it is valid; because partition by mutual consent is a sale, and purchasing it in this manner is permissible. The analogy for the issue preceding this is that the road remains as it is in the share of the other, as long as he did not stipulate its diversion, like the flow of water. And Allah knows best.

Section: He said: The father and the executor [wasi] have the authority to partition the minor's property with his partner; because partition is either a setting apart of a right or a sale, and both are permissible for them. Also, because there is a benefit for the child in the partition, so it is permissible, just as purchasing for him is. It is permissible for them to conduct a partition by mutual consent without an increase in the consideration, because it involves warding off the harm of partnership, so it resembles the case if he sold it due to the harm of the need to pay a debt or the need for maintenance.

Section: The appointment to the judiciary is not valid except by the designation of the Imam, or someone to whom the Imam has delegated that authority. If the one who appoints him is not upright, is his appointment valid? There are two views. The Imam is obligated to choose for the judiciary among the Muslims the best person he can find for them. The expressions through which the appointment is formed are divided into explicit and implicit. The explicit are seven expressions, namely: I have appointed you to judge, I have invested you with authority, I have appointed you as my deputy, I have appointed you as my successor, I have returned the judgment to you, I have delegated to you, and I have placed upon you. If one of these expressions is found from the appointer, and the answer of the appointee is acceptance, the appointment is concluded. As for the implicit, they are four expressions: I have relied upon you, I have counted on you, I have entrusted to you, and I have assigned to you. The appointment is not concluded by these until a contextual indicator is conjoined with them, such as his saying: "Judge in that which I have entrusted to you," "Look into that which I have assigned to you," and "Undertake that which I have counted on you for." When the appointment is valid and general, the judge thereby gains the oversight of ten matters: settling disputes between litigants, exacting the right from the one against whom it is established and paying it to the one entitled to it, oversight of the wealth of orphans and the insane, interdicting those whom he deems necessary to interdict due to incompetence or bankruptcy, oversight of the religious endowments (awqaf) in terms of preserving their capital and disbursing their revenues according to what the endower stipulated, marrying off unmarried women who have no guardians, implementing the legal punishments (hudud), and looking after the interests of the Muslims in terms of keeping harm away from the Muslims' roads and courtyards, examining the condition of his witnesses and trustees, replacing those among them whose disrepute has been proven, and leading the Friday and Eid prayers. Regarding the collection of land tax (kharaj) and the taking of charity (sadaqah), there are two views.

Section: He advises the agents and assistants at his door to fear Allah the Almighty, to be gentle with litigants, and to be free of greed. He should strive that they be none other than elder or middle-aged men of religion, integrity, and chastity.

Section: Ibn al-Mundhir said: It is disliked for a judge to issue legal opinions (fatwa) in judicial matters. Shurayh used to say: "I judge, but I do not issue fatwa." As for the fatwa in matters of ritual purity and other things in which there is no judgment, there is no harm in issuing a fatwa regarding them.