When the Prophet deputed him to Yemen in the capacity of a judge...

When the Prophet deputed him to Yemen in the capacity of a judge, he asked him: "On what will you rely for resolving the differences". To this he replied: "On the Book of Allah, the Qur'an". The Prophet said: "If nothing specific is found in the Book of Allah on the point at issue, on what basis will you give the judgement? " He replied: "On the basis of the judgements of the Prophet of Allah, for I have observed your judgements in different matters and have committed them to memory.

If there crops up a matter, which is similar to the one in which you have given a verdict, I shall make use of it and give judgement accordingly".

The Prophet asked for the third time: "What course will you adopt when a problem crops up about which there is nothing specific either in the Book of Allah or in my judgements?" He replied: "In such cases I shall resort to Ijtihad (process of deducing Islamic laws) and give a decision on the basis of the Holy Qur'an and your traditions with equity and justice".

The Prophet then said: "Thanked be Allah that He has enabled His Prophet to choose for the administration of justice a person, whose actions are commensurate with His Will".[^2] Story Of Ka'b Bin Zuhayr Bin Abi Sulma Zuhayr bin Abi Sulma was one of the poets of the Age of Ignorance who had written one of the seven Mu'allaqat i.e.

the masterpieces of poetry, which remained suspended on the walls of the Ka'bah for a long time before the revelation of the Qur'an, and were a source of pride and glory in the literature of the Arab world. He died before the commencement of the prophethood of the Prophet, leaving behind two sons named Buhayr and Ka'b. Buhayr was a faithful supporter of the Prophet but Ka'b was considered to be one of his ruthless enemies. As he was endowed with a strong inherited talent (i.e.

poetry) he calumniated and abused the Prophet in his verses and instigated the people to rise against Islam. The Prophet arrived in Madina on the 24th of Zil Qa'dah. Buhayr, the brother of Ka'b had accompanied the Prophet during the conquest of Makkah and the siege of Ta'if as well as at the time of his return to Madina.

He observed that the Prophet had threatened with death some poets, who were scurrilous like his brother, and who instigated people to rise against Islam, and had declared their blood to be lawful and eventually one of them had been killed, and two others had fled to some unknown destination.