The judicial system in Islam is solely based on the Shari‘ah. We must be mindful of the fact that justice cannot be fully served until and unless Islam is applied in its totality. To do otherwise, would mean leaving parts of Allah’s commandments and accepting the rule of man as better able to cope with the issue at hand. This not only leads to the disruption of the society’s well-being but is also an acknowledgement that Allah (swt) is not truly the Sovereign. We find in the Qur’an, Allah (swt) says to the Prophet (saw) :

“But no by your Lord they can have no (real) faith until they make you judge in all disputes between them and in their souls find no resistance against your decisions but accept them with the fullest conviction.” [TMQ 4:65].

The details of the Islamic judicial system are discussed elsewhere (see the Judicial System), but it is useful to discuss here the relationship of the ruling system with the courts.

This category of judges within the ruling system of Islam consists of judges who settle disputes arising among the people and the State. This judge has jurisdiction within a court called Mahkamat al-Madhaalim (the Court of Unjust Acts) in the Islamic State. In essence, this judge of the Court of Unjust Acts is appointed to remove all unjust acts within the Islamic State, whether they are committed by the Khaleefah, governors, or any other official of the State. In cases of disputes between the people and the officials of the Islamic State, the judge of this court has the right to dismiss the official of the State once his negligence of the Shari‘ah or injustice committed upon the people is established.

As examples, this court may investigate all matters executed by the Islamic State involving discrimination upon citizens, improper application of the Shari‘ah, improper interpretation of the Shari‘ah or the Constitution of the Islamic State, negligence by the Khaleefah of the opinions given to him, forcing a tax unduly upon the citizens of the Islamic State, etc.

An interesting situation arises when a case is studied involving the Khaleefah’s negligence of the Shari‘ah. The Qadi al-Madhaalim will have to either pass a judgement in favour of the actions of the Khaleefah or against him. If it is in favour of the Khaleefah, then the Khaleefah’s mandate will remain, and will, in fact, render the case as being proper and not negligence. If, on the other hand, the judge decides against the Khaleefah, which entails negligence of the Shari‘ah, the Khaleefah must abide by the judgement of the judge. If he fails to do so, the judge will be authorised to remove the Khaleefah from his position on the grounds of negligence of Shari‘ah.