The Ruling of the Judge in Matters of Scholarly Disagreement

Question:
I said: O Shaykh, Abu Bakr informed us of these fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) issues in which there is khilaf (scholarly disagreement). So how does the judge rule between the disputing parties? Does he rule according to what he sees, or does the court make it the rajih (the stronger position) and attribute it to your judges?

Answer:
The judge rules with what becomes clear to him as being in accordance with the evidence. He takes from the opinions what is stronger for him based on the evidence. And if he rules with it, it becomes binding, because the judge’s ruling resolves the disagreement. So he rules with what is stronger based on the evidence. If the court is bound by a specific madhhab (school of jurisprudence), and the judge, for example, does not see this opinion as stronger in this issue, he refers the case. He does not rule in it; he does not rule in it; he refers it to another judge. He does not rule with something he believes is not correct. This is not permissible for him. But he refers it to someone else. This is the solution. Yes.