The 365 · Verses · Day 214 · Justice
Qur'an 2:233
۞ وَٱلْوَٰلِدَٰتُ يُرْضِعْنَ أَوْلَـٰدَهُنَّ حَوْلَيْنِ كَامِلَيْنِ ۖ لِمَنْ أَرَادَ أَن يُتِمَّ ٱلرَّضَاعَةَ ۚ وَعَلَى ٱلْمَوْلُودِ لَهُۥ رِزْقُهُنَّ وَكِسْوَتُهُنَّ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ ۚ لَا تُكَلَّفُ نَفْسٌ إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۚ لَا تُضَآرَّ وَٰلِدَةٌۢ بِوَلَدِهَا وَلَا مَوْلُودٌ لَّهُۥ بِوَلَدِهِۦ ۚ وَعَلَى ٱلْوَارِثِ مِثْلُ ذَٰلِكَ ۗ فَإِنْ أَرَادَا فِصَالًا عَن تَرَاضٍ مِّنْهُمَا وَتَشَاوُرٍ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِمَا ۗ وَإِنْ أَرَدتُّمْ أَن تَسْتَرْضِعُوٓا۟ أَوْلَـٰدَكُمْ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذَا سَلَّمْتُم مَّآ ءَاتَيْتُم بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ ۗ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
“Mothers suckle their children for two whole years, if they wish to complete the term, and clothing and maintenance must be borne by the father in a fair manner. No one should be burdened with more than they can bear: no mother shall be made to suffer harm on account of her child, nor any father on account of his. The same duty is incumbent on the father's heir. If, by mutual consent and consultation, the couple wish to wean the child, they will not be blamed, nor will there be any blame if you wish to engage a wet nurse, provided you pay as agreed in a fair manner. Be mindful of God, knowing that He sees everything you do. (Quran 2:233)”
Svenska: Modern skall ge sina barn di under två hela år, om föräldrarna önskar en full amningsperiod. Och barnets fader är skyldig att svara för moderns uppehälle och kläder enligt skick och sed. På ingen skall läggas en tyngre börda än han kan bära. Barnet skall inte bli en förevndning för att skada vare sig modern eller barnets fader… Och frukta Gud och tänk på att Gud ser vad ni gör. (Koranen 2:233, Knut Bernström)
A reflection to carry
Notice where Allah teaches us justice first. Not in a courtroom. Not on a battlefield. In the room with the baby. Two whole years of nursing. A father obligated to clothing and provision in a fair manner. No mother harmed because of the child she carries; no father harmed because of his offspring. Even disputes about weaning resolved by mutual consultation. Even wet-nursing settled by fair payment. Every single sentence is a fence against injustice in the most vulnerable corner of the house. Because Allah knows: the parent who is unjust over a crying infant will be unjust in the marketplace. The wife denied her measure of provision will become a heart taught to bargain. The husband burdened beyond his capacity will become bitter. Justice as a way of life is not a virtue you pick up in adulthood. It is a soil you grow in, or a wound you carry. Allah closes the verse: 'Be mindful of God; He sees everything you do.' Justice in the cradle is justice in the heart.
Read the longer reflection
Yā Rabb, You bring us into Your cluster on ʿadl through the most disarming door: a mother nursing her baby. The man holding a coin and a piece of cloth. The price of a wet nurse, agreed in fairness. The forbidding of harm to either parent because of the child. The reminder that no soul is burdened beyond capacity. And then: 'wattaqū Allāh, w-aʿlamū annahu bimā taʿmalūna baṣīr.' Fear Allah, and know He sees everything you do. Ya Allah, how many of us shout for justice in the streets but withhold the just measure of our presence from our children? How many demand fairness from rulers but speak unfairly to spouses behind closed doors? How many post about oppression online but underpay the worker, overspend the spouse's patience, oversleep on the child's duʿā time? You taught us in this verse: justice is not a slogan. It is the cloth on a baby's back. It is the food on a mother's plate. It is the unburdened heart of a father who is asked only for what he can give. It is the patience of a husband who does not weaponize provision. It is the patience of a wife who does not weaponize the child. Ya Wakīl, build my justice from the bottom up. Let me be just in the kitchen before I demand justice in parliament. Let me be just with the smallest mouth in my house before I write essays on the ummah's wounds. And let every move I make in this home be made under Your gaze; for You see, and You record, and You are al-ʿAdl who never wrongs an atom's weight. Āmīn.
A verse, a healing, and a Sunnah, every morning.
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