My father dictated (and I wrote for him) to Ubaidullah b. Abu Bakra while he was the judge of Sijistan: Do not judge between two persons when you are angry, for I have heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: None of you should judge between two persons when he is angry.
The Book of Judicial Decisions - Sahih Muslim 1717a
This narration from Abu Bakrah, transmitted through his son Ubaidullah, establishes a fundamental principle for Islamic judiciary: the prohibition of adjudicating disputes while in a state of anger.
Scholarly Commentary
The prohibition stems from anger's capacity to cloud judicial reasoning and impartiality. When anger dominates the heart, it may lead to hasty judgments, improper investigation, or deviation from established legal principles.
Classical scholars emphasize that this ruling applies to all forms of judicial decision-making, whether in formal courts or informal arbitration. The wisdom behind this prohibition ensures that judgments remain rooted in justice rather than emotional impulses.
Practical Implementation
Jurists recommend that judges postpone proceedings until their emotional state stabilizes. Some scholars extend this principle to include other emotional extremes such as extreme hunger, fatigue, or distress that might impair sound judgment.
This hadith establishes that maintaining proper internal conditions is as crucial as external procedural correctness in Islamic judiciary, reflecting the comprehensive nature of Islamic justice that considers both outward actions and inward states.