Judgement is in fact the identification of the legal nature...

Judgement is in fact the identification of the legal nature of points under dispute, whether they pertain to defense and accusation in a court, or to matters such as the sighting of the moon and the determination of the beginning of the month, or the administration of endowments and the determination of lineage, and it demands great wisdom and intellectual ability. In fact it is more difficult a task than issuing a "fatwa".

Now, if somebody who is devoid of these qualities undertakes to perform this duty, it will certainly do more harm than good. Accordingly, it is unlawful in Imamiyah "fiqh" for anyone except a just mujtahid to undertake to perform this work. Indeed, it is regarded as one of the major sins if anyone else does do it, and the extent of its enormity borders on infidelity. Our respected teachers used to be very cautious about passing judgements. We also follow the same line.

Judgment can only be passed on the basis of three things: (1)confession (iqrar), (2)an oath (qasm), or (3) two just witnesses (bayyinah).

The question of how to establish preference or priority in cases where there may be difference or contradiction between the witnesses is a matter for the section of fiqh which deals with the giving of evidence, and there is little point in going into the details here suffice it to say that the matter has been examined in great detail by our jurists and they have left many writings on it. We, also, have written a book on the subject called "Tahriru 'l-majallah".

One who does not act in accordance with the order of the authorized "qadi" (i.e. one who fulfills all the conditions of a "qadi"), will be considered to have violated the divine commands. Also no one has the right to revise the decision of a "qadi". Of course, the qadihimself may re-examine his judgment. 12.

Slaughtering and Hunting The basic principle in Shi'ah jurisprudence concerning animals whose blood spurts 4 is that they become "najis" (impure) when they die, and that it is unlawful (haram) to eat their flesh.

There is also a division of animals into two categories: those which are impure (najis) in essence and cannot become pure, such as the dog and the pig, and cannot therefore on no account be eaten; and those which become essentially impure if they die in any way other than as a result of hunting or slaughtering in accordance with the shari'ah, but which become pure if they are correctly hunted or slaughtered in accordance with the rules laid out below.