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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books ‘Ali: The Best of the Sahabah Hadith Al-Qadha, An Age Of Jungle Justice I ============================================== The khalifah of Muslims is also their sovereign judge: يا داوود إنا جعلناك خليفة في الأرض فاحكم بين الناس بالحق O Dawud! We have appointed you a khalifah over the earth.

Therefore, judge between mankind with the truth.[^1] Since ‘Umar was recognized by most Muslims of his time as their khalifah , it follows naturally that he was also their sovereign judge. The question is: was ‘Umar a competent judge? To find the answer, we must look at some iconic cases decided by ‘Umar b. al-Khaṭṭab. Imam Ibn Khuzaymah (d.

311 H) records about an interesting case: ثنا يونس بن عبد الأعلى و محمد بن عبد الله بن الحكم قالا ثنا ابن وهب أخبرني جرير بن حازم عن سليمان بن مهران عن أبي ظبيان عن ابن عباس قال: مر علي بن أبي طالب بمجنونة بني فلان قد زنت أمر عمر برجمها فردها علي و قال لعمر : يا أمير المؤمنين أترجم هذه ؟ قال: نعم قال : أما تذكر أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم قال: رفع القلم عن ثلاثة عن المجنون المغلوب على عقله و عن النائم حتى يستيقظ و عن الصبي حتى يحتلم قال : صدقت فخلى عنها Yunus b. ‘Abd al-A’la and Muhammad b.

‘Abd Allah b. al-Hakam – Ibn Wahb – Jarir b. Hazim – Sulayman b. Mihran – Abu Zibyan – Ibn ‘Abbas: ‘Ali b. Abi Talib passed by a lunatic woman from so-and-so tribe, and she had committed adultery. ‘Umar ordered that she be stoned to death . So, ‘Ali returned her and said to ‘Umar, “O Amir al-Muminin! Do you want to stone this (woman)?” He (‘Umar) replied, “Yes”.

He (‘Ali) said, “Do you remember that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: ‘The pen has been lifted about three people: the mentally ill, the person sleeping until he wakes up, and the child until he becomes an adolescent.” He (‘Umar) responded, “You have said the truth”. So, ‘Umar freed her (i.e. the lunatic woman).[^2] ‘Allamah al-Albani (d. 1420 H) comments: حديث صحيح رجاله ثقات It is a sahih hadith . Its narrators are thiqah (trustworthy).