appointment, he ruled by it; for what he knew before his appointment is equivalent to what he heard from the witnesses before his appointment, and what he knew during his appointment is equivalent to what he heard from the witnesses during his appointment. Our proof is the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "I am only a human, and you bring your disputes to me. Perhaps some of you may be more eloquent in his argument than others, so I judge in his favor according to what I hear from him" (5). This indicates that he only judges by what he hears, not by what he knows. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said in the case of the Hadrami and the Kindi: "Your two witnesses or his oath; you have nothing from him except that" (6). It was narrated from 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, that two men disputed before him, and one of them said to him: "You are my witness." He replied: "If you wish, I will bear witness and not judge, or I will judge and not bear witness" (7). Ibn 'Abd al-Barr mentioned, [in his book] (8), from 'Aisha, may Allah be pleased with them both, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent Abu Jahm to collect the alms (9), and a man disputed with him over an obligation, during which they exchanged blows. They came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and he gave them the compensation (arsh), then said: "I am going to address the people and inform them that you have been satisfied. Are you satisfied?" They said: "Yes." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) then ascended the pulpit (10), and he spoke and mentioned the story,
(5) Recorded by al-Bukhari, in: The Chapter on the One Who Establishes Evidence After the Oath, from the Book of Testimony; in: The Chapter on "Muhammad ibn Kathir narrated to us", from the Book of Legal Stratagems (al-Hiyal); and in: The Chapter on the Imam's Exhortation to Litigants, from the Book of Judgments. Sahih al-Bukhari 3/235, 9/32, 86. Also by Muslim, in: The Chapter on Judging by the Manifest and Eloquence in Argument, from the Book of Judicial Decisions. Sahih Muslim 13/1337. Abu Dawud, in: The Chapter on the Judgment of a Judge if He Makes a Mistake, from the Book of Judicial Decisions. Sunan Abi Dawud 2/270, 271. Al-Tirmidhi, in: The Chapter on What Has Been Reported Regarding Severity..., from the Book of Judgments. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 6/83, 84. Al-Nasa'i, in: The Chapter on Judging by the Manifest, and the Chapter on What Terminates a Judicial Decision, from the Book of Judicial Decisions. Al-Mujtaba 8/205, 217. Ibn Majah, in: The Chapter on the Judge's Case Not Rendering the Forbidden Lawful Nor the Lawful Forbidden, from the Book of Judgments. Sunan Ibn Majah 2/777. Imam Malik, in: The Chapter on Encouragement to Judge with Truth, from the Book of Judicial Decisions. Al-Muwatta 2/719. Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 6/203, 290, 291, 308, 320. (6) Recorded by Muslim, in: The Chapter on the Threat for Whoever Seizes the Right of a Muslim with a Perjured Oath, from the Book of Faith. Sahih Muslim 1/123, 124. Abu Dawud, in: The Chapter on Whoever Takes an Oath..., from the Book of Oaths, and in: The Chapter on the Man Who Swears to His Knowledge Regarding What He Was Absent From, from the Book of Judicial Decisions. Sunan Abi Dawud 2/198, 280. Al-Tirmidhi, in: The Chapter on What Has Been Reported That the Burden of Proof Is Upon the Plaintiff..., from the Book of Judgments. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 6/86. (7) Recorded by Ibn Abi Shaybah, in: The Chapter on the Man Who Claims the Judge's or Governor's Testimony, from the Book of Sales. Al-Musannaf 6/538. (8) Omitted from the original. (9) In the original, there is an addition: "he gave them". (10) Omitted from [MS] B and M.
