Judging by other than what Allah has revealed
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Praise be to Allah alone, and may prayers and peace be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. Having reviewed the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta’s receipt of the inquiry sent to His Eminence the President by the honorable Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Mutlaq , the judge of Yada , and referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars under number (5927) dated 24/10/1425 AH, the questioner posed the following question: It is not hidden from your noble knowledge the customs and tribal traditions prevalent in the southern region of the Lands of the Two Holy Mosques , which contain many violations of the Shari'ah and lead to judging by other than the law of Allah, due to the tribal system that dominates that region. Therefore, from this standpoint and to clear our conscience, we are writing to your Eminence regarding some of these customs and traditions, hoping that your Eminence will issue a fatwa from the Permanent Committee for Ifta and send it to us so that we may print and distribute it among the people. A description of some of these customs and traditions was attached to the aforementioned letter, and its text is:
Referring disputes to those knowledgeable in tribal rulings, known as the "Muqri' (the decider)," "Al-Haqq (the right)," or "the tribal judge." For example, if the litigants appear before this Muqri', he takes guarantees from them before ruling that they will accept his judgment, such as taking guarantors or pledging the litigants' weapons with him. Then he hears from them and makes them swear oaths, and hears the testimony of witnesses when necessary, and then rules. If they do not accept his judgment, the one who did not accept becomes a litigant against the other before a higher-ranking "Muqri' al-Haqq," and the refusal becomes a stigma on the one who refused. It is known that going to these arbitrators may be by the consent and agreement of both parties, or it may be at the request of one party, socially compelling the other party to accept arbitration by this Muqri'. It should be noted that these parties do not consider what they are doing to be a legal ruling, but rather view it as a settlement that cuts off many disputes and preserves many evils. "Al-Mitharat" is the plural of "Mithar" and has several types, including "Mithar al-'Aani." "Al-'Aani" refers to a relative on the mother's side, such as a maternal uncle and his sons, or the sons of maternal aunts. For example, if I am from one tribe and my maternal uncles are from another tribe, and someone from my tribe aggresses against my maternal uncle or one of his sons, I must avenge him. The Mithar is a sum of money I take from the aggressor or his kin, ranging from (15,000) or more,
and I give it to my maternal uncle as a restoration of his honor. If I do this, he says, "May Allah whiten your face." It is known that this sum has no relation to the blood money for the crime, nor is it considered a settlement in the case, but rather a restoration of honor for the maternal uncle. Then the victim is free to settle with the aggressor or take retaliation. If the aggressor or his relatives refuse to pay the Mithar, a problem arises between me and them, which may lead to the shedding of blood. "Mithar al-Jar (the neighbor's Mithar)" is when my neighbor is aggressed upon and I am unable to help him with my hand, so I must take a sum of money from the aggressor or his relatives and give it to him as a restoration of his status as my neighbor. After that, he is free to resolve the issue between him and them. "Mithar al-Khawi" is similar to the previous one, but it applies when I am traveling or riding with a person, or he is riding or walking with me, and he is aggressed upon, and I am unable to help him with my hand due to young age or the like. In that case, I must get involved and demand that the aggressor and his relatives pay a sum of money to my Khawi as a restoration of his honor. "Deen al-Khamsa or al-'Ashara or more" is a type of oath administered by those to whom people refer to end their disputes. This occurs if there was a previous case, for example a crime committed by one person against another, which ended with a specific settlement. Guarantors are taken from the parties that the case is ended and that neither party will aggress against the other. If, after this settlement, one party aggresses against the other and they refer to the tribal Shaykh or what they call "Al-Haqq" in their custom, he takes a number of relatives of the aggressor, the number depending on the type of case, starting from five and its multiples up to forty-four in the case of murder. He draws a circle on the ground according to their number, and those who will swear enter it, and he makes them swear heavy oaths that they did not incite the aggressor to the crime, did not know about it, did not approve of it, and did not support it. They have formulas for the oath, including the swearer saying: "A barbaric freedom that cuts off wealth and offspring, that we did not incite, did not know, did not approve, did not support, and did not ally with in this crime... and so on." "Al-Gharam" is when the aggressor is ruled upon by the one called "Al-Haqq," who has appointed himself to judge between others by tribal rulings, and he rules that one of the litigants must pay a financial penalty. His tribe is then obligated to help him pay this penalty, and the penalty is distributed equally among the men of the tribe, and the Mithar previously mentioned is added to the penalty.
People resort to them to settle their disputes. This is the case when there is a prior case, for example, a crime committed by one person against another, which ended with a specific settlement. In such a case, guarantors are taken from the parties to ensure the conclusion of the case and that neither party attacks the other. If, after this settlement, one party attacks the other and they resort to the tribal sheikh or what they call "al-Haqq" (the right) in their custom, he takes a number of relatives of the aggressor. The number depends on the type of case, starting from five and its multiples, up to forty-four in the case of a killing. He draws a circle on the ground according to their number, and those who will swear the oath enter it. Then he makes them swear heavy oaths that they did not incite the perpetrator to the crime, did not know about it, and did not approve of it. They have specific formulas for the oath, such as the one who swears saying: "A barbaric freedom that severs wealth and offspring, that we did not incite, did not encourage, did not approve, did not plot, and did not support in this crime... and so on." Al-Gharam (the financial burden): This applies when the one called "al-Haqq," who has appointed himself to judge between others using tribal rulings, rules against the perpetrator with a financial penalty. His tribe is then obligated to help him pay this penalty. The penalty is distributed equally among the men of the tribe, and is added to the penalty mentioned previously.
which was explained earlier.
After studying the inquiry, the Committee responded that the mentioned rulings and resorting to customary laws and tribal principles, such as blood feuds, the debt of five or ten, al-Gharam, and others, are not Islamic rulings. Rather, they are tribal rulings by which it is not permissible to judge between people. It is forbidden for Muslims to resort to them, because they are a form of resorting to Taghut (tyranny), to which we have been forbidden to resort. Allah has commanded us to disbelieve in it, as He said in the Exalted verse:[An-Nisa 4:60]. It is not permissible for tribal sheikhs or anyone else to judge between people based on the customs and tribal principles mentioned above. Rather, it is obligatory for them to resort to the Islamic Shari'ah, in obedience to the command of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in His saying: [Al-Ma'idah 5:49], and His saying: [Al-Ma'idah 5:44], and His saying:
[Al-Ma'idah 5:44], and His saying, Exalted is He: [An-Nisa 4:65]. It is obligatory for everyone to resort to the pure law of Allah.
Referring disputes to those knowledgeable in tribal rulings, known as the "Muqri' (the decider)," "Al-Haqq (the right)," or "the tribal judge." For example, if the litigants appear before this Muqri', he takes guarantees from them before ruling that they will accept his judgment, such as taking guarantors or pledging the litigants' weapons with him. Then he hears from them and makes them swear oaths, and hears the testimony of witnesses when necessary, and then rules. If they do not accept his judgment, the one who did not accept becomes a litigant against the other before a higher-ranking "Muqri' al-Haqq," and the refusal becomes a stigma on the one who refused. It is known that going to these arbitrators may be by the consent and agreement of both parties, or it may be at the request of one party, socially compelling the other party to accept arbitration by this Muqri'. It should be noted that these parties do not consider what they are doing to be a legal ruling, but rather view it as a settlement that cuts off many disputes and preserves many evils. "Al-Mitharat" is the plural of "Mithar" and has several types, including "Mithar al-'Aani." "Al-'Aani" refers to a relative on the mother's side, such as a maternal uncle and his sons, or the sons of maternal aunts. For example, if I am from one tribe and my maternal uncles are from another tribe, and someone from my tribe aggresses against my maternal uncle or one of his sons, I must avenge him. The Mithar is a sum of money I take from the aggressor or his kin, ranging from (15,000) or more,
and I give it to my maternal uncle as a restoration of his honor. If I do this, he says, "May Allah whiten your face." It is known that this sum has no relation to the blood money for the crime, nor is it considered a settlement in the case, but rather a restoration of honor for the maternal uncle. Then the victim is free to settle with the aggressor or take retaliation. If the aggressor or his relatives refuse to pay the Mithar, a problem arises between me and them, which may lead to the shedding of blood. "Mithar al-Jar (the neighbor's Mithar)" is when my neighbor is aggressed upon and I am unable to help him with my hand, so I must take a sum of money from the aggressor or his relatives and give it to him as a restoration of his status as my neighbor. After that, he is free to resolve the issue between him and them. "Mithar al-Khawi" is similar to the previous one, but it applies when I am traveling or riding with a person, or he is riding or walking with me, and he is aggressed upon, and I am unable to help him with my hand due to young age or the like. In that case, I must get involved and demand that the aggressor and his relatives pay a sum of money to my Khawi as a restoration of his honor. "Deen al-Khamsa or al-'Ashara or more" is a type of oath administered by those to whom people refer to end their disputes. This occurs if there was a previous case, for example a crime committed by one person against another, which ended with a specific settlement. Guarantors are taken from the parties that the case is ended and that neither party will aggress against the other. If, after this settlement, one party aggresses against the other and they refer to the tribal Shaykh or what they call "Al-Haqq" in their custom, he takes a number of relatives of the aggressor, the number depending on the type of case, starting from five and its multiples up to forty-four in the case of murder. He draws a circle on the ground according to their number, and those who will swear enter it, and he makes them swear heavy oaths that they did not incite the aggressor to the crime, did not know about it, did not approve of it, and did not support it. They have formulas for the oath, including the swearer saying: "A barbaric freedom that cuts off wealth and offspring, that we did not incite, did not know, did not approve, did not support, and did not ally with in this crime... and so on." "Al-Gharam" is when the aggressor is ruled upon by the one called "Al-Haqq," who has appointed himself to judge between others by tribal rulings, and he rules that one of the litigants must pay a financial penalty. His tribe is then obligated to help him pay this penalty, and the penalty is distributed equally among the men of the tribe, and the Mithar previously mentioned is added to the penalty.
People resort to them to settle their disputes. This is the case when there is a prior case, for example, a crime committed by one person against another, which ended with a specific settlement. In such a case, guarantors are taken from the parties to ensure the conclusion of the case and that neither party attacks the other. If, after this settlement, one party attacks the other and they resort to the tribal sheikh or what they call "al-Haqq" (the right) in their custom, he takes a number of relatives of the aggressor. The number depends on the type of case, starting from five and its multiples, up to forty-four in the case of a killing. He draws a circle on the ground according to their number, and those who will swear the oath enter it. Then he makes them swear heavy oaths that they did not incite the perpetrator to the crime, did not know about it, and did not approve of it. They have specific formulas for the oath, such as the one who swears saying: "A barbaric freedom that severs wealth and offspring, that we did not incite, did not encourage, did not approve, did not plot, and did not support in this crime... and so on." Al-Gharam (the financial burden): This applies when the one called "al-Haqq," who has appointed himself to judge between others using tribal rulings, rules against the perpetrator with a financial penalty. His tribe is then obligated to help him pay this penalty. The penalty is distributed equally among the men of the tribe, and is added to the penalty mentioned previously.
which was explained earlier.
After studying the inquiry, the Committee responded that the mentioned rulings and resorting to customary laws and tribal principles, such as blood feuds, the debt of five or ten, al-Gharam, and others, are not Islamic rulings. Rather, they are tribal rulings by which it is not permissible to judge between people. It is forbidden for Muslims to resort to them, because they are a form of resorting to Taghut (tyranny), to which we have been forbidden to resort. Allah has commanded us to disbelieve in it, as He said in the Exalted verse:
Have you not seen those who claim to have believed in what was revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what was revealed before you? They wish to refer legislation to Taghut, while they were commanded to reject it; and Satan wishes to lead them far astray.
أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ يَزْعُمُونَ أَنَّهُمْ آمَنُوا بِمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ يُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يَتَحَاكَمُوا إِلَى الطَّاغُوتِ وَقَدْ أُمِرُوا أَنْ يَكْفُرُوا بِهِ وَيُرِيدُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَنْ يُضِلَّهُمْ ضَلاَلاً بَعِيدًاAnd judge, [O Muhammad], between them by what Allah has revealed and do not follow their inclinations
وَأَنِ احْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَهُمْAnd whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed - then it is those who are the disbelievers.
وَمَنْ لَمْ يَحْكُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَAnd whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed - then it is those who are the disbelievers.
وَمَنْ لَمْ يَحْكُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَBut no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission.
فَلاَ وَرَبِّكَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّى يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لاَ يَجِدُوا فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ حَرَجًا مِمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.