Is a judge's written ruling valid if the intended recipient judge dies, is removed, or commits a sin before receiving the letter?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Judiciary
Primary text
The letter must be accepted and acted upon by whomever succeeds the recipient judge in authority. This view is held by Al-Shafi'i and was narrated from Al-Hasan, citing an instance where a letter was acted upon after the recipient judge was replaced.
Supporting text
Abu Hanifa holds that it should not be acted upon, viewing the judge's letter as testimony upon testimony, and asserting that no one else can rule based on testimony given before a different judge.