Deviating from the Law of Allah and Adjudicating by Man-Made Laws

The Shaykh : Whoever rules his people other than by the Law of Allah has not acted justly; rather, he is a disbeliever, may Allah protect us from that. For Allah said: If this ruler establishes laws for his people that contradict the Shari'ah, and he knows that he is contradicting the Shari'ah, but he deviates from it and says, "I do not deviate from the law," then he is a disbeliever. Even if he prays, gives charity, fasts, performs Hajj, remembers Allah, and testifies to the Messenger's (peace and blessings be upon him) message, he is a disbeliever who will remain in the Fire of Hell on the Day of Resurrection. It is not permissible for him to hold authority over a Muslim people if the people are able to remove him from power. The most important aspect of justice in an imam is that he rules people by the Law of Allah.
And justice is to be equitable between the poor and the rich, between the enemy and the friend, and between the near and the far. Even with the enemy, he must be equitable with him and the friend in matters of judgment. The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) said: If two men enter before a judge, one a disbeliever and the other a Muslim, it is forbidden for him to distinguish the Muslim by anything. They all enter, they all sit before the judge, and the judge speaks to them all. He does not speak to one without the other. He does not smile at the Muslim and scowl at the disbeliever. No, at this stage of judgment, he must be equitable between them, even though the disbeliever is certainly not like the Muslim. But in the matter of judgment, people are equal.
And justice is to establish the hudud (fixed punishments) that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has prescribed for everyone, even for his own children and descendants. Indeed, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who is the most just of the imams, when intercession was made to him regarding a woman from the Banu Makhzum, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered her hand to be cut off. Usamah interceded for her, and he said to him: meaning, "I swear by Allah, May Allah bless you, O Messenger of Allah. Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad, is the noblest of women, the mistress of the women of Paradise, the daughter of the best of mankind. If she were to steal, her hand would be cut off, and he is her father." Reflect on this: he said, and he did not say, "I would order her hand to be cut off." The apparent meaning is that he himself would carry out the cutting of her hand if his daughter were to steal. This is justice, and by this the heavens and the earth were established, and by this the heavens and the earth were established.
And justice is for the imam to appoint to positions those who are qualified for them in their religion and strength: trustworthy, strong, and qualified for the matter over which they are appointed. The pillars of authority—indeed, authority has two pillars: strength and trustworthiness. Allah the Exalted said: Who? To Sulayman: meaning, with the throne of Bilqis. So justice is not to appoint anyone to a position unless he is qualified in his strength and his trustworthiness. If he does otherwise, he is not just. If he does so—meaning, if he appoints someone who is not qualified while there is someone better than him—he is not just.
And the important point is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made the just imam one of the seven whom Allah will shade in His shade on a day when there is no shade except His. He made him the first of these seven, the first of these seven, because justice in the subjects is very difficult, very difficult. If a person whom Allah has placed in charge of His servants is guided to justice, he attains much good in this, and the community benefits in his era and after him, because he becomes a good role model. So he is among those whom Allah will shade in His shade on a day when there is no shade except His. And, if Allah wills, the rest of the speech regarding the seven will come.