8. The qualifications of the judges were general in most cases and

covered all incidents. The authority of the judge was comprehensive, and he had complete freedom in decisionmaking. Later during that era, there emerged the beginning of specialisation among judges. Certain judges would be appointed to deal with simple and straightforward cases, and others would be appointed to deal with serious cases and major issues. Most of the caliphs continued to examine cases of criminal acts and hadd punishments, even though some of the govemors did that, too. This era also saw the appointment of multiple judges at one time in the larger cities and provinces such as Madinah, Kufa, Basra and Yemen. Military judges also were appointed for the first time.