Authority of Passing Shar‘i Judgments: Who is Qualified?
✍ Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
◈ Lexical and Technical Definitions
- Lexical Meaning: The word Qada means judgment, ruling, decree, etc. Its plural is Aqdiya.
- Qada (قضى يقضى - ضرب): To judge.
- Qadda (قضّى يقضى - تفعيل): To appoint as judge.
- Qada (قاضى يقاضى - مفاعلة): To litigate.
- Taqada (تقاضى يتقاضى - تفاعل): To take a case before a judge.
- Qadi (قاضي): A shar‘i judge; plural Quda’.
- Qadiyyah (قضية): A matter or case; plural Qadaya.
[al-Qamus al-Muhit: p.1192]
- Technical Meaning: To resolve disputes and settle conflicts.
[al-Durr al-Mukhtar: 4/309; al-Sharh al-Kabir: 4/129; al-Fiqh al-Islami wa Adillatuhu: 8/4231]
◈ Qur’anic Evidence
① وَأَنِ احْكُم بَيْنَهُم بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ [المائدة: 49]
“And judge between them by what Allah has revealed.”
② فَاحْكُم بَيْنَهُم بِالْقِسْطِ [المائدة: 42]
“Judge between them with justice.”
③ إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ لِتَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ بِمَا أَرَاكَ اللَّهُ [النساء: 105]
“We have revealed to you the Book in truth so that you may judge between people by what Allah has shown you.”
④ لَا يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شَنَآنُ قَوْمٍ عَلَىٰ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا ۚ اعْدِلُوا هُوَ أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَىٰ [المائدة: 8]
“Do not let hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just, for that is closer to piety.”
⑤ وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ [المائدة: 44]
“They are disbelievers who do not judge by what Allah has revealed.”
...هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ [المائدة: 45]
“They are wrongdoers.”
...هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ [المائدة: 47]
“They are defiantly disobedient.”
◈ Explanation
These verses clearly establish that judging with what Allah has revealed is obligatory. Only one who knows the Qur’an and Sunnah can do so — and that is the Mujtahid.
- A Muqallid only recognizes the statement of his Imam, not the evidence behind it.
- Therefore, only the Mujtahid can truly judge “by what Allah has revealed.”
◈ Prophetic Hadith on Judges
Buraidah (RA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
القضاة ثلثة واحد فى الجنة واثنان فى النار فأما الذى فى الجنة فرجل عرف الحق فقضى به ورجل عرف الحق و جار فى الحكم فهو فى النار و رجل قضى للناس على جهل فهو فى النار
“Judges are of three types: one will be in Paradise and two in the Fire. The one in Paradise is he who recognizes the truth and judges accordingly. The one in the Fire is he who recognizes the truth but rules unjustly, and the one who judges in ignorance without knowing the truth is also in the Fire.”
[Sahih: Irwa’ al-Ghalil: 8/236; Ibn Majah: 2315, Kitab al-Ahkam: Bab al-Hakim yajtahed feyusib al-haqq; Abu Dawud: 3572; Tirmidhi: 1322; Hakim: 4/90]
◈ Key Point
The place of evidence in this Hadith is that recognizing the truth is only possible for a Mujtahid, not a Muqallid.
