When it comes to the profession of a judge, what first comes into peoples minds is their high status in society, their power, secure employment and of course: the good salary as well as what is called the judicial independence. While this may be true, this one-sided perception fails to grasp the importance and far-reaching implications of judicial decisions - not only for the parties involved in the legal dispute, but even more for the whole of society: Judgments do in fact mould the legal opinion and reshape legal frameworks.
This is the reason why Islam emphazises the huge responsibilty of judges and the duty to take utmost care to avoid unjust rulings. Judicial Independece is no end in itself and cannot be seperated from the often neglected judicial responsibility on the other side. While accountability in the hereafter is true and certain, accountability in this life means to take responsibility for the individual concerned, to bear the consequences of a wrong decision and to cautiously apply statutory law. In most (western) legal orders, a juge can be held liable for deliberately bending or openly disregarding the law. However, the stake is very high and sentences are rare.
Truly pious people tried their best to reject the office of the qadi when it was offered to them by the ruler. They even pretended to be blind or prefered to be imprisoned - so much did they fear even getting close to issuing injuste rulings.
The strongest manifest for absolute justice is in the Qur'an itself, where Allah commands:
"O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do."
(Sura an-Nisa 4 : 135, Translation of Abdullah Yusuf Ali, 1985)
Truly pious people tried their best to reject the office of the qadi when it was offered to them by the ruler. They even pretended to be blind or prefered to be imprisoned - so much did they fear even getting close to issuing injuste rulings.
The strongest manifest for absolute justice is in the Qur'an itself, where Allah commands:
"O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do."
(Sura an-Nisa 4 : 135, Translation of Abdullah Yusuf Ali, 1985)
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