judge while he is better than you." He said, "My father used to judge, and if anything was ambiguous to him, he would ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about it." He mentioned the Hadith (27). It was narrated by Umar ibn Shabbah in his book "Qudat al-Basra" (Judges of Basra). Sa'id also narrated in his "Sunan" on the authority of Amr ibn al-As, who said: Two litigants came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and he said to me, "O Amr, judge between them." I said, "You are more entitled to that than I, O Messenger of Allah." He said, "If you judge correctly between them, you shall have ten rewards; and if you make a mistake, you shall have one reward" (28). A similar account was narrated on the authority of Uqbah ibn Amir (29). Furthermore, because the Imam is occupied with many things concerning the interests of the Muslims, he cannot find time to judge between them. When he appoints a judge, it is recommended that he grant him the authority to appoint a deputy (istikhlaf), because he may have need of that. If he permits him to appoint a deputy, it is permissible without any disagreement that we know of. If he forbids him from doing so, he may not appoint a deputy, because his authority is based on the Imam's permission, and he does not have the right to do what he has forbidden him, just like an agent (wakil). If he remains silent (general appointment), he has the right to appoint a deputy. It is also possible that he does not have that right, because he acts based on permission, and thus he does not have what he was not granted permission for (30), just like an agent. The companions of al-Shafi'i have two views on this. The argument for the first view is that the purpose of the judiciary is to settle disputes between two litigants, and if he accomplishes this himself or through another, it is permissible, just as if he had permitted him to do so. It differs from agency, because the Imam appoints the judiciary for the Muslims, not for himself, unlike the agent (31). Therefore, if he appoints a deputy in a place where he does not have the right to do so, his ruling has the status of one who was not appointed.

Section: It is permissible for the Imam to appoint a judge with general authority over specific work, such that he vests him with the authority to oversee all rulings in a specific land. His ruling is then effective over those who reside there and those who come to him from outside its residents. It is also permissible for him to vest him with specific authority over general work, such that he says: "I have granted you the authority of judgment in financial debts (mudayanat) specifically, throughout my entire domain." It is also permissible for him to confine his authority to a specific amount of money, such as if he says: