him, but you have already inflicted punishment? Then oppression has occurred; you committed it. You have intruded into Allah’s sovereignty; you have committed an extreme transgression! By taking a decision on a matter where the authority for decision belongs exclusively to Allah, you took the risk of becoming a Nimrod, creating the potential for idolatry (Sheriki)!
On the other hand, that hotel owner might transgress the boundary of sin or the domain of Allah’s sovereignty and enter the area of human decision making or sovereignty! When? If he starts inviting people to abandon the worship of God. For example, he announces over the loudspeaker that he will give a 20% discount on the food price if one breaks the fast! Then it becomes entirely social, it becomes an invitation. At that point, he has committed a crime against society. Society will then punish him through the state, because he has entered the domain of society’s/human sovereignty and committed a crime.
Therefore, there is a need to understand the difference between sin and crime. Someone’s sin might become a crime, or it might remain merely a sin. Take the example of not praying (Namaz): it is a sin, it is not a crime. But it becomes a crime if he invites others to abandon prayer in society. Society might then want to take action. Society will then use Intellect and Conscience to decide whether the matter falls within its/human sovereignty.
Due to our lack of understanding, we sometimes engage in the judgment of sin, we enlarge the scope of crime, and we interfere in God’s authority. Then the potential for idolatry arises, and we might become Nimrods without even realizing it!
The Limit of Right
If someone is unwilling to eat, is it oppression to compel them to eat? A life that exists by your will over the will of the other is a life of servitude. Feeding another is a virtue, and it is a virtue only when the other person wants to eat, or agrees. Therefore, the will or consent of the other person, not yours, is the real factor. Thus, compelling someone to eat is oppression (even feeding a child in parenting must be decided through a higher ethical judgment; there are limits to when and how much one can compel!).
Also, cleanliness is a part of faith in Islam. But if someone is dirty and neglects their faith, can you force them to be a person of faith? Do you have the authority?
You might feel that it is your duty to oversee the faith of others! But no. Your duty is regarding your own faith; the faith of the other is their private matter with Allah. Interfering there means your attack on Heavenly Sovereignty! Therefore, what you might consider an act of faith and gaining reward might actually be the potential for idolatry (Sheriki)!
The individual has a right upon society, even the right to be dirty! If it becomes so excessive that it harms society, society might want to interfere, it might decide to interfere. But if an individual’s right has to be suspended, there is a due process of gradual examination! One must be careful: is society becoming a Nimrod? Is there an attack on Heavenly Sovereignty? Is the potential for idolatry arising? —extreme caution is needed. But the matter is at least within the authority of society, and the judgment rests with the state. You can complain to the office of society, but you are not society; you are just you!
#RokomShaherTula (Rokom Shah’s Balance) //September 28, 2025
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