A Critical Analysis of the Concept of Jurisprudential Justice as Second Nature (Malakih)

Document Type : Original Article

Author

• Rahmatollah Karimzadeh

Assistant Professor, Department of Jurisprudence and Principles, Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

10.22067/jfiqh.2023.78032.1416

Abstract

Justice is a prevailing reality in all dimensions of human life, conceptualized in different fields of knowledge including jurisprudence. Jurisconsults have presented various definitions of justice, the most importance of which is the definition of justice as a second nature (malakih). The present study clarifies the definitions of justice provided in jurisprudence, and follows the hypothesis that none of these definitions truly capture the meaning of justice. Some of the definitions indicate and discover the existence of justice, and second nature cannot be accepted as a definition of justice either, due to some shortcomings. In fact, justice is an existential reality derived from Right (ḥaq), both of which are parts of innate human necessities and can be proven by reference to human nature. Performing the obligatory acts (vājibāt) and avoiding prohibited acts (muḥarramāt) leads to the realization of justice. It is not that justice is a second nature that emerges from performing obligatory acts and avoiding prohibited ones. This study is necessary, because elucidating the reality of jurisprudential justice yields scientific benefits in the least.

Keywords

• justice
• right (ḥaq)
• nature
• jurisprudential justice

Main Subjects

• Civil jurisprudence

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©2024 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)

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