The Difference Between the Rewarding Judge and the Burdened Judge
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The following message was sent by one of the brothers who says: I am Ghani Ibrahim Muhammad Sharif from Mosul, Iraq. How do we reconcile the following two hadiths: The saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): Sunan Abi Dawud 3573Sahih (Al-Albani) narrated by Abu Dawud, and the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) whose meaning is: Sahih Muslim 1716a Reconcile the two hadiths for me, because I have a difficulty with this. May Allah guide you?
Answer: There is no contradiction between them—praise be to Allah—rather, the meaning is clear. The first hadith is about the one who judges for people out of ignorance, having no knowledge with which to judge; he judges without knowledge. Such a person is threatened with the Fire. Likewise, the one who knows the truth but acts unjustly out of desire, whether out of love for a person, for a bribe, or for something similar, and thus acts unjustly in his ruling. These two are in the Fire. As for the first, he has no knowledge, no means by which to judge; he is ignorant, so he is not qualified to judge. As for the second, he intentionally commits injustice and oppression, so he is in the Fire.
As for the first [category], he is the one who knew the truth and judged accordingly; he is in Paradise.
As for the hadith regarding ijtihad, which is the hadith of 'Amr ibn al-'As and what came in its meaning, found in the two Sahihs from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), in which he said:Sunan Ibn Majah 2314 This is about the scholar who knows the rulings of the Shari'ah and is not ignorant, but some matters may be hidden from him and some matters may be confusing to him. He exerts effort, seeks the truth, and looks into the evidence from the Qur'an and the Sunnah, seeking the ruling of the Shari'ah. He may not be able to attain it. In this case, he receives the reward for ijtihad, but the reward for being correct is missed; because he is a scholar qualified for judgment, but in some issues he may err after exerting effort, seeking the truth, and having a sincere intention. So he is given the reward for ijtihad, and the reward for being correct is missed.
The second [category]: He exerted effort, sought the truth, and paid attention to the evidence, and he had no bad intention; rather, he is a mujtahid seeking the truth. He was guided to it and found it, and he judged with the truth. So he has two rewards: the reward for being correct and the reward for ijtihad. So there is no contradiction between the two hadiths. The first is about the ignorant one who has no knowledge, and the second is about the one who has knowledge and is qualified for judgment, but some matters may be confusing to him in some issues. He exerts effort, seeks the truth, looks into the evidence, and then rules with what appears to him to be correct. However, what appears to him to be correct may not be the actual truth, and he may not be successful in attaining the truth. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.
Judges are of three types, one of whom will go to Paradise and two to Hell. The one who will go to Paradise is a man who knows what is right and gives judgment accordingly; but a man who knows what is right and acts tyrannically in his judgment will go to Hell; and a man who gives judgment for people when he is ignorant will go to Hell.
القضاة ثلاثة: واحد في الجنة واثنان في النار، فأما الذي في الجنة فرجل عرف الحق فقضى به، ورجل عرف الحق فجار فهو في النار، ورجل قضى للناس على جهل فهو في النارthere are two rewards for him; and if he gave a judgment after having tried his best (to arrive at a correct decision) but erred, there is one reward for him.
المجتهد إذا أصاب فله أجران، وإذا أخطأ فله أجر واحدAnswer: There is no contradiction between them—praise be to Allah—rather, the meaning is clear. The first hadith is about the one who judges for people out of ignorance, having no knowledge with which to judge; he judges without knowledge. Such a person is threatened with the Fire. Likewise, the one who knows the truth but acts unjustly out of desire, whether out of love for a person, for a bribe, or for something similar, and thus acts unjustly in his ruling. These two are in the Fire. As for the first, he has no knowledge, no means by which to judge; he is ignorant, so he is not qualified to judge. As for the second, he intentionally commits injustice and oppression, so he is in the Fire.
As for the first [category], he is the one who knew the truth and judged accordingly; he is in Paradise.
As for the hadith regarding ijtihad, which is the hadith of 'Amr ibn al-'As and what came in its meaning, found in the two Sahihs from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), in which he said:
When the judge passes a judgement and does his best and gets it right, he will have two rewards, and if he passes a judgement and does his best and gets it wrong, he will have one reward.
إذا حكم الحاكمم فاجتهد فأصاب فله أجران، وإذا حكم فاجتهد فأخطأ فله أجرThe second [category]: He exerted effort, sought the truth, and paid attention to the evidence, and he had no bad intention; rather, he is a mujtahid seeking the truth. He was guided to it and found it, and he judged with the truth. So he has two rewards: the reward for being correct and the reward for ijtihad. So there is no contradiction between the two hadiths. The first is about the ignorant one who has no knowledge, and the second is about the one who has knowledge and is qualified for judgment, but some matters may be confusing to him in some issues. He exerts effort, seeks the truth, looks into the evidence, and then rules with what appears to him to be correct. However, what appears to him to be correct may not be the actual truth, and he may not be successful in attaining the truth. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.