“He who stands to judge in a matter of ten dirhams and judges wrongly will be led in chains on the day of Qayamat. And he who gives fatwa (advisory opinions) without knowledge will receive the laanat of the malaekat of the heavens and the earth” RasulullahSA has stated.
There are three types of judges: one of these will go to heaven while the other two will burn in hell. The judge who judges rightly will go to heaven, while he who deliberately judges unfairly and he who unknowingly judges unfairly will both go to hell.
The judge should not favor one party over the other, or be more attentive to one over the other, or to prompt either one. There was a very good and fair judge from the Banu Israeel. When he died he asked his wife to look at him in the grave. The wife saw a worm in the dead judge’s nostrils and was alarmed. In her dream, the judge informed her of why that had happened. He was fair with everyone. However one time when the wife’s brother stood in front of him, he had hoped and prayed that the judgment turn in favor of him.
The judge should listen to both parties, and not rule until both parties have finished.
The Imam was asked what law the judge should rely on. The Imam replied that all laws should be taken from the Quran e Majeed. The man asked, “What about cases that cannot be found in the Quran?” The Imam replied that it should be taken from the sunnat of RasulullahSA. The man asked, “What of those cases that can be neither found in the Quran nor the sunnat?” The Imam replied, “There is nothing that cannot be found in the Quran and the sunnat. Allah has perfected and completed deen.”
