Etiquettes & Prohibitions for Judges

**Fourteen Etiquettes and Rulings for Judges:** --- **RECOMMENDED QUALITIES:** **1.** The judge should be **strong with dignity** - without arrogance or harshness - **gentle without weakness** - so the powerful don't hope for injustice, and the weak don't despair of justice. **2.** Should be **patient and deliberate**. **3.** Should have **intelligence and alertness** - not deceived by trickery or fooled by distraction. **4.** Should be **chaste, pious**, abstaining from what Allah forbade. **5.** Should be **content, truthful**, with sound judgment and consultation. Ali said: "A judge should not be a judge until he has five traits: chaste, forbearing, knowledgeable of what came before him, consults people of reason, does not fear blame for Allah's sake." --- **PROHIBITED ACTS:** **6.** **Forbidden** to whisper to one party, favor one, prompt one's argument, or teach one how to claim. **7.** **Forbidden** to judge while extremely angry. The Prophet ﷺ said: "A judge should not judge between two while angry" [Bukhari & Muslim]. By analogy: anything that disturbs thinking - problems, worries, hunger, thirst, fatigue, illness, etc. **8.** **Forbidden** to accept bribes. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Allah has cursed the briber and the one who takes bribes in judgment" [Tirmidhi - authentic]. Bribes prevent him from ruling for the rightful person, or make him rule falsely for the wrong person - both are great evils. **9.** **Forbidden** to accept gifts from disputants. Before disputes, if someone regularly gave gifts, the judge should abstain as well. The judge should keep himself above anything that affects his ruling or reputation - even buying and selling personally from those who know him, fearing favoritism. Such favoritism in transactions is like gifts. He should use an agent unknown to be his. **10.** **Not permitted** to judge for himself, his relatives whose testimony he wouldn't accept for, or against his enemy - due to suspicion in these cases. **11.** **Should not** judge based on his personal knowledge, as this leads to suspicion against him. --- **RECOMMENDED PRACTICES:** **12.** **Recommended** that the judge have a scribe to record cases, and assistants as needed - doorkeeper, character witness verifier, translator, etc. - due to his many responsibilities. **13.** **Obligatory** for the judge to rule by the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ. If not found there, by consensus. If he is a mujtahid (qualified scholar), he makes ijtihad. If not, he must seek a fatwa and follow it. **14.** **Obligatory** to be just between disputants in everything. Umar wrote to Abu Musa: "Treat people equally in your facial expression, your seating, and your justice - so that the noble does not hope for your bias, and the weak does not despair of your justice" [Daraqutni - authentic].