12. Muhammad ibn Yazeed ibn Khnlaydah ash-Shaybhi. 'Ali

appointed him as a judge in Kufah, and he issued some verdicts 'Ali's judges in Egypt were also his governors in various cities, because their governorship was general and included ruling,

'Ali ibn Abi Tilib administration, carrying out hadd punishments, leading the prayers, judging, collecting zakih and other duties.39 'Ali (&) required his . . governors to be careful in appointing judges, which indicates that he gave tbem the authority to appoint judges in the land under their rule. Moreover, in most cases, the governors were themselves the judges of the cities in which they lived, but there are reports which mention the names of a number of judges in different cities at the time of 'Ali (&), as we have seen above. It seems that the governors of cities had the right to examine appeals made by people against some judicial rulings, primarily those passed by the judges appointed by them and not by the caliph. They also had the right to examine appeals from other cities concerning verdicts given by judges who had been appointed by the caliph, because they had general authority in their provinces;40 however, they used to discuss these cases with the caliphs. It is well known that the caliphs would open their doors to anyone who brought a complaint, whether the complaint was against the governors, judges, tax collectors or anyone else.41 2.4. Judicial style of Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (a), his view of verdicts issued before his time, those who were qualified to act as judges and free access to the judiciary system 2.4.1. His preservation of judiciary style It seems that 'Ali ibn Abi T2ib (&) intended to introduce some changes in the way the judicial system was run and how cases were heard, thinking that this was appropriate due to new developments in the society, but he deferred that unt~l things settled down. It is narrated from h ~ m (&I that he said: "Judge as you used to judge untll you are un~ted, for I fear difference^."^' Financial andjudiciary institutions at the time of 'Ali 2.4.2. Not nullifying verdicts issued before his time Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (&) was keen to achieve stability, and he thought that a judge had no right to nullify a verdict issued by another judge. 'Ali had written down the treaty between the people of Najrh and the Prophet (g), but at the time of 'Umar (&), their numbers increased until he feared for the people concerning them. A disagreement arose among them, and they came to 'Umar (&) asking for compensation, so he compensated them. Then they regretted it, and something happened among them, so they came to him and asked him to let them off, but he refused to do so. When 'Ali (&) became caliph, they came to him and said: "0 Amir alMu'mineen, you interceded for us and wrote a treaty with your right hand." 'Ali (&) said: "Woe to you! 'Umar was right in what he did.43 I will never undo the verdict of 'Umar." 2.4.3. Qualifications for the position of judge The judiciary is a public post, so the same conditions are required for a judge as for anyone else who is appointed to a public post over the Muslims, namely being of sound mind, being an adult and being a Muslim. In the case of the judge, it is stipulated that he should have no interest in what people possess, he should be forbearing and not provoked by words, he should not be angered by misbehaviour, and he should be knowledgeable of the rulings of Shariah and of what abrogates and what is abrogated. 'Ali ibn Ahi TSib said to a judge: "Do you know what abrogates and what is ahrogated?" He said: "No." He said: "You are doomed and cause others to he doomed."44 'Ali asked him about that because knowledge thereof was not an easy matter at that time.

'Ali ibn Abi Tilib It is also stipulated that the judge should have knowledge of the verdicts of previous judges, so that he will not drift away from their way and so as to avoid chaos in rulings or things getting out of hand. He should also be humble and should not have any reservations about consulting men of knowledge, reason and wisdom, because this consultation will help him to avoid misaes in his verdicts. He should be courageous in adhering to the truth, so that he will not delay giving his verdict, even if he angers the people in authority. All of that is summed up in the words of 'Ali (&): "The judge cannot be a judge unless he has five qualities: lack of interest in material gain, a forbearing nature, knowledge of what came before him, willingness to consult people of knowledge and wisdom, and not fearing the blame of anyone for the sake of Allah (&)."45 2.4.4. Location for judgement The judge should choose a place to hear cases that is located in the middle of the city, so that it will not be difficult for anyone to get there. 'Ali (&J) told Shurayh, the judge, to sit in the main mosque,46 so that it would he easy for the people to reach him.47 2.4.5. Free access to the judiciary system Since establishing justice among people is one of the aims of the Islamic state, Islamic law dictates that there should be no barrier between one who has been wronged and restoration of his rights. The two disputants should not have to pay the judge or the state any money in order to obtain the verdict that settles the dispute between them. Rather it is the Islamic state that covers the expenses of the judge and the court. 'Ali (&) gave Shurayh a salary in return for serving as a judge; when he appointed him as judge of Kufah, he paid him five hundred dirhams every month.48 Financial and judicialy institutions at the time of 'Ali 2.4.6. Emergence of the idea of lawyers The idea of lawyers began to emerge at the time of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. 'Ali (&) appointed his hrothe~ 'Aqeel to represent him in cases, and when 'Aqeel grew too old, he appointed Abdullah ihn Ja'far ihn Abi Taib to appear on his behalf in front of the judges. He used to say: "If the outcome is in favour of my agent, then it is in my favour, and if it is against my agent, then it i s against me."49 2.5. What is required of the judge In order to attain justice in rulings, attention must be paid to the foUowing: 2.5.1. Careful study of the case presented It is not right for the judge to hasten to issue a verdict before examining the case completely and feelmg satisfied with the conclusion reached. Hence 'Ali (&) said to Shurayh: "Your tongue is under your control as long as you do not speak, hut once you speak you are bound by what you say. So think about what your verdct is, and the has~s for your verdict, and how to work out your verd~ct."~~ 2.5.2. Equal treatment of disputants 'Ali (&)had a guest who stayed with him for a few days, then he brought a dispute to him. 'Ali (&) . ., asked him: "Are you a disputant?" He said: "Yes." 'Ali (&) said: "Then leave us, for we are not allowed to have a disputant staying with us unless his opposite number is with him." (He meant that he was required to treat both of them equally.)51

'Ali ibn Abi TJZib 2.5.3. Not shouting at the disputants 'Ali ibn Abi T2ib (&) appointed Abu al-Aswad ad-Du'ali as a judge. Later, 'Ali (&) dismissed him, so he asked: "Why did you dismiss me when I have never done anything wrong?" He said: "I saw that you raise your voice against two disputants."5z 2.5.4. Keeping away from things that may influence the judge's verdict The judge should strive to keep his own inclinations in check, whether these are based on relationships with others, financial factors, hatred or anything else. Ja'dah ibn Hubayrah came to 'Ali ihn Abi T2ib (&) and said: "0 Amir al-Mu'mineen, two men come to you, and you are dearer to one of them than his own self, hut the other would slaughter you if he could - and you pass judgement in favour of the latter?" 'Ali (&) poked him and said: "If it were a personal matter, I would have done (what you think), hut my judgement is for the sake of Allah (&)."53 2.5.5. Consultation The judge must consult people of knowledge, lest he gave a wrong verdict. 'Ali (&) was one of the members of the consultative committee whom the caliphs were keen to consult when faced with difficult issues. Al-Khass2f said in Adab al-Qedi that if the two disputants came to him, 'Uthmk ibn 'Af& would tell one of them to call 'Ali (&), and he would tell the other to call Tabah and azZubayr or some of the Companions of the Messenger of AUah (@J. When they came to him, he would say to them: "Speak." After they had spoken, he would turn to the Companions and ask: "What do you think?" If they said something that he agreed with, he would give the verdict on that basis and would not discuss the matter further.54 Financial and judiciary institutions at the time of 'Ali