Justice: Islamic and Western Perspectives
By Zafar Iqbal
ISBN:978086037906
Paperback 80 Pages
The Islamic Foundation, Leicester UK (2007)

Meant for the general reader, this book gives a historical expose of the Western definitions of justice - mainly economic and social justice - from Plato to the modern day and compares it with the Islamic concept of justice.

He draws upon the fundamental and central concepts of the Quran to the permanence and universality of that concept. He shows that the combination of adl (justice), qist (equity) and mizan (balance) goes towards creating that notion in comparison to the shifting definition of the Western conception which depends on which ideology is dominant.

JUSTICE: ISLAMIC AND WESTERN PERSPECTIVES is a thought-provoking monograph which provides a systematic and rigorous exposition of a range of social, economic and political views from the vantage point of Islam. Humanity is in a state of confusion and is torn apart by conflicting claims of civilization superiority. In the context of current misunderstanding on the east-west relationship, a comparative study of Justice: Islamic andWestern Perspectives could play a pivotal role in alleviating hostilities and providing a focal point for intellectual debate and dialogue among civilizations

DR ZAFAR IQBAL is the Associate Dean in the Faculty of Sciences and Humanities at the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan. Previously he worked for some of the top financial institutions in the Middle East and Australia. Dr Iqbals primary research interest has been in the area of Islamic Economics and several of his articles have been published in specialized journals. Dr Iqbal holds a PhD from the University of South Australia and an M.Sc. in Management Science from Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, UK.

O ye who believe! stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well- acquainted with all that ye do.
{TMQ 4:135}