Most of the injustice that occurs in society is because it has become normalized. There is the notion that “everyone else is doing it so it must be okay.” For example, in some places, nothing gets done without bribery. However, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) cursed the one who bribes and the one who accepts a bribe.
Hudhaifa narrated that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: “Do not become ‘yes-men’ saying, ‘If the people do good then we will do good, and if they do wrong then we will do wrong.’ Instead, make up your own minds: if the people do good then you will do good, and if they do evil, then you will not behave unjustly.”
Injustice and sinning become much easier to justify because everyone else is committing them. For example, tatfeef (cheating with weights) is a dishonest business practice and in some places, most people engage in it, justifying by saying, “If everyone is doing it, it is okay for me to do it, too.”
The values of society dictate the behaviour of those living in that society and evil can become acceptable in this way. This is why the Prophet (SAW) taught us that the minimum we can do when we see evil is to hate it in our hearts. You still have to be uncomfortable with evil even if you are surrounded by it (regardless of whether it’s a religious sin or wrongdoing against someone else). Even if it is normalized in society, your heart should not be contented with it, and you must not conform to it.
Most people become affected by widespread sins/oppression and ultimately stop resisting believing, “Well if you can’t stop them, might as well join them.” Or “I must do this to get by.”The message of the above hadith is also seen in the Qur’an: “And if you obey most of (those) in the earth they will mislead you from (the) way (of) Allah”(Surah Al-An’am: Ayat 116).
As a nation, we must rid ourselves of the mindset of going with the flow and allowing others to set standards for us. We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard than what society deems appropriate or acceptable.
It’s not just about when someone does wrong to you; it’s when you see wrongdoing and you become desensitized to it. Then you make it even more normalized.
In a hadith narrated by Al-’Urs bin ’Amirat al-Kind (RA), the Prophet (SAW) said, “When a sin is committed, he who saw it and disapproved of it will be like the one who was not present; but he who did not see it but approved of it will be like he who was present when it was committed.”This hadith highlights the necessity to take a tough stance against injustice by renouncing and condemning it so you do not enable it in any way.
In another hadith, the Prophet (SAW) stated, “The first defect that destroyed Banu Israel was that a man (of them) met another man and said: O so-and-so, fear Allah, and abandon what you are doing, for it is not lawful for you. He then met him the next day and that did not prevent him from eating with him, drinking with him, and sitting with him. When they did so, Allah mingled their hearts with each other.” [Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi].
This shows us that the first man’s repudiation of the other’s sin was not serious; that is, he took it frivolously. The lesson from this hadith is that we should take a strong stand against injustices and evil so that they do not become normalized and we do not become insensitive and apathetic to them.
It is permissible to sometimes participate in something that is disliked/disapproved of in the deen when it has become normalised in the society you are living in only under certain conditions: In times of dire necessity, if your life is in danger, or to avoid a greater evil (engaging in the lesser of two evils). You cannot escape it entirely (e.g. interest/riba) – in this case, you engage only to the extent necessary and do not eagerly embrace it.
Ibn Taymiyyah said, “Whoever assists an oppressor will one day be tested by that same oppressor.” [Majmu Al-Fatawa]If you aid an oppressor because it is to your benefit, one day, this same oppressor or form of oppression will boomerang on you.
If you support or take advantage of a corrupt system, that same system will likely end up destroying you. If you employ injustice to benefit from a situation, a similar injustice will afflict you or your family. Thus, you have to maintain your own standards and not say “Everyone else does it…”
