O Mensageiro de Allah ﷺ costumava nomear os juízes; nomeou 'Ali como juiz do Iêmen e deu-lhe instruções sobre como julgar, dizendo: "Se duas pessoas em disputa vierem a você, não julgue em favor de nenhuma delas até ter ouvido o que a outra tem a dizer." Ele ﷺ também nomeou 'Abdullah ibn Nawfal como juiz de Madinah.

The Messenger of Allah (saw) used to appoint the judges; he appointed ‘Ali as judge over Yemen and he gave him instructions about how to judge by saying, “If two disputing persons came to you do not judge for either of them until you have heard what the other had to say.” He (saw) also appointed ‘Abdullah ibn Nawfal as judge over Madinah.

No entanto, nem todos os juízes eram do mesmo tipo, e as áreas sobre as quais exerciam jurisdição variavam de acordo com as funções que lhes eram atribuídas. Alguns juízes ocupavam-se das disputas entre as pessoas, outros de resolver tudo o que prejudicasse o interesse comum do povo, e outros tratavam da área das disputas entre o povo e aqueles que estavam em autoridade sobre eles.

However, all the judges were not of one type, and the areas over which they had jurisdiction varied according to the roles they were allocated. Some judges were concerned with the disputes between the people, others with settling whatever harms the common interest of the people and others dealt with the area of disputes between the people and those who were in authority over them.