Is a judge required to be just (Adil)?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Judiciary
Primary text
Justice is an absolute requirement for a judge; thus, appointing a person known for flagrant disobedience (*Fasiq*) or one who possesses a defect preventing the acceptance of testimony is impermissible. The basis for this is the command in the Quran to verify news brought by a transgressor (Quran 20:6), implying a judge, whose word carries the force of obligation, cannot be someone whose pronouncements require mandatory verification. Furthermore, since a transgressor cannot serve as a witness, it is more appropriate that he is barred from being a judge.
Supporting text
It is related that Al-Asamm permitted a judge to be a transgressor, citing a hadith where the Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned future rulers who delay prayers, commanding people to pray on time and offering their subsequent prayers as voluntary. However, this hadith only describes the occurrence of these rulers, not their legitimacy or the validity of their rulings, which is the point of contention.