Judgments must be Issued on the Basis of Testimony and Oath

“Abu ‘ Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, has said, ‘I must judge among you on the basis of evidence and oath. Certain ones among you make more mistakes in their argument than others. For whomever I cut off (takes away) from the assets of his brother, I only cut off for him thereby a piece of the fire.’”

“Abu Ja‘far (a.s.), has said that once one of the prophets complained before his Lord saying, ‘How can I judge in matters about which I am not informed how to deal with/ He said, ‘Leave them for Me and add them to My name by which they must swear and take an oath.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that it is in the book of Ali (a.s.), that one of the Prophets complained before his Lord about adjudication saying, ‘How can I judge about what my eyes have not seen and my ears have not heard?’ He told him to judge among them by means of evidence and testimony and make them to swear by His name. He (the Imam) then said that Dawud ‘Alayhi al-Salam, once said, ‘O Lord, show me the reality as it is so I can judge accordingly.’ The Lord said, ‘You will not be able to bear it.’ He insisted that the reality be shown to him. A man then came with a complaint against another man for taking his assets. Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, revealed to Dawud ‘Alayhi al-Salam, that the plaintiff has killed the father of the defendant and has taken his assets. He then issued a judgment that required the plaintiff to be executed and his assets must be given to the defendant. He (the Imam) said, ‘People were confused and they spoke about it until it reached Dawud ‘Alayhi al-Salam. He felt uncomfortable about it so he prayed before the Lord to remove what he had asked for (showing the reality). Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, then commanded him to judge on the basis of evidence and asking them to swear by His name.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that it is in the book of Ali (a.s.), that one of the Prophets complained before his Lord saying, ‘O Lord, how can I judge among people what I have not witnessed?’ Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, then sent him revelation that said, ‘Judge among them by means of my book and making them to swear by My name.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘This is in the case of those who cannot establish evidence and testimony.’”