Should a ruler overturn any judgment where subsequent personal deliberation reveals an error, even without contradicting explicit texts or consensus?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Judiciary
Primary text
Abu Thur and Dawud hold that a ruler must overturn every judgment where subsequent deliberation reveals an error. They base this on the letter from 'Umar ibn Al-Khattab to Abu Musa, advising him that if he reviews a past judgment and realizes the truth, he should retract the error, as returning to truth is better than persisting in falsehood. Since it is an error, retraction is obligatory, similar to contradicting consensus. Malik is reported to agree with this principle regarding his own previous judgments.
Supporting text
The main argument against overturning based merely on changed Ijtihad (independent reasoning) or disagreement with a predecessor's Ijtihad is the established consensus among the Companions (Sahaba). Abu Bakr's rulings were not overturned by 'Umar, nor were 'Umar's by 'Ali, even when they differed on matters like the distribution of the public treasury (Fay'). This principle prevents the instability where every subsequent ruler overturns the last, leading to no judgment being firmly established.