Virtue and Reward of a Just Judge
✍ Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
◈ Virtue of a Just Judge
① ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr (RA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
إن المقسطين عند الله على منابر من نور
“The just (rulers) will be upon pulpits of light with Allah.”
[Muslim: 1827, Kitab al-Imarah: Bab Fadilah al-Imam al-‘Adil wa ‘Uqubah al-Ja’ir; Nasa’i: 8/221; Ahmad: 2/160]
② Abu Hurairah (RA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
سبعة يظلهـم الـلـه فـي ظله يوم لا ظل إلا ظله إمام عادل
“There are seven whom Allah will shade in His shade on the Day when there will be no shade but His. (Among them is) a just ruler.”
[Bukhari: 1423, Kitab al-Zakah: Bab al-Sadaqah bi al-Yamin]
◈ Reward of a Judge for His Effort
When a judge strives to reach the truth, he will be rewarded whether right or wrong — but the reward differs.
‘Amr bin al-‘As (RA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
إذا اجتهد الحاكم فأصاب فله أجران إن اجتهد فأخطا فله أجر
“When a judge strives to reach a decision and is correct, he will have two rewards. If he strives and errs, he will have one reward.”
[Bukhari: 7352, Kitab al-I‘tisam bil-Kitab wal-Sunnah: Bab Ajr al-Hakim idha ijtahada fa-asaba aw akhta’a; Muslim: 1716]
◈ Clarification About a Weak Narration
It should be noted that the narration stating: “When the judge makes the correct decision, he will receive ten rewards” is weak, because its chain contains Faraj bin Fadalah, who is a weak narrator.
[Nayl al-Awtar: 5/353]
