Explanation of the author's statement: "And ten qualities are required in the judge: that he be of age, of sound mind, and male"

The Shaykh : The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "And ten qualities are required in the judge". Before we discuss these qualities, we must know that every authority and every job requires two pillars: strength and trustworthiness. Strength means strength in that job, and trustworthiness means trustworthiness in it. So, a job that requires knowledge must be held by a knowledgeable person, and a job that relies on physical strength requires a physically strong person. And he must be trustworthy, because one who is not trustworthy cannot carry out the work in a satisfactory manner. The saying of the jinn ifrit to Sulayman indicates these two pillars. When Sulayman said, "Which of you will bring me her throne before they come to me as Muslims," . Every job and every authority requires these two pillars: strength and trustworthiness. Among the important jobs, which are among the most noble jobs in Islam, is the judiciary. So the judge must be strong, and what else? And trustworthy. Strong and trustworthy. So we now look at these descriptions mentioned by the author: how do they apply to which of the two matters, and are they sufficient for the intended meaning or do they exceed it? Because the general principle is what is referred to in the details. He says: "Ten qualities are required in the judge". The judge who judges between people must have ten qualities. The first is: "That he be of age", and the second is that he be: "of sound mind". The deficiency in these two is the completeness in these two: age and intellect. The deficiency is in youth and insanity. So a minor cannot be a judge. One who is below the age of maturity cannot be a judge, even if he has reached a high level of knowledge, even if he has reached a high level of intelligence. He can never be a judge. And what is the deficiency in, of the two qualities we mentioned?

The questioner : Strength.

The Shaykh : Strength. This is a defect in strength; he can never be strong enough to judge between people. And he is a fool who has not reached maturity. Yes, he is seven years old. We make him a judge in a town with fifteen thousand residents. We say, "Your judge, this boy, is not suitable, even if he is a scholar." Good. "Of sound mind". The opposite is the insane. The insane cannot validly be a judge because he has no intellect. Which of the two descriptions does this revolve around?

The questioner : Strength.

The Shaykh : Strength.

The questioner : And trustworthiness.

The Shaykh : No, no, he has no strength at all. Strength. Good. Second, he says: if we say: "Of age and of sound mind", because if they are lost, the strength, which is one of the two pillars of the job or competence, is lost. Another reason is that they themselves need a guardian, so they cannot be guardians over others. Good. It is also required that he be: "male". The opposite of male is female and the hermaphrodite. The hermaphrodite, O Bukhari, what is it?

The questioner : Male or female.

The Shaykh : Yes, that is right, that he is male and female. So the judge must be male. What is the evidence for requiring maleness? They said: because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . The word "people" (qawm) is an indefinite noun that includes all people. So any people who entrust their affairs to a woman will not succeed. Do you know that this hadith has a cause? It is that when Kisra Anushirvan died, the Persians appointed his daughter as their ruler. That reached the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: . It was said in the hadith that it is general because the word "people" (qawm) is an indefinite noun in the context of negation ("will not succeed"), so it becomes general. So any people who entrust their affairs to a woman will not succeed. And "people" (al-qawm) are the men, by His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): . Yes, if "people" (al-qawm) is used alone, it may include men, as in the saying of the messengers to their people.

The questioner : It includes women.

The Shaykh : It includes women. Yes, women, as in the saying of the messengers to their people: "O my people" , and the like. Good. I say: some scholars hold that this hadith is general because it is the most complete indefinite noun in the context of negation, so it generalizes. And others hold that it is specific, meaning it is as if he said: "These people will not succeed because they entrusted their affairs to a woman." It is as if he is saying: "There is no good in them." When it was told to him that the Persians had a woman ruling them, he said: "There is no good in these people, and they will not succeed, and they have entrusted their affairs to a woman." Based on this last opinion, the one who is called says that it is not necessary that every people who entrust their affairs to a woman will not succeed, because we see people now who have entrusted their affairs to a woman, and what? And they succeeded. And these are the callers who call for the woman to be a minister and a president, and the like. He says: this hadith does not prevent this. This hadith was revealed regarding specific people, meaning: "These people will not succeed because they entrusted their affairs to a woman." But we say: even if we concede and say that it is intended for those people who entrusted their affairs to a woman, we say: and others are like them; they are measured by them. What is the difference between the Persians and others? The point is that the lack of success is conditioned on the ruler being a woman, and there is no difference in this between the Persians, the Romans, the Arabs, and others. So if it does not include those other than the Persians by virtue of the wording, it includes them by virtue of the meaning. By virtue of the meaning. And how would these people not succeed when they entrusted their affairs to a woman, and other people who entrusted their affairs to a woman succeed? If someone asks: "What do you answer regarding reality? The Prime Minister of Britain is a woman, and the last one in the Philippines is a woman, and there may be others among the disbelieving nations." We say: Yes, we say that if these people have succeeded, if they have succeeded, it is because the men who actually run the government are men. Men help her and support her, and she has not been absolute in her rule as the queen was in the era of Kisra. She is not absolute. This is one answer. Another answer we give is: perhaps if they had entrusted their affairs to a man, they would have been more successful than they are now. And how do we know? Perhaps the appointment of a woman over these people has diminished their success. They have not lost success absolutely, but their success has been diminished. As for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), he said: . In Islam, it is not valid for a woman to hold the judiciary, because it is required in the judge that he be male. The evidence is what you heard. The reasoning: they said: because the woman is weak. Weak in intellect, planning, and action. Weak in perception; she does not perceive matters as they should be. It is true that it is rare for a woman to perceive, but most women are like this; she does not perceive. Also, she has a third description, and I hope the brothers do not rush. She has a third description, which is that the woman is close in emotion. Close in emotion; everything brings her close and everything lowers her. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . She is quick in emotion; she is easily swayed. And for this reason, she is often deceived. A man comes from those who are in dispute before her, and he is strong and influential, so he influences this woman and turns her upside down and down on her head. So the judgment goes to Zayd. Then when the second one speaks, the judgment shifts to 'Umar. The judgment shifts to 'Umar. So she is weak. What is missing in her: strength or trustworthiness?

The questioner : Strength.

The Shaykh : Strength, because she is weak, so she cannot bear to take on the affairs of the Muslims. Yes, you ask: what does the time have to do with it? Good.