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الفتح الربانی
Fath al-Rabbani
مسائل القضاء والشهاداتIssues of Judiciary and Testimonies
بَابُ مَا جَاءَ فِي القَاضِي يُصِيبُ وَيُخْطِى ، وَأَجْرُ الْقَاضِي الْمُجْتَهِدِ وَكَيْفَ يَقْضِىChapter: What has been reported regarding the judge who is correct and who errs, the reward of the diligent judge, and how he should judge
Hadith 6389
اُردوEn
عَنِ ابْنِ قَيْسٍ مَوْلَى عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاصِ عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاصِ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: ((إِذَا حَكَمَ الْحَاكِمُ فَاجْتَهَدَ فَأَصَابَ فَلَهُ أَجْرَانِ، وَإِذَا حَكَمَ فَاجْتَهَدَ فَأَخْطَأَ فَلَهُ أَجْرٌ)) قَالَ: فَحَدَّثْتُ بِهَذَا الْحَدِيثِ أَبَا بَكْرِ بْنَ عَمْرِو بْنِ حَزْمٍ، قَالَ: هَكَذَا حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو سَلَمَةَ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ
Narrated from Sayyiduna Amr bin Al-Aas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When a judge strives with full effort and reaches the correct decision, he receives two rewards, and when he makes a mistake despite striving with full effort, he receives one reward. This hadith is also narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him).
Brief Explanation
Benefits: … A judge must possess such a high level of legal (shar‘i) knowledge and understanding that he is capable of exercising ijtihad (independent juristic reasoning). A person who does not possess the ability to perform ijtihad has no right to become a judge. Such a person will himself go astray and will also mislead others. Severe condemnation of such a person is found in the texts of the Qur’an and Hadith. For example, it is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah radi Allahu anhu that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: ((Whoever gives a fatwa (legal verdict) without knowledge, the sin of it will be upon the one who gave the fatwa.)) (Abu Dawud: 3657)
In our society, where the value of religious and legal knowledge has greatly diminished, the bearers of this knowledge have also become insignificant. Allah Ta‘ala is witness that now the councils (panchayats) that make decisions for families and marketplaces are composed of such individuals who are neglectful of prayer and of bad character, and are not even capable of reciting a single surah or hadith with translation. The only reason for their selection is that they are or have been wealthy. Some of the decisions of such councils are as follows:
A man gave his wife three divorces (talaq) in a single sitting. The gentlemen (of the council) arranged for her to remarry the same husband during her waiting period (‘iddah), even though those who did this were Hanafis, according to whom three divorces in one sitting count as three. These people committed one injustice by arranging a marriage with the same husband after three divorces, even though there is no valid way for such a marriage to be accepted, and a second injustice by arranging the marriage during the waiting period, whereas a woman cannot be married during her ‘iddah.
An even more regrettable decision: another husband gave his wife three divorces in the same manner. The wife and her in-laws did not want to inform the wife’s parents of this incident. So what solution did the ignorant ones devise? The father-in-law said to his daughter-in-law: “You accept me as your guardian (wali), and I will arrange your remarriage with my son.” And so it happened. The two injustices from the previous example were present here as well, and a third injustice was that the marriage ceremony was conducted without a (proper) guardian.
Hamid owed someone a right, but he was adamant in his denial. The council decided that Hamid should take an oath, but the rightful claimant was not willing to trust his oath. He said that instead of Hamid, his brother Hamad should take the oath, even though Hamad had no knowledge of the matter. Yet the council wanted to decide that Hamad should take the oath. These are the results of deprivation from legal (shar‘i) knowledge and the insignificance of those who possess religious sciences.
In our society, where the value of religious and legal knowledge has greatly diminished, the bearers of this knowledge have also become insignificant. Allah Ta‘ala is witness that now the councils (panchayats) that make decisions for families and marketplaces are composed of such individuals who are neglectful of prayer and of bad character, and are not even capable of reciting a single surah or hadith with translation. The only reason for their selection is that they are or have been wealthy. Some of the decisions of such councils are as follows:
A man gave his wife three divorces (talaq) in a single sitting. The gentlemen (of the council) arranged for her to remarry the same husband during her waiting period (‘iddah), even though those who did this were Hanafis, according to whom three divorces in one sitting count as three. These people committed one injustice by arranging a marriage with the same husband after three divorces, even though there is no valid way for such a marriage to be accepted, and a second injustice by arranging the marriage during the waiting period, whereas a woman cannot be married during her ‘iddah.
An even more regrettable decision: another husband gave his wife three divorces in the same manner. The wife and her in-laws did not want to inform the wife’s parents of this incident. So what solution did the ignorant ones devise? The father-in-law said to his daughter-in-law: “You accept me as your guardian (wali), and I will arrange your remarriage with my son.” And so it happened. The two injustices from the previous example were present here as well, and a third injustice was that the marriage ceremony was conducted without a (proper) guardian.
Hamid owed someone a right, but he was adamant in his denial. The council decided that Hamid should take an oath, but the rightful claimant was not willing to trust his oath. He said that instead of Hamid, his brother Hamad should take the oath, even though Hamad had no knowledge of the matter. Yet the council wanted to decide that Hamad should take the oath. These are the results of deprivation from legal (shar‘i) knowledge and the insignificance of those who possess religious sciences.
