Seeking Judgment from the Pious, the Peacemakers, and Tribal Customs

The Shaykh:
Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Baz, may Allah give you the best reward for this blessed and good guidance, and may He place it in the scale of your good deeds on the Day you meet Him. The truth is that the questions are very numerous, but

The presenter:
in a hurry.

The Shaykh:
And on his face. Quickly.

The presenter:
We mention.

The Shaykh:
What is feasible. More than that. We ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, to help the Shaykh extend as much time as he can, given the large number of questions and the importance of many of them.

The questioner:
This questioner says: Your Eminence, Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Baz (may Allah preserve him), peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings. He says: Shaykh, among some of our tribes there is a custom I would like to ask about. It is that if two people from the tribe dispute, they go to a specific person called the "reconciler" of the tribe, like their chief or Shaykh, who adjudicates disputes and conflicts, then reconciles the disputing parties and compels each of them to a specific matter, such as paying money or the like, which may be a large amount. If they do not reconcile after that, the tribe members disparage those who did not accept this ruling. What is the ruling on this practice, which is resorting to what is called "suloom" and customs among tribes? And what is your guidance in this? May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh:
This custom that some tribes practice is a bad, reprehensible custom from the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah). The judgment belongs to Allah, not to the tribal chiefs or anyone else. He, Exalted and Majestic is He, says: And if he appoints them as a reconciler or a judge or otherwise, he compels the people, when they dispute, to accept what he sees. And the one who does not comply is censured or boycotted. This is reprehensible and not permissible. It is obligatory to resort to the Shari'ah, to the Shari'ah courts. As for appointing a reconciler or a judge or anyone else to compel the disputing parties to accept something based on his opinion, this is reprehensible and not permissible. However, there is nothing wrong with reconciliation. Reconciliation between people without compulsion is permissible. Allah, Exalted and Majestic is He, says: and do not make things ambiguous. And Allah, the Exalted, says: "And reconcile; reconciliation is better." Reconciliation between people when they dispute is required, but it must be by consent and without coercion, and it must be based on the rules of the Shari'ah, not the rules of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance. So if he reconciles between two brothers, or between two families, or between two tribes, he reconciles them by a Shari'ah ruling: the wronged parties are given what satisfies them, or they seek forgiveness and forgive, or something similar, without coercion. There is nothing wrong with that. Reconciliation is better when it is by consent. As for forcing Zayd or 'Amr, or boycotting him, or legislating for him, this is not appropriate. We ask Allah for well-being.

The presenter:
May Allah reward you. Your Eminence the Shaykh,