Judges in the Ruling System of Islam

The judicial system of Islam is organised to settle the quarrels among the people of the state, to protect the society's rights, and to settle disputes arising between the rulers and the rest of the Ummah. It is the judge (Qadi) who performs the act of resolving the above disputes, by strictly following the guidelines prescribed by Allah (SWT).

Judges, within this judiciary, are appointed and dismissed by a Chief Judge (Qadi Al-Quda) who is himself appointed by the Head of the Islamic State-the Khalifah. The qualifications of the Chief Judge are based on the evidence that the Khalifah has the right to appoint a Wali (governor) on the judiciary system. This Wali, Qadi AI-Quda, is assigned to a particular function not general functions, as was the case with the Khalifahs Assistants (Muawin). Therefore, the Qadi Al-Quda becomes a ruler on the judiciary body. Because the Qadi Al-Quda is a ruler, the qualifications of a ruler would apply on him; i.e., he must be a male, mature, sane, and just, along with being a jurist (faqih). As the Prophet (saws) said, "... Those people who appoint a lady to handle their affairs will not succeed." Therefore, this position of ruling, as is the case in all positions of ruling, may not be held by a female.

The first Khalifah to appoint a Chief Judge (Qadi AI-Quda) was Harun Rasheed. He appointed Al-Qadi Abu Yusuf Al Kindi-a famous mujtahid who was a close companion of Abu Hanifah.

Regarding the clerks and other administrative employees of the judiciary system, they are appointed and handled by the Administrative System of the Islamic State (to be discussed in future issues of Ar. Raya, Insha' Allah).

All judges, in general, must meet the conditions of being Muslim, mature, sane, free, just, and a jurist (faqih). Therefore, women as well as men may become judges excluding the Chief Judge and the Judges of the Court for Acts of Injustice. The decision pronounced on any case must be performed by only one judge. Other judges are permitted to assist and advise the presiding judge on the decision he is about to pronounce. Yet, they have no authority to actually pronounce the decision and their advice is not binding on the presiding judge. The evidence for this is that the Prophet (saws) never appointed more than one judge to any particular case. As far as giving advice, it is allowed for one to express an Islamic opinion to a judge who is hearing a case.

The judges, in the judicial system of Islam, are of divided into three categories:

The Judges Who Settle Quarrels Among The People

One of the types of judges (who are, as stated above, appointed by the Chief Judge, Qadi Al-Quda) are those who settle the quarrels among people.

If two parties, who are quarrelling over an issue, go before the Court to decide their case, they must abide by the Court's decision. Also, the judge may not pronounce his or her judgement except in Majlis-e-Qada (a Court Session). This is because the Prophet (saws) said, “two conflicting parties must be present before the judge.” And, in a like manner, all evidences and oaths must be presented only during a Court Session. Furthermore, we realise that a Muslim is innocent until proven guilty, and the prosecuting party bears the burden of evidence against the defence. We must also remember that evidence, presented in a Court, must be one which is allowed by Sharia' as a valid evidence. Therefore, in the case of murder, the evidence presented before the Court must be that of an eye witness or confession and nothing else, as prescribed by the Sharia'.

These Courts (those which decide among two quarrelling parties) may be further divided, themselves, based on the types of cases. Such as the incident which Abdullah bin Zubair narrated in which the Amirs of Al-Basra in a Masjid empowered a judge to rule in cases involving amounts below 200 dirhams and 20 dinars. Also, the Prophet (saws) gave Amr bil Aas the authority to judge upon one particular case only. Therefore, this Court may be divided and the judges within it may be appointed to handle particular cases. We find similar types of courts in today's judiciary, such as the small claims court.

Unlike present day judiciaries, the Islamic judiciary has no appellate courts. Therefore, once a Qadi has issued a judgement on a particular case, no one may override or invalidate his decision. As a matter of fact the Qadi, himself, may not reverse his judgement if he gains a new understanding of the Sharia' regarding the case he decided upon. Also, there are no "precedents" in cases, as we find in today's judiciary. In Islam, every case is handled on its own criteria. Therefore, the decision taken on an old case may not have to apply to a similar new case. Hence, any case brought forward to this Court will be decided by the judge presiding over the case, in a manner which is binding upon both parties and final in its authority.

Ar-Raya Magazine