Rasulullah ﷺ dahulu melantik para hakim; baginda melantik ‘Ali sebagai hakim di Yaman dan memberikan kepadanya arahan tentang cara menghukum dengan bersabda, “Jika dua orang yang berselisih datang kepadamu, janganlah engkau menghukum untuk salah seorang daripada mereka sehingga engkau telah mendengar apa yang dikatakan oleh yang lain.” Baginda ﷺ juga melantik ‘Abdullah ibn Nawfal sebagai hakim di 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.

Namun, semua hakim tidak berasal dari satu jenis, dan bidang kuasa mereka berbeza-beza mengikut peranan yang diberikan kepada mereka. Sebahagian hakim menangani pertikaian antara rakyat, sebahagian lain menyelesaikan apa sahaja perkara yang merosakkan kepentingan umum rakyat, dan sebahagian yang lain mengendalikan pertikaian antara rakyat dengan mereka yang berkuasa ke atas mereka.

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.