English
Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent me to Yemen as a judge, and I said: O Messenger of Allah, you send me while I am young and have no knowledge of judging. He said: Allah will guide your heart and make your tongue steadfast. When two men bring a case to you, do not rule for the first until you hear from the other, as that is more likely to clarify the judgment. He said: I never doubted a judgment after that.
Possible references (unverified, pending editorial review)
- Candidate: Sunan Abi Dawud 3582 (unverified) 99% confidence
- Candidate: Jami al-Tirmidhi 1331 (unverified) 96% confidence
- Candidate: Sunan Ibn Majah 2310 (unverified) 88% confidence
Confidence and text similarity are not editorial verification.
Commentary and footnotes (2)
Note 2
(2) Regarding the saying: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent me to Yemen as a judge, etc.: It is stated in al-Hidayah: The appointment of a judge is not valid unless the appointee meets the conditions of testimony and is qualified for striving. It is stated in al-Binaya: The correct view according to us is that this is a condition of priority, not validity. Some said it is a condition of validity, and al-Shafi‘i held this view. In Wajiz al-Shafi‘iyya: Judging requires specific qualities: being male, free, a mujtahid, sighted, and just. Thus, the judgment of a woman, blind person, child, immoral person, ignorant person, or follower is not permissible. Muhammad stated in al-Asl that a follower cannot be a judge, but al-Khasaf indicated its permissibility, as he said: A judge rules by his own striving if he has an opinion; if not, he asks a jurist and follows his ruling. The evidence that striving is not a condition of validity is what Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah narrated from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent me to Yemen as a judge, and I said: O Messenger of Allah! You send me while I am young and have no knowledge of judging, [the hadith]. Al-Hakim narrated it in his Mustadrak and said: Its chain is authentic, and they did not narrate it. Ali was not among the mujtahids at that time.
Note 2
(٢) قوله: بعثني رسول الله ﷺ إلى اليمن قاضيا إلخ: قال في (الهداية): ولا تصح ولاية القاضي حتى يجتمع في المولىشرائط الشهادة، ويكون من أهل الاجتهاد اهـ. وقال في (البناية): الصحيح عندنا أن هذا شرط الأولوية لا شرطالجواز. وقيل: شرط الجواز، وذهب إليه الشافعي. وفي (وجيز الشافعية): لا بُدَّ للقضاء من صفات، وهو أن يكونذَكَرًا حُرًّا مجتهدًا بصيرًا عدلًا، فلا يجوز قضاء المرأة والأعمى والصبي والفاسق والجاهل والمقلد، انتهى. وقد ذكرمحمدفي (الأصل): أن المقلد لا يجوز أن يكون قاضيا، وذكر الخصاف ما يدل على جوازه؛ لأنه قال القاضي يقضيباجتهاد نفسه إذا كان له رأي، فإن لم يكن له رأي سأل فقيهًا وأخذ بقوله. والدليل على أن الاجتهاد ليس بشرطالجواز ما أخرجه أبو داود والترمذي وابن ماجه عن علي رضی اللہ عنه ، قال: بعثني رسول الله ﷺ إلى اليمن قاضيا فقلت: يارسول الله! ترسلني وأنا حديث السن، ولا علم لي بالقضاء، الحديث، ورواه الحاكم أيجا في مستدركه، وقال: صحيحالإسناد، ولم يُخْرِّجاه. وعليٌّ لم يكن حينئذٍ من أهل الاجتهاد.