Justice has been a constant concern for humanity throughout history. As a consequence of the need for justice which has been prevalent throughout history, intellectuals, philosophers and wise people have entered this arena with justice being their main concern. Therefore, since the oldest eras in the history of man up until today, justice and social justice have been the subject of discussions and theories, but religions have played an exceptional role in this regard. That is to say, what has been said and done about justice within the framework of religion throughout history is exceptional. We cannot see the same level of effort and determination on the part of intellectuals.
First of all, according to the Holy Quran, religions have strived for justice as their main goal. "We certainly sent Our messengers with clear proofs and revealed with them the Scripture and the Balance, so that mankind may observe right measure [The Holy Quran, 57: 25]." Definitely, this ayah means that establishing justice was the purpose of sending prophets, the Book and clear proofs. "Clear proofs" are the irrefutable and indubitable signs presented by divine prophets. "The Scripture" is what religions say about religious teachings, religious obligations, and ethics. "The Balance" is the standard and the criteria for evaluation. Of course, there is no doubt that establishing justice and everything that is related to the material, individual and social life of man were a preface to the main goal of creation. "I have not created the jinn and the men except that they should serve Me [The Holy Quran, 51: 56]." That is to say, worship was the purpose of creation. Basically, God created man so that man could worship Him. Worshipping God is the highest virtue. However, in order to reach that goal, prophets were sent down for mankind. One of the goals has been stressed in this ayah. Of course, there are other ayahs in the Holy Quran which stressed other goals of sending down prophets, but all these goals are consistent with one another. Therefore, justice is the goal. Justice is the goal of creating systems, the goal of civilizations and the goal of man's life in society. This does not exist in any school of thought introduced by human beings. This is particular to divine religions.
Another characteristic of religions is that divine prophets have supported the oppressed throughout history. That is to say, prophets fought for justice. Notice that it has been emphasized in the Holy Quran that prophets were faced with taghuts [tyrannies], powerful individuals and wealthy people, all of whom are among oppressors. Wealthy people were opposed to divine prophets. "And We never sent a warner to a town but the wealthy ones in it said: we are surely disbelievers in what you are sent with [The Holy Quran, 34: 34]." There was no prophet who did not have to fight wealthy people. The same is true about those who hold power in their hands. Taghut is a general word that encompasses all these meanings.
Therefore, in the confrontation between the oppressed and their oppressors, divine prophets always supported the oppressed. That is to say, divine prophets used to enter the arena in order to fight for justice, and this is a characteristic which is particular to religions. Intellectuals speak about justice, but most of the time they only speak about justice and do not take any action for justice. We noticed this fact during the time of revolutionary activities and during the Sacred Defense Era, and we have seen such things since then. This was not the case with divine prophets. They used to enter the arena and make themselves the target of attacks. Even when wealthy people used to tell them to distance themselves from the oppressed, divine prophets used to react. For example, "And I do not say to you that I have the treasures of Allah and I do not know the unseen, nor do I say that I am an angel, nor do I say about those whom your eyes hold in mean estimation (that) Allah will never grant them (any) good - Allah knows best what is in their souls - for then most surely I should be of the unjust [The Holy Quran, 11: 31]." This holy ayah is about Prophet Noah's response to his opponents. Therefore, those were deprived of justice were the first to join divine prophets.
The third point is that all religions agree that this great historical movement will result in justice. That is to say, all religions say that there will be a time when justice will be established, and that time will come only when religion has been completely established in the world. "God will fill the earth with equity and justice, just as it was filled with oppression." All divine prophets have mentioned and stressed this goal. They all said that they were moving towards this goal. Therefore, all prophets used to emphasize justice as far as the starting point, the path and the goal are concerned. This is an exceptional characteristic.
