Sunan Ibn Majah
The Chapters on Rulings
كتاب الأحكام
Chapter 1
ذِكْرِ الْقُضَاةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet said: ‘Whoever is appointed judge over people has been slaughtered without a knife.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report’s striking metaphor of slaughter without a knife is preserved literally.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Anas ibn Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘Whoever seeks judicial office is left to himself; but whoever is compelled to it has an angel sent down to guide him rightly.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report contrasts seeking the judgeship with being compelled to take it, and says an angel guides the latter person.
قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " مَنْ سَأَلَ الْقَضَاءَ وُكِلَ إِلَى نَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ جُبِرَ عَلَيْهِ نَزَلَ إِلَيْهِ مَلَكٌ فَسَدَّدَهُ " .
The verb jubīra ʿalayhi means that the person was compelled or forced into judicial office; the source gives no details about how.
Does ‘is compelled to it’ best convey the appointment described here?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAli said: The Messenger of Allah sent me to Yemen. I said, ‘Messenger of Allah, you are sending me to judge between them, though I am young and do not know how to judge.’ He struck my chest with his hand, then said, ‘O Allah, guide his heart and make his tongue firm.’ After that, I never doubted when judging between two people.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report retains ʿAli’s statement about his youth and inexperience, the Prophet’s supplication, and his later confidence in judging between litigants.
Chapter 2
التَّغْلِيظِ فِي الْحَيْفِ وَالرِّشْوَةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAbdullah reported that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘Every judge who rules among people will come on the Day of Resurrection with an angel holding him by the nape. The angel will raise his head toward the sky, and if the command is given, “Cast him down,” he will be cast into an abyss for forty years.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source uses kharīf, literally an autumn, as a measure of time; it is rendered ‘years’. The speaker who gives the command to cast him down is implicit in the Arabic.
قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " مَا مِنْ حَاكِمٍ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ إِلاَّ جَاءَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَمَلَكٌ آخِذٌ بِقَفَاهُ ثُمَّ يَرْفَعُ رَأْسَهُ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَإِنْ قَالَ أَلْقِهِ أَلْقَاهُ فِي مَهْوَاةٍ أَرْبَعِينَ خَرِيفًا " .
The pronoun in ‘if he says, “Cast him”’ does not explicitly name the speaker; the command’s source is implicit.
Who is intended to issue the command to cast the judge down?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAbdullah ibn Abi Awfa reported that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘Allah is with the judge as long as he does not act unjustly. When he acts unjustly, He leaves him to himself.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The conditional contrast is explicit: divine support continues while the judge is not unjust, and he is left to himself when he acts unjustly.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAmr reported that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘May Allah’s curse be upon the briber and the one who accepts a bribe.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report condemns both giving and accepting a bribe.
Chapter 3
الْحَاكِمِ يَجْتَهِدُ فَيُصِيبُ الْحَقَّ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAs said that he heard the Messenger of Allah say: ‘When a judge exercises independent judgment and is correct, he receives two rewards; when he judges, exercises independent judgment, and is mistaken, he receives one reward.’ Yazid said: I related this to Abu Bakr ibn ʿAmr ibn Hazm, and he said, ‘Abu Salamah narrated it to me in the same way, from Abu Hurairah.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report preserves the distinction between a judge who reaches the correct decision and one who errs after exercising judgment. A second route is mentioned through Abu Salamah from Abu Hurairah.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Hashim said: Were it not for the report of Ibn Buraydah, from his father, from the Messenger of Allah, we would have said that there are three kinds of judges: two are in the Fire and one is in Paradise. A man who knows the truth and judges by it is in Paradise; a man who judges for people in ignorance is in the Fire; and a man who acts unjustly in judgment is in the Fire. Were it not for that report, we would have said that a judge, whenever he exercises independent judgment, is in Paradise.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The opening and closing ‘were it not for’ statements are Abu Hashim’s own comments framing the quoted report, not part of the Prophet’s direct wording. The report classifies judges by knowledge and justice.
قَالَ لَوْلاَ حَدِيثُ ابْنِ بُرَيْدَةَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ،
The source names Ibn Buraydah’s report from his father but does not give its contents before quoting the three-judge report.
Does the opening introduce the following report as the statement that qualifies Abu Hashim’s hypothetical conclusion?
Chapter 4
لاَ يَحْكُمُ الْحَاكِمُ وَهُوَ غَضْبَانُ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakrah reported that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘A judge must not rule between two people while angry.’ Hisham said: ‘A judge should not rule between two people while angry.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report’s second sentence is Hisham’s explanatory wording, distinguished from the Prophet’s statement.
Chapter 5
قَضِيَّةِ الْحَاكِمِ لاَ تُحِلُّ حَرَامًا وَلاَ تُحَرِّمُ حَلاَلاً
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr bin Abu Shaibah narrated to us: Waki narrated to us: Hisham bin Urwah narrated to us, from his father, from Zainab bint Umm Salamah, from Umm Salamah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: You bring your disputes to me, and I am only a human being. Perhaps some of you are more persuasive in presenting your case than others, and I judge for you according to what I hear from you. If I rule in favor of someone regarding any of his brother right, let him not take it, for I have only allotted him a piece of Fire, which he will bring on the Day of Resurrection.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr bin Abu Shaibah narrated to us: Muhammad bin Bishr narrated to us: Muhammad bin Amr narrated to us, from Abu Salamah bin Abdur-Rahman, from Abu Hurairah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: I am only a human being, and some of you may be more persuasive in presenting your case than others. If I allot someone a portion of his brother right, I am only allotting him a piece of Fire.
Chapter 6
مَنِ ادَّعَى مَا لَيْسَ لَهُ وَخَاصَمَ فِيهِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abdul-Warith bin Abdus-Samad bin Abdul-Warith bin Said Abu Ubaidah narrated to us: My father narrated to me: My father narrated to me: Al-Husain bin Dhakwan narrated to me, from Abdullah bin Buraidah, who said: Yahya bin Yamar narrated to me that Abu Al-Aswad Ad-Dili told him, from Abu Dharr, who heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: Whoever claims something that is not his is not one of us; let him take his seat in the Fire.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad bin Thalabah bin Sawa narrated to us: My paternal uncle, Muhammad bin Sawa, narrated to me, from Husain Al-Muallim, from Matar Al-Warraq, from Nafi, from Ibn Umar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever supports a dispute unjustly—or supports wrongdoing—will remain under Allah's anger until he withdraws.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic gives two formulations: supporting a dispute unjustly, or supporting injustice. “Until he withdraws” renders hatta yanzi; the object is left implicit.
Chapter 7
الْبَيِّنَةُ عَلَى الْمُدَّعِي وَالْيَمِينُ عَلَى الْمُدَّعَى عَلَيْهِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Harmalah bin Yahya Al-Misri narrated to us: Abdullah bin Wahb narrated to us: Ibn Jurayj informed us, from Ibn Abi Mulaikah, from Ibn Abbas, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: If people were granted what they claim, some people would claim the lives and property of others. Rather, the oath is required of the one against whom the claim is made.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says the oath is upon the defendant; “required” makes the procedural sense explicit, while the Arabic itself says “the oath is upon.”
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Numair and Ali bin Muhammad narrated to us. They said: Waki and Abu Muawiyah narrated to us. They said: Al-Amash narrated to us, from Shaqiq, from Al-Ashath bin Qais, who said: There was a piece of land between me and a Jewish man, and he denied my claim to it. So I brought him before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Messenger of Allah said to me: Do you have proof? I said: No. He said to the Jewish man: Swear an oath. I said: Then he will swear and take my property. Then Allah, Glorified is He, revealed: Indeed, those who sell the covenant of Allah and their oaths for a small price—to the end of the verse.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic quotes only the opening of Quran 3:77 and says to the end of the verse; the source English supplies a full verse translation, so it is not reproduced as though present in this hadith text.
Chapter 8
مَنْ حَلَفَ عَلَى يَمِينٍ فَاجِرَةٍ لِيَقْتَطِعَ بِهَا مَالاً
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Numair narrated to us: Waki and Abu Muawiyah narrated to us. They both said: Al-Amash narrated to us, from Shaqiq, from Abdullah bin Masud, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever swears a perjurious oath, thereby seizing the property of a Muslim man, will meet Allah while He is angry with him.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic describes the oath as fājir, literally wicked or sinful; “perjurious” expresses that sense in this context. The phrase “Muslim man” follows the Arabic wording.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr bin Abi Shaybah narrated to us: Abu Usamah narrated to us, from Al-Walid bin Kathir, from Muhammad bin Kab, who heard his brother Abdullah bin Kab, that Abu Umamah Al-Harithiy narrated to him that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: No man takes the right of a Muslim by means of his oath except that Allah makes Paradise forbidden to him and obligates the Fire for him. A man among the people said: O Messenger of Allah, even if it is something small? He said: Even if it is a tooth-stick from an arak tree.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic specifically says a siwak from an arak tree. “Makes Paradise forbidden” and “obligates the Fire” closely follow the paired Arabic clauses.
Chapter 9
الْيَمِينِ عِنْدَ مَقَاطِعِ الْحُقُوقِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Amr bin Rafi narrated to us: Marwan bin Muawiyah narrated to us. And Ahmad bin Thabit Al-Jahdari narrated to us: Safwan bin Isa narrated to us. They both said: Hashim bin Hashim narrated to us, from Abdullah bin Nistas, from Jabir bin Abdullah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever swears a sinful oath beside this pulpit of mine, let him take his seat in the Fire, even if it concerns a green siwak.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says an oath “at my pulpit” and orders the oath-taker to take his seat in the Fire. “Sinful” renders athimah; “green” modifies the siwak as stated.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad bin Yahya narrated to us, and Zaid bin Akhzam; they both said: Al-Dahhak bin Makhlad narrated to us: Al-Hasan bin Yazid bin Farrukh narrated to us—Muhammad bin Yahya said, he is Abu Yunus Al-Qawi—who said: I heard Abu Salamah say: I heard Abu Hurairah say: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: No male or female servant swears a sinful oath beside this pulpit, even over a fresh siwak, except that the Fire becomes due for that person.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The narrator parenthetically identifies him as Abu Yunus Al-Qawi. The Arabic uses both male and female servant.
Chapter 10
بِمَا يُسْتَحْلَفُ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ali bin Muhammad narrated to us: Abu Muawiyah narrated to us, from Al-Amash, from Abdullah bin Murrah, from Al-Bara bin Azib: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) called a man from among the Jewish scholars and said: I adjure you by Allah, Who sent down the Torah to Musa.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic verb “an-shuduka billah” is an appeal or adjuration by Allah; it does not itself include a response from the Jewish scholar in this report.