As the Islamic State of the Prophet ﷺ expanded, new officials of state were appointed to manage the ever-growing tasks especially in the new provinces. Once Yemen had joined the state under Bādhān ibn Sāsān, the Prophet ﷺ appointed separate judges to the province notably Ali ibn Abi Talib and Mua’th ibn Jabal. The judiciary was therefore a centralised institution in the time of the Prophet ﷺ, a situation which continued throughout the time of the Rightly Guided Caliphs and beyond although sometimes this was devolved to the governor if he was qualified. Al-Sallabi says, “Among these [governors] were some whom ‘Umar [ibn a-Khattab] kept as judges as well as appointing them as governors, as he did with Mu‘awiyah, and some from whom he took away the role of judge and limited them to their role as governor, as he did with al-Mugheerah and Abu Moosa al-Ash‘ari.”[1] This appointment of judges by the central government does not mean judicial independence was absent from the state. Sovereignty in an Islamic State is to the sharia, so …

There is no dispute among the classical scholars that it’s prohibited for a woman to hold a ruling position such as the Khaleefah or a waali (governor), although she can hold any other non-ruling governmental position, and be an active member of the Majlis al-Nuwaab (House of Representatives). This is based on the hadith narrated by Abi Bakra, that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was informed that the Persians had crowned the daughter of Chosroes as their ruler, he ﷺ said, لَنْ يُفْلِحَ قَوْمٌ وَلَّوْا أَمْرَهُمُ امْرَأَةً “People who appoint a woman over their affairs will never succeed.”[1] For further information on this topic see: However, the majority of scholars went a step further, and applied this hadith to judiciary by making analogy between ruling and judging, because the differences between them are subtle. Ibn al-Tin al-Safaqsi said: “Those who say that a woman cannot be appointed as a judge cite the hadith of Abu Bakra, and this is the opinion of the majority. Ibn Jarir al-Tabari disagreed, saying that it is permissible for her …

Sheikh Abu Iyas Mahmoud bin Abdul Latif al-Uweida from Jordan answers this question. He says, There are no clerics in Islam like those found in Judaism and Christianity. Every Muslim is commanded to carry the call of Islam, spread it, guard it, and abide by its rules. The ulema (scholars) and fuquhaa (jurists) are only there to teach people about Islam. They have no religious powers like those of the Jewish and Christian clergy, such as accepting the repentance of penitents, granting forgiveness, baptizing followers, legislating, and so on.

The case of Asia Bibi, a Christian who was sentenced to death in Pakistan for alleged blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, has thrown the spotlight on Islamic law (sharia) and its judiciary. Predictably the west has used the case to attack sharia as barbaric and label Islamic courts as kangaroo courts where no justice is served. The status of non-Muslims living under Islamic rule is also under fire where they are viewed as an oppressed minority subject to the tyranny of the Muslim majority.

The Caliphate’s judiciary is responsible for issuing judgments that are enforced by the state. It settles disputes between people, prevents whatever may harm the rights of the community and also settles disputes between people and any person who is part of the government whether this is the Caliph, his cabinet, civil servants or any other official.1 There is no separation between shari’a courts and civil courts as we find in some Muslim countries today. The basis of the judiciary is shari’a the same as all other institutions of the state. The non-Muslim citizens (dhimmi) will have their own courts for settling issues related to their religions such as marriage and divorce, but in societal matters they will use the courts of the state and be treated the same as Muslims with full access to equal justice. Contrary to anti-Islamic propaganda shari’a courts are not kangaroo courts. Judges are carefully chosen and have to fulfil more stringent conditions than judges in western judiciaries. Witnesses, both Muslim and non-Muslim, must be just for their evidence to be …