El Mensajero de Allah ﷺ solía designar a los jueces; designó a ‘Ali como juez en Yemen y le dio instrucciones sobre cómo juzgar, diciéndole: “Si dos personas en disputa acuden a ti, no juzgues a favor de ninguna de ellas hasta que hayas escuchado lo que tenga que decir la otra.” El Mensajero de Allah ﷺ también designó a ‘Abdullah ibn Nawfal como juez en Madinah.

The Messenger of Allah (saw) used to appoint the judges; he appointed ‘Ali as judge over Yemen and he gave him instructions about how to judge by saying, “If two disputing persons came to you do not judge for either of them until you have heard what the other had to say.” He (saw) also appointed ‘Abdullah ibn Nawfal as judge over Madinah.

Sin embargo, no todos los jueces eran del mismo tipo, y los ámbitos sobre los que ejercían su jurisdicción variaban según las funciones que se les asignaban. Algunos jueces se ocupaban de las disputas entre las personas, otros de resolver todo aquello que perjudicara el interés común del pueblo, y otros trataban el ámbito de los litigios entre el pueblo y quienes tenían autoridad sobre ellos.

However, all the judges were not of one type, and the areas over which they had jurisdiction varied according to the roles they were allocated. Some judges were concerned with the disputes between the people, others with settling whatever harms the common interest of the people and others dealt with the area of disputes between the people and those who were in authority over them.