The Office of the Judge (Kitab Al-Aqdiyah)

Sunan Abi Dawud 3593 - Commentary by Classical Scholars

Hadith Context

This narration references the famous incident when Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) appointed Mu'adh ibn Jabal as judge and governor of Yemen, inquiring about the sources he would use for judgment.

Scholarly Commentary

Classical scholars explain that Mu'adh responded he would judge by: 1) Allah's Book (Quran), 2) Sunnah of the Prophet, and 3) Ijtihad (independent reasoning) when no clear text exists. The Prophet approved this methodology, establishing the fundamental principles of Islamic jurisprudence.

Imam Nawawi comments that this hadith demonstrates the hierarchy of legal sources in Islam and validates scholarly reasoning (ijtihad) within proper boundaries. Ibn Qayyim emphasizes that this establishes the judge's duty to use multiple legal tools while maintaining primary allegiance to divine revelation.

Legal Implications

This tradition forms the basis for Islamic judicial methodology, showing that judges must be learned in Quran, Hadith, and principles of juristic reasoning. It also indicates that qualified judges may exercise ijtihad when facing novel cases not explicitly covered in primary texts.