Photos used to illustrate the fact check. Photo sources: Harvard and The Muslim Life Coach Institute.
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Claim: Social media users claim that Harvard University in the United States of America has named the Quran the best book for justice worldwide.
Verdict: Misleading. Harvard has not issued any ranking to declare the Quran as the best book on justice. Instead, it recognised a specific verse from the Quran as one of the powerful expressions of justice in history.
Full Text
Social media has been abuzz with a claim that Harvard University declared the Quran the world’s best book on justice.
We initially received a request to verify this statement via the DUBAWA Chatbot. However, we soon discovered that the claim had also been circulated on Facebook and X, as seen here and here.
In Nigeria, matters of religion are so sensitive that they sometimes lead to crises. With many users believing this claim to be true and the controversy that might follow, DUBAWA conducted this verification before the situation escalated.
Verification
We conducted a keyword search and found that Harvard University has not ranked the Quran as the world’s best book for justice. However, there is a gallery of quotations about law and justice, hand-stencilled on walls by Milstein East in Wasserstein Hall at the Law Faculty of the institution. Among these quotes are some words of justice, taken from the Quran.
What is “Words of Justice?”
In the spring of 2012, Harvard Law School initiated an exhibition in collaboration with professors, staff, and students. It was termed the “Words of Justice” exhibit.
Harvard explained that the “Words of Justice” exhibit is a historical and educational display featuring critical writings, speeches, and legal decisions about justice worldwide. These words show how ideas about justice have evolved over more than 2,500 years, from 600 BCE to the present day.
This exhibit featured a call for entry, where about 350 submissions were received from the community. Out of them, 33 were later selected and inscribed as quotes on the walls.
Among the words inscribed on the walls is a Quran verse taken from Surah An-Nisa, 4:135. It reads:
“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.”
In the past, Harvard had debunked claims of this nature, including one that says the Qur’anic quote is written on Harvard’s main gate. The school has also posted a video of the wall inscriptions on its Instagram page, which can be viewed here.
DUBAWA found no place where the school declared the Quran the world’s best book on justice.
Conclusion
Contrary to the narrative, our findings reveal that Harvard has not ranked the Quran as the “best book on justice” in the world. The claim is misleading.
