There are three types of judges: One is the Qadhi, and He is in charge of settling the disputes between people over transactions and penal codes. The second is the Muhtasib, who is in charge of settling any breach of law that may harm the right of the community. The third is the judge of Mazaalim, who is in charge of settling disputes between the people and the State.

These are the three types of judges. The evidence about the judge, who settles disputes between people, is derived from the actions of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), and from his appointment of Mu’az Ibnu Jabal over an area of Yemen. The evidence of the judiciary regarding the settling of disputes which endanger the rights of the community, where the judge is known as the Muhtasib, this is confirmed by the action and saying of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), for He said;

“He who cheats us is not one of me”, part of a Hadith narrated by Ahmad on the authority of Abu Huraira. He (pbuh) used to challenge the cheaters and punish them. Qays Ibnu Abi Gharza Al Kanani reported: “We used to buy cargo in Madinah and we would call ourselves brokers, so the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) came out to us and called us with a better name, He (pbuh) said;

‘O traders, verily the selling entails foolish talk and the taking of oaths, so do mix it with Sadaqah.’”

Ahmad narrated from Abi Minhal

“Zayd Ibnu Arqam and Al-Bara’ Ibnu Azib were partners, so they both bought some silver with cash on the spot and by credit. This news reached the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), so He ordered that the deal settled in cash there is no harm in it, and where it is sold in credit it must be rejected.” All this is within the judicial remit of the Hisba. Calling the judiciary that settles the disputes that may harm the right of the community as Hisba is in fact a technical term referring to a specific task carried out in the Islamic State, ie. Controlling the traders and skilled workers lest they cheat in their trade, or their work or their products, or forcing them to use the rights weights and measures, or any other type of action that may harm the community. These are the very types of actions that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) demonstrated, ordered to be observed, and personally applied judgement upon, as mentioned in the Hadith of Al-Bara’ Ibnu Azib, where He ordered both parties to abstain from selling silver by credit. Therefore, the evidence about the Hisba is from the Sunnah. Moreover, Rasool ul-Allah (pbuh) appointed Said bin Al-’Aas on the market of Makkah after the conquest, as it came in the book of ‘At- Tabaqat’ of Ibn Sa’d and in the book of ‘Al-Istee’aab’ of Ibn Katheer. ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab also appointed Al-Shifa, a woman from his clan, who was called Umm Sulaiman bin abi Hatmah, as a market judge (inspector) i.e. a judge of Hisba. He appointed, as well, ‘Abdullah bin ‘Utbah over the market of Al-Madinah, as it was reported by Malik in his ‘Muwatta’ and by Ash-Shafi’i in his ‘Musnad’. He would personally deal with the judiciary of the Hisba, and go around the markets just like the Messenger (pbuh) used to do. The Khaleefah continued to undertake the Hisbah till the time of Al-Mahdi who made a special department for the Hisbah, thus becoming one of the branches of the judiciary structure. At the time of Ar-Rasheed, the Muhtasib used to go around the markets, checking the weights and measures, and look into the traders’ transactions. The evidence for the judge of Mazaalim (unjust acts), is derived from Allah’s (pbuh) saying;

“If you dispute about something refer it to Allah and the Messenger.” [TMQ An- Nisa’: 59]

This came immediately after Allah’s (swt) saying;

“O you who believe obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority from amongst you.” [TMQ An-Nisa’a: 59]

Therefore, any dispute between the citizens and the people in authority should be referred to Allah and His Messenger i.e. to the rule of Allah. This necessitates the presence of a judge to give judgement on this dispute, and this is the judge of Mazaalim. This is because part of what is included in the definition of the Mazaalim (unjust acts) court is the dispute between the people and the Khaleefah. So the evidence on the judicialcourt of the Mazaalim is the action and words of the Messenger (pbuh). However, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) did not appoint a specific judge for the Mazaalim over the whole State, nor did the Khulafaa’ Ar-Rashidoon after him, for they used to undertake the Mazaalim themselves, as was the case with Ali Ibnu Abi Talibin He did not however have a specific time or a special method for the Mazaalim, He simply dealt with a Mazlama (an unjust act case) as it happened, so it was just part of his general duties. This approach remained the same until the days of ‘Abdul Malik Ibnu Marwan; He was the first Khaleefah to introduce a specific time for the Mazaalim. When He could not deal with a matter himself, He used to refer it to his judge to deal with it. Then the Khaleefah began to appoint deputies to look into people’s complaints, and a special system was then introduced for the Mazaalim, which was known as the “House of Justice” (Dar ul-’Adl). It is permissible to have a special judge for Mazaalim, because anything that falls under the mandatory powers of the Khaleefah, He is allowed to appoint deputies to perform that duty on his behalf. It is also permissible to have a specific time and a specific style, because all of this falls under the Mubah (allowed).