The Judiciary is the pronouncement of the rule that becomes binding. It settles the disputes between the people and prevents that which harms the community’s rights, or it eliminates the disputes arising between people and members of the ruling system – both rulers and civil servants – from the Head of State downwards.

The origin of the judiciary and its legitimacy is the Book and the Sunnah. As for the Book, the words of Allah (swt)

“And judge, [O Muhammad], between them by what Allah has revealed.” (TMQ 5:45), and His (swt) words

“And when they are called to [the words of] Allah and His Messenger to judge between them.” (TMQ 24:48).

As for the Sunnah, the Messenger (pbuh) used to undertake the judiciary by himself and judge between the people, such as what Bukhari narrated from 'Aisha (ra), the wife of the Prophet (phuh) , that she said

)كَانَ عُتْبَةُ بْنُ أَيبي وَقَّاصٍ عَيهدَ إيلَى أَ ي خييه سَعْ ي د بْ ي ن أَيبي وَقَّاصٍ أَنَّ ابْنَ وَلييدَةي زَمْعَةَ يمنِّي فَاقْبيضْهُ، قَالَتْ: فَ لَمَّا كَانَ عَامُ الْفَتْ ي ح أَخَذَهُ سَعْدُ بْنُ أَيبي وَقَّاصٍ وَقَالَ: ابْنُ أَ ي خي قَدْ عَيهدَ إيلَََّ فيييه ، فَ قَامَ عَبْدُ بْنُ زَمْعَةَ فَ قَالَ: أَ ي خي وَابْنُ وَلييدَةي أَيبي وُليدَ عَلَى فيرَا ي شيه، فَ تَسَاوَقَا إيلَى فَ قَالَ سَعْدٌ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّيه، ابْنُ أَ ي خي كَانَ قَدْ عَيهدَ إيلَََّ فيييه، فَ قَالَ عَبْدُ بْنُ زَمْعَةَ:  النَّيبِِّ ،» هُوَ لَكَ يَا عَبْدُ بْنَ زَمْعَة « : أَ ي خ ي وَابْنُ وَ لييدَةي أَيبي وُليدَ عَلَى فيرَا ي شيه ، فَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّيه )» الْوَلَدُ لِلْفِرَاشِ وَلِلْعَاهِرِ الْحَجَرُ « : ثُمَّ قَالَ النَّيبُِّ

“`Utba bin Abu Waqqas took a firm promise from his brother Sa`d bin Abu Waqqas to take the son of the slave-girl of Zam`a into his custody as he was his (i.e. `Utba's) son. In the year of the Conquest (of Mecca) Sa`d bin Abu Waqqas took him, and said that he was his brother's son, and his brother took a promise from him to that effect. 'Abu bin Zam`a got up and said, "He is my brother and the son of the slave-girl of my father and was born on my father's bed." Then they both went to the Prophet (phuh) Sa`d said, "O Allah's Prophet (phuh) ! He is the son of my brother and he has taken a promise from me that I will take him." 'Abu bin Zam`a said, "(He is) my brother and the son of my father's slave-girl and was born on my father's bed." Allah's Prophet (phuh) said, "The boy is for you. O 'Abu bin Zam`a." Then the Prophet (phuh) said, "The son is for the bed (i.e. the man on whose bed he was born) and stones for the one who has done illegal sexual intercourse”. And the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) used to appoint judges; he appointed ‘Ali (ra) as the judge over Yemen and he gave him instructions about how to judge by saying:

 إِذَا تَ قَاضَى إِلَيْكَ رَجُلاَنِ، فَلاَ تَ قْضِ لِلأَوَّلِ حَتَّى تَسْمَعَ كَلامَ الآخَرِ، فَسَوْفَ « » تَدْرِي كَيْفَ تَ قْضِي

“Do not judge for the first until you have heard the statement of the other. Soon you will know how to judge.” reported by Al-Tirmidhi, and Ahmad, and in the report of Ahmad with the wording

 إِذَا جَلَسَ إِلَيْكَ الْخَصْمَانِ، فَلا تَكَلَّمْ حَتَّى تَسْمَعَ مِنْ الآخَرِ كَمَا سَمِعْتَ « » مِنَ الأَوَّلِ

“When two litigants sit in fron of you, do not decide (and speak) until you listen from the second what you have heard from the first.”

The method of adjudication carried out by the Messenger (pbuh) can be deduced from the narration of 'Aisha (ra) that Sa’ad and ‘Abd Bin Zuma’ah disputed over the son of Zuma’ah, so each one of them claimed that he was his. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) informed them of the Shari’ah rule that the son of Sawda bint Zuma’ah was the brother of ‘Abd Bin Zuma’ah, and that the child belongs to the one on whose bed it is born. Therefore, his judgement was information about the Shari’ah rule which he then enforced upon them, and so Abd Bin Zuma’ah took the child. This is the proof for Article 75, which gives the definition of the judiciary, and this definition serves as a description of the reality. However, since it is a Shari’ah reality, and since the Shari’ah definition is in fact a Shari’ah rule, it ,therefore, requires evidence from which it is to be deduced, and this narration serves as an evidence for the definition of the judiciary found in this article.

Some people defined the judiciary as being the “settling of disputes between people”, and this definition is deficient from one angle, and from another angle it is not a description of the reality of the judiciary as reflected in the Messenger of Allah (pbuh)’s actions and sayings. Rather, this definition is merely an explanation of what may or may not occur from the judiciary. The judge may rule upon the case and not settle the dispute between the parties. Therefore, the comprehensive and exclusive definition would be the one mentioned in this article and it has been deduced from the narrations.

Also, this definition includes the judgement between people, and this is mentioned in the narration of 'Aisha (ra). It also includes the Hisbah (public order) which is: “Conveying the Shari’ah rule for the purpose of enforcing it regarding that which causes harm to the rights of the community”. This is what has been narrated in the narration of the heap of food. It is narrated in Sahih Muslim on the authority of Abu Huraira that

 مَرَّ عَلَى صُبْ رَةِ طَعَامٍ فَأَدْخَلَ يَدَهُ فِيهَا فَ نَالَتْ أَصَابِعُهُ  أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ « بَ لَلاً، فَ قَالَ: مَا هَذَا يَا صَاحِبَ الطَّعَامِ ؟ قَالَ: أَصَابَ تْهُ السَّمَاءُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، قَالَ: أَفَلاَ » جَعَلْتَهُ فَ وْقَ الطَّعَامِ كيْ يَ رَاهُ النَّاسُ، مَنْ غَشَّ فَ لَيْسَ مِنِّي

“The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) happened to pass by a heap of eatables. He thrust his hand in that (heap) and his fingers were moistened. He said to the owner: What is this? He replied: Messenger of Allah, these have been drenched by rainfall. He remarked: Why did you not place this (the drenched part of the heap) over other eatables so that people could see it? He who deceives is not of me (is not my follower).” and in the report in Ahmad and Ibn Maja and Al-Darimi

» مَنْ غَشَّ نَا فَ لَيْسَ مِنِّا «

“He who deceives us is not from us”.

It also includes the Madhalim (injustices), because they are part of the judiciary and not part of the ruling, since they are complaints against the ruler. The Madhalim is defined as “Conveying the Shari’ah rule for the purpose of enforcing it regarding the disputes which occur between the people and the Khalifah, his governors or civil servants, and regarding what occurs between the Muslims due to differences in the meaning a text from the Shari’ah texts used in order to judge by them and to rule according to them.” The Madhalim were mentioned in the narration of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) regarding the fixing of prices where he said:

وَإِنِّي لأَرْجُو أَنْ أَلْقَى اللَّهَ وَلا يَطْلُبُنِي أَحَ دٌ بِمَظْلِمَةٍ ظَلَمْ تُ هَا إِي اَّهُ فِي دَمٍ وَلا « » مَالٍ

“And I am hopeful that I will meet Allah and none of you are seeking (recompense from) me for an injustice (I have inflicted) involving blood or wealth.” reported by Ahmad from Anas Bin Malik, and in his words

 مَنْ أَخَذْتُ لَهُ مَالاً فَ هَذَا مَالِي فَ لْيَأْخُذْ مِنْهُ، وَمَنْ جَ لَ دْتُ لَهُ ظَهْراً فَ هَذَا « » ظَهْرِي فَ لْيَ قْتَصَّ مِنْه

“Whoever I took property from, here is my property; let him take from it, and whosever back I whipped, here is my back to take recompense from.” reported by Abu Ya’la from Al-Fadl Bin ‘Abbas. Al-Haythami said that ‘Ata’ b. Muslim, who is in the chain of Abu Ya’la, has been considered trustworthy by Ibn Hibban and others, whereas others have weakened him, and the rest of the narrators are trustworthy. This indicates that the issue of the ruler, governor or civil servant is raised to the judge of the Court of Injustices (Madhalim) in any claim of an injustice, and the judge of the Court of Injustices (Madhalim) conveys the Shari’ah rule which would be binding.

Based upon this, the definition would encompass the three types of judiciary reflected in the narrations and actions of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) . These are the settling of disputes between people, preventing whatever may harm the rights of the community and the settling of the disputes between the subjects and the rulers, or between the subjects and the civil servants in their work.