The Book of the Etiquette of Judges

It was narrated from Shuraih that he wrote to Umar with a question, and Umar wrote back: ‘Judge according to what is in the Book of Allah. If it is not in the Book of Allah, then judge according to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah. If it is in neither the Book of Allah nor the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, then judge according to what the righteous have ruled. If it is in neither the Book nor the Sunnah, and the righteous have not ruled on it, then you may proceed with your own judgment if you wish, or refrain if you wish. I think refraining is better for you. Peace be upon you.’

It was narrated that Ibn Abbas said: After Jesus son of Mary, kings arose who altered the Torah and the Gospel. Among their people were believers who still read the Torah. Someone said to their kings, ‘We know no harsher insult than what these people say about us: they recite, “Whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, those are the disbelievers,” along with other verses, and they criticize our conduct as they read them. Summon them and make them read as we read and believe as we believe.’ The kings summoned them and offered them the choice of being killed or giving up their reading of the Torah and Gospel except for the portions they had altered. They replied, ‘What do you want from us? Leave us alone.’ One group said, ‘Build us a tower, raise us up into it, and give us something with which to hoist our food and drink, so that we do not have to come down to you.’ Another group said, ‘Let us wander the land, roaming freely and drinking as wild animals drink. If you catch us in your territory, kill us.’ A third group said, ‘Build us homes in the wilderness. We will dig wells and cultivate vegetables; we will neither come to you nor pass by you.’ Yet every tribe had close relatives among them. The kings did as they asked. Then Allah revealed: “As for monasticism, they invented it; We had not prescribed it for them. They adopted it only in pursuit of Allah’s approval, but they did not observe it as it deserved to be observed.” Others said, ‘We will worship as so-and-so worshipped, wander as so-and-so wandered, and take up dwellings as so-and-so did.’ Yet they remained in their association of partners with Allah, without knowing the faith of those whom they imitated. When Allah sent the Prophet, only a few of them remained. A man came down from his cell, a wanderer returned from his travels, and a monk came out of his monastery; they believed in him and affirmed his truth. Allah, Blessed and Exalted, said: “O you who believe, fear Allah and believe in His Messenger; He will grant you a double share of His mercy”—that is, two rewards: for their belief in Jesus, the Torah, and the Gospel, and for their belief in Muhammad and affirming him. He also said, “He will give you a light by which you may walk”—that is, the Qur’an and their following the Prophet. And He said, “So that the People of the Book may know that they have no power over any of Allah’s bounty.”

It was narrated from Umm Salamah that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘You bring your disputes to me, but I am only a human being. Perhaps some of you are more persuasive in presenting your case than others. If I rule in someone’s favor by granting him any part of his brother’s right, let him not take it, for I would only be giving him a piece of Fire.’

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah said: There were two women, each with a son. A wolf came and carried off one of the boys. One woman said to the other, ‘It took your son,’ and the other said, ‘No, it took your son.’ They brought their case to David, peace be upon him, and he ruled in favor of the older woman. They then went to Solomon son of David and told him what had happened. He said, ‘Bring me a knife so I can divide the child between you.’ The younger woman said, ‘Do not do that—may Allah have mercy on you! He is her son.’ So Solomon ruled that the child belonged to the younger woman. Abu Hurairah added: By Allah, I had never heard the word sikkin (‘knife’) before that day; we used only the word mudyah.

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah said: Two women went out, each with her child. A wolf attacked one of them and carried off her child. The next morning, the women disputed over the child who remained and brought their case to David, peace be upon him. He ruled in favor of the older woman. As they passed by Solomon, he asked, ‘What is your story?’ They told him. He said, ‘Bring me a knife; I will divide the boy between you.’ The younger woman asked, ‘Will you really cut him in two?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ She replied, ‘Do not do that. I give my share of him to her.’ Solomon said, ‘He is your son,’ and ruled that he belonged to her.

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet said: Two women went out with their two children, and a wolf took one of the children. They brought their dispute over the remaining child to the Prophet David, peace be upon him, and he ruled in favor of the older woman. They then passed by Solomon, peace be upon him, who asked, ‘How did he judge between you?’ She said, ‘He ruled in favor of the older woman.’ Solomon said, ‘I will cut him in two, giving half to each of you.’ The older woman said, ‘Yes, cut him.’ The younger woman said, ‘Do not cut him; he is her child.’ So Solomon ruled in favor of the woman who refused to have him cut.

It was narrated from Salim, from his father, that the Prophet sent Khalid bin Al-Walid to Banu Jadhimah to invite them to Islam. They could not say ‘We have submitted’ and instead kept saying, ‘We have changed our religion.’ Khalid began killing some and taking others prisoner. He gave each of the men one prisoner. The next morning, Khalid ordered each man to kill his prisoner. Ibn Umar said, ‘I swore by Allah that I would not kill my prisoner, and none of my companions would kill theirs.’ We came to the Prophet and told him what Khalid had done. The Prophet raised his hands and said, ‘O Allah, I disavow before You what Khalid has done.’ Zakariyya’s version says only that the matter was brought to him; in Bishr’s version, the Prophet says, ‘O Allah, I disavow before You what Khalid has done,’ twice.

It was narrated that Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Bakrah said: My father wrote—and I wrote it down for him—to Ubaidullah bin Abi Bakrah, who was judge of Sijistan: ‘Do not judge between two people while you are angry, for I heard the Messenger of Allah say, “No one should judge between two people while angry.”’

It was narrated from Az-Zubair bin Al-Awwam that he disputed with a man from the Ansar, who had fought at Badr alongside the Messenger of Allah, over a watercourse in Al-Harrah that they both used to irrigate their date palms. The Ansari said, ‘Let the water flow on, past your land.’ Az-Zubair refused. The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Irrigate your land first, Zubair, then let the water flow to your neighbor.’ The Ansari became angry and said, ‘Is that because he is your cousin?’ The Messenger of Allah’s face changed, then he said, ‘Irrigate, Zubair, and hold the water back until it reaches the boundary walls.’ Thus the Messenger of Allah granted Zubair his full right. Before this, he had suggested a compromise that would have accommodated both Zubair and the Ansari. But when the Ansari angered the Messenger of Allah, he granted Zubair his full right according to the explicit ruling. Zubair said, ‘I think this verse was revealed about this matter: “But no, by your Lord, they will not truly believe until they make you judge concerning their disputes.”’ One of the two transmission versions gives additional detail.

It was narrated from Abdullah bin Ka'b, from his father, that he demanded repayment of a debt owed to him by Ibn Abi Hadrad. Their voices grew loud enough for the Messenger of Allah to hear them from inside his house. He came out, drew back the curtain of his room, and called, ‘Ka'b!’ He replied, ‘At your service, O Messenger of Allah.’ He said, ‘Reduce this debt by half,’ gesturing toward half. Ka'b said, ‘I have done so.’ The Prophet said to the debtor, ‘Get up and pay it.’

It was narrated that Abbad bin Shurahbil said: I came to Medina with my paternal uncles and entered one of its gardens. I rubbed some grains from an ear of grain. The owner of the garden came, took my cloak, and struck me. I went to the Messenger of Allah to seek redress against him. The Messenger sent for the man, and he was brought in. He asked, ‘What made you do this?’ The man replied, ‘O Messenger of Allah, he entered my garden and took an ear of grain, rubbing the grains from it.’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘You did not teach him when he was ignorant, nor feed him when he was hungry. Give him back his cloak.’ The Messenger of Allah then provided me with one wasq—or half a wasq.

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah and Zaid bin Khalid al-Juhani that two men brought a dispute to the Messenger of Allah. One said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, judge between us according to the Book of Allah.’ The other, who was more knowledgeable, said, ‘Yes, O Messenger of Allah, and let me speak. My son worked for this man and committed adultery with his wife. I was told that my son must be stoned, so I ransomed him with one hundred sheep and one of my slave girls. Then I asked people of knowledge, who told me that my son should receive one hundred lashes and be exiled for a year, and that the man’s wife should be stoned.’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘By the One in whose hand is my soul, I will judge between you according to the Book of Allah. As for your sheep and slave girl, they are returned to you.’ He had the son flogged one hundred times and exiled for a year. He ordered Unais to go to the other man’s wife and said, ‘If she confesses, stone her.’ She confessed, and he had her stoned.

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah, Zaid bin Khalid, and Shibl that they were with the Prophet when a man stood and said, ‘I adjure you by Allah to judge between us according to the Book of Allah.’ His opponent, who was more knowledgeable, stood and said, ‘He is right; judge between us according to the Book of Allah.’ The Prophet said, ‘Speak.’ The man said, ‘My son worked for this man and committed adultery with his wife. I ransomed him from the punishment with one hundred sheep and a servant’—it seems he had been told his son was to be stoned and paid the ransom to avert it. ‘Then I asked some knowledgeable men, who told me that my son should receive one hundred lashes and be exiled for a year.’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘By the One in whose hand is my soul, I will judge between you according to the Book of Allah, Mighty and Sublime. The one hundred sheep and the servant are returned to you. Your son is to receive one hundred lashes and be exiled for a year. Unais, go tomorrow to this man’s wife; if she confesses, stone her.’ Unais went to her the next day. She confessed, and he had her stoned.

It was narrated from Abu Umamah bin Sahl bin Hunaif that a woman who had committed adultery was brought to the Prophet. He asked, ‘With whom?’ She replied, ‘With the paralyzed man in Sa'd’s garden.’ The man was sent for and brought on a stretcher, then placed before him. He confessed. The Messenger of Allah called for a bundle of palm fronds and struck him with it, showing compassion for his disability and reducing the severity of the punishment.

It was narrated from Sahl bin Sa'd al-Sa'idi that two clans of the Ansar exchanged harsh words until they began throwing stones at one another. The Prophet went to reconcile them, but the time for prayer arrived. Bilal called the Adhan and waited for the Messenger of Allah. When he was delayed, Bilal called the Iqamah and Abu Bakr stepped forward to lead the prayer. The Prophet arrived while Abu Bakr was leading. When the people saw him, they clapped. Abu Bakr did not turn around during prayer, but when he heard them clapping, he turned and saw the Messenger of Allah. He wanted to step back, but the Prophet gestured for him to remain. Abu Bakr raised his hands, then backed away, and the Messenger of Allah stepped forward and led the prayer. When he had finished, he asked Abu Bakr, ‘What kept you from remaining in place?’ Abu Bakr replied, ‘Allah would not have wanted to see Ibn Abi Quhafah standing in front of His Prophet.’ The Prophet then turned to the people and said, ‘Why do you clap when something happens to you during prayer? Clapping is for women. Whoever has something happen to him in prayer should say, “Subhan Allah.”’

It was narrated from Ka'b bin Malik that Abdullah bin Abi Hadrad al-Aslami owed him a debt. Ka'b met him and pressed him for payment. They argued until their voices grew loud. The Messenger of Allah passed by and called, ‘Ka'b!’ He gestured with his hand as if saying, ‘Half.’ So Ka'b took half of what was owed and waived the other half.

It was narrated that Wa'il said: I saw the Messenger of Allah when a killer was brought to him, led by the victim’s heir with a strap. The Messenger of Allah asked the heir, ‘Will you pardon him?’ He said, ‘No.’ He asked, ‘Will you accept blood money?’ He said, ‘No.’ He asked, ‘Will you kill him?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ The Messenger said, ‘Take him away.’ As the heir turned to leave with him, the Prophet called him back and asked again, ‘Will you pardon him?’ He said, ‘No.’ ‘Will you accept blood money?’ ‘No.’ ‘Will you kill him?’ ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Take him away.’ When they turned to leave, he called the heir back a third time and asked the same questions. The heir again said no to pardon, no to blood money, and yes to killing him. The Messenger of Allah said, ‘If you pardon him, he will bear his own sin and the sin of your companion.’ The heir pardoned him and let him go. I then saw the man dragging his strap.

It was narrated from Urwah that Abdullah bin Az-Zubair told him: A man from the Ansar disputed with Az-Zubair over a watercourse in Al-Harrah used to irrigate their date palms. The Ansari said, ‘Let the water flow on.’ Az-Zubair refused, and they brought their dispute to the Messenger of Allah. He said, ‘Irrigate your land first, Zubair, then let the water flow to your neighbor.’ The Ansari became angry and said, ‘Is it because he is your cousin?’ The Messenger of Allah’s face changed, and he said, ‘Irrigate, Zubair, then hold the water back until it reaches the boundary walls.’ Az-Zubair said, ‘I think this verse was revealed about this: “But no, by your Lord, they will not believe…”’

It was narrated from Ibn Abbas that Barirah’s husband was a slave named Mughith. I can almost see him walking behind her, weeping, with tears running down his beard. The Prophet said to Al-Abbas, ‘Are you not amazed at Mughith’s love for Barirah and Barirah’s aversion to Mughith?’ The Prophet said to her, ‘Would you take him back? He is the father of your child.’ She asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, are you ordering me to do so?’ He said, ‘I am only interceding.’ She replied, ‘I have no need of him.’

It was narrated that Jabir bin Abdullah said: A man from the Ansar declared that his slave would be freed after his death. The man was in need and owed a debt. The Messenger of Allah sold the slave for eight hundred dirhams and gave the money to the man, saying, ‘Pay your debt and provide for your dependents.’