Judgments (Ahkaam)
كتاب الأحكام
Chapter 12: A governor can sentence to death a person without consulting the Imam
that the Prophet (ﷺ) sent him and sent Mu`adh after him (as rulers to Yemen).
A man embraced Islam and then reverted back to Judaism. Mu`adh bin Jabal came and saw the man with Abu Musa. Mu`adh asked, "What is wrong with this (man)?" Abu Musa replied, "He embraced Islam and then reverted back to Judaism." Mu`adh said, "I will not sit down unless you kill him (as it is) the verdict of Allah and His Apostle.
Chapter 13: Can a judge give a judgement in an angry mood?
Abu Bakra wrote to his son who was in Sijistan: 'Do not judge between two persons when you are angry, for I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) saying, "A judge should not judge between two persons while he is in an angry mood."
A man came to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! By Allah, I fail to attend the morning congregational prayer because so-and-so (i.e., Mu`adh bin Jabal) prolongs the prayer when he leads us for it." I had never seen the Prophet (ﷺ) more furious in giving advice than he was on that day. He then said, "O people! some of you make others dislike (good deeds, i.e. prayers etc). So whoever among you leads the people in prayer, he should shorten it because among them there are the old, the weak and the busy (needy having some jobs to do). (See Hadith No. 90, Vol. 1)
That he had divorced his wife during her menses. `Umar mentioned that to the Prophet. Allah's Apostle became angry and said, "He must take her back (his wife) and keep her with him till she becomes clean from her menses and then to wait till she gets her next period and becomes clean again from it and only then, if he wants to divorce her, he may do so."
Chapter 14: A judge can give judgements for the people according to his knowledge
Hind bint `Utba bin Rabi`a came and said. "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! By Allah, there was no family on the surface of the earth, I like to see in degradation more than I did your family, but today there is no family on the surface of the earth whom I like to see honored more than yours." Hind added, "Abu Sufyan is a miser. Is it sinful of me to feed our children from his property?" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "There is no blame on you if you feed them (thereof) in a just and reasonable manner.
Chapter 15: To bear witness as to the writer of a stamped letter; and the letter of a ruler to a governor, and of a judge to a judge
When the Prophet (ﷺ) intended to write to the Byzantines, the people said, "They do not read a letter unless it is sealed (stamped)." Therefore the Prophet (ﷺ) took a silver ring----as if I am looking at its glitter now----and its engraving was: 'Muhammad, Apostle of Allah'.
Chapter 16: When is a man entitled to be a judge?
Chapter 17: The salaries of rulers and those employed to administer the funds
That when he went to 'Umar during his Caliphate. 'Umar said to him, "Haven't I been told that you do certain jobs for the people but when you are given payment you refuse to take it?" 'Abdullah added: I said, "Yes." 'Umar said, "Why do you do so?" I said, "I have horses and slaves and I am living in prosperity and I wish that my payment should be kept as a charitable gift for the Muslims." 'Umar said, "Do not do so, for I intended to do the same as you do. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)s used to give me gifts and I used to say to him, 'Give it to a more needy one than me.' Once he gave me some money and I said, 'Give it to a more needy person than me,' whereupon the Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'Take it and keep it in your possession and then give it in charity. Take what ever comes to you of this money if you are not keen to have it and not asking for it; otherwise (i.e., if it does not come to you) do not seek to have it yourself.' "
Chapter 18: Whoever gave judgements of Li'an in the mosque
I witnessed a husband and a wife who were involved in a case of Lian. Then (the judgment of) divorce was passed. I was fifteen years of age, at that time.
(the brother of Bani Sa`ida) A man from the Ansar came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, "If a man finds another man sleeping with his wife, should he kill him?" That man and his wife then did Lian in the mosque while I was present.
Chapter 19: Passing judgement in the mosque and ordering the punishment outside the Mosque
A man came to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) while he was in the mosque, and called him, saying, "O Allah's Apostle! I have committed illegal sexual intercourse." The Prophet (ﷺ) turned his face to the other side, but when the man gave four witnesses against himself, the Prophet (ﷺ) said to him, "Are you mad?" The man said, "No." So the Prophet (ﷺ) said (to his companions), "Take him away and stone him to death. "
I was one of those who stoned him at the Musalla in Al-Madina (See Hadith 5272).
Chapter 20: The advice of the Imam to the litigants
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "I am only a human being, and you people (opponents) come to me with your cases; and it may be that one of you can present his case eloquently in a more convincing way than the other, and I give my verdict according to what I hear. So if ever I judge (by error) and give the right of a brother to his other (brother) then he (the latter) should not take it, for I am giving him only a piece of Fire." (See Hadith No. 638, Vol. 3).
Chapter 21: If a judge has to witness in favour of a litigant
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said on the Day of (the battle of) Hunain, "Whoever has killed an infidel and has a proof or a witness for it, then the salb (arms and belongings of that deceased) will be for him." I stood up to seek a witness to testify that I had killed an infidel but I could not find any witness and then sat down. Then I thought that I should mention the case to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) I (and when I did so) a man from those who were sitting with him said, "The arms of the killed person he has mentioned, are with me, so please satisfy him on my behalf." Abu Bakr said, "No, he will not give the arms to a bird of Quraish and deprive one of Allah's lions of it who fights for the cause of Allah and His Apostle." Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) I stood up and gave it to me, and I bought a garden with its price, and that was my first property which I owned through the war booty. The people of Hijaz said, "A judge should not pass a judgment according to his knowledge, whether he was a witness at the time he was the judge or before that" And if a litigant gives a confession in favor of his opponent in the court, in the opinion of some scholars, the judge should not pass a judgment against him till the latter calls two witnesses to witness his confession. And some people of Iraq said, "A judge can pass a judgement according to what he hears or witnesses (the litigant's confession) in the court itself, but if the confession takes place outside the court, he should not pass the judgment unless two witnesses witness the confession." Some of them said, "A judge can pass a judgement depending on his knowledge of the case as he is trust-worthy, and that a witness is Required just to reveal the truth. The judge's knowledge is more than the witness." Some said, "A judge can judge according to his knowledge only in cases involving property, but in other cases he cannot." Al-Qasim said, "A judge ought not to pass a judgment depending on his knowledge if other people do not know what he knows, although his knowledge is more than the witness of somebody else because he might expose himself to suspicion by the Muslims and cause the Muslims to have unreasonable doubt. "
Safiya bint (daughter of) Huyai came to the Prophet (in the mosque), and when she returned (home), the Prophet (ﷺ) accompanied her. It happened that two men from the Ansar passed by them and the Prophet called them saying, "She is Safiya!" those two men said, "Subhan Allah!" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Satan circulates in the human body as blood does."
Chapter 22: The order of the Wali sending two Amir to one place
The Prophet (ﷺ) sent my father and Mu`adh bin Jabal to Yemen and said (to them), "Make things easy for the people and do not put hurdles in their way, and give them glad tiding, and don't let them have aversion (i.e. to make people to hate good deeds) and you both should work in cooperation and mutual understanding" Abu Musa said to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), "In our country a special alcoholic drink called Al- Bit', is prepared (for drinking)." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Every intoxicant is prohibited. "
Chapter 23: The ruler’s acceptance of invitation
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Set free the captives and accept invitations."
Chapter 24: The gifts taken by the employees
The Prophet (ﷺ) appointed a man from the tribe of Bani Asad, called Ibn Al-Utabiyya to collect the Zakat. When he returned (with the money) he said (to the Prophet), "This is for you and this has been given to me as a gift." The Prophet (ﷺ) stood up on the pulpit (Sufyan said he ascended the pulpit), and after glorifying and praising Allah, he said, "What is wrong with the employee whom we send (to collect Zakat from the public) that he returns to say, 'This is for you and that is for me?' Why didn't he stay at his father's and mother's house to see whether he will be given gifts or not? By Him in Whose Hand my life is, whoever takes anything illegally will bring it on the Day of Resurrection by carrying it over his neck: if it is a camel, it will be grunting: if it is a cow, it will be mooing: and if it is a sheep it will be bleating!" The Prophet (ﷺ) then raised both his hands till we saw the whiteness of his armpits (and he said), "No doubt! Haven't I conveyed Allah's Message?" And he repeated it three times.