Haulaa Hum Khusama'uka Ghadan
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- Dār al-Qāsim
Haulaa Hum Khusama'uka Ghadan (These Are Your Adversaries Tomorrow) is an ethical and hortatory treatise by Abd al-Malik bin Qasim, addressing the nature of injustice (al-dhulm), its diverse manifestations, and the spiritual necessity of restitution before the Day of Resurrection.
Purpose and Scope
The work constitutes the fourth installment in the author's Rasa'il al-Tawbah (Epistles of Repentance) series. In his introduction, Ibn Qasim notes that persistent heedlessness and elongated worldly hopes have contributed to the widespread occurrence of injustice among people. The treatise aims to urge individuals to purify themselves from this transgression by illustrating the severe consequences of violating the rights of others and outlining the practical and spiritual means of achieving salvation and repentance.
Structure and Content
The treatise opens with introductory sections highlighting scriptural prohibitions against oppression, referencing Quranic verses and prophetic traditions such as the divine declaration: يا عبادي إني حرمت الظلم على نفسي وجعلته بينكم محرما فلا تظالموا ("O My servants, I have forbidden injustice for Myself and made it forbidden among you, so do not oppress one another").
The author then depicts the scene of the Day of Judgment, drawing upon statements by early authorities such as Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Hasan al-Basri, Bilal ibn Mas'ud, and Malik ibn Dinar regarding the necessity of holding oneself to account prior to the ultimate Reckoning.
The central chapter systematically details twenty-four distinct forms and contexts of injustice:
- Wronging one's own soul through disobedience and the grave sin of polytheism (shirk).
- Unlawful killing.
- Misappropriating the property of orphans.
- Unlawfully consuming the wealth of others, including defaulting on debts, procrastinating in payment despite having means, and usurping land.
- Embezzling or unlawfully taking from public funds and the Muslim treasury (bayt mal al-muslimin).
- Corrupting marital relations or luring employees and servants away from their masters.
- Swearing false oaths in commerce and defrauding customers.
- Failing to fulfill professional obligations and neglecting workplace trust.
- Injustice against students through unwarranted physical or verbal harm and unfair grading.
- Defrauding in weights and measures.
- Withholding religious instruction and beneficial counsel from the ignorant.
- Failing to enjoin prayer and religious duties upon dependents and household members.
- Unjustified delay and negligence in processing public transactions and administrative paperwork.
- Withholding or diminishing the rightful wages of hired laborers.
- Inequity and bias between co-wives.
- Slander and false accusations regarding people's honor.
- Calumny, lying, backbiting, and talebearing.
- Harming neighbors and neglecting to encourage them toward virtuous conduct.
- Financial and emotional mistreatment between spouses, including coercive seizure of a wife's wealth or a spouse's disobedience and insult.
- Public nuisance, reckless driving, and misconduct on roads and walkways.
- Inequity among children in gifts, financial provision, and bequests.
- Reviling and insulting Muslims.
- Deceiving subjects or subordinates under one's care.
- Filial ingratitude and undutifulness toward parents.
The subsequent sections explore the retribution awaiting oppressors at the Scale (al-Mizan), citing the hadith of the spiritually bankrupt person (al-muflis) whose good deeds are given to his adversaries to satisfy grievances, and who bears their sins once his good deeds are exhausted.
Salvation and Resolution
Under the heading "How to Find a Way Out?" (Kayfa Huwa al-Makhraj?), the text instructs readers on rectifying past transgressions by returning usurped rights, seeking forgiveness from wronged individuals before death, and turning to sincere repentance. The author incorporates admonitions from Ahmad ibn Asim, Wuheyb ibn al-Ward, and Ibrahim ibn Adham, concluding with reflective verses of poetry and an emphasis on the virtues of justice (al-'adl).
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