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justice. He should extract proof from him who complains and
impose an oath upon him who denies; and compromise is lawful
between Muslims, except it be a compromise sanctioning an
unlawful or forbidding a lawful thing. If he have done aught
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during the day, of which he is doubtful, the judge should
reconsider it and apply his discernment to elucidating it, that
(if he have erred) he may revert to the right, for to do justice
is a religious obligation and to return to that which is right is
better than perseverance in error. Then he should study the
precedents and the law of the case and do equal justice between
the suitors, fixing his eye upon the truth and committing his
affair to God, to whom belong might and majesty. Let him require
proof of the complainant, and if he adduce it, let him put the
defendant to his oath; for this is the ordinance of God. He
should receive the testimony of competent Muslim witnesses, one
against another, for God the Most High hath commanded judges to
judge by externals, He Himself taking charge of the secret
things. It behoves the judge also to avoid giving judgment,
whilst suffering from stress of pain or hunger, and that in his
decisions between the folk he seek to please God, for he whose
intent is pure and who is at peace with his conscience, God shall
guarantee him against what is between him and the people. Quoth
Ez Zuhri,[FN68] There are three things, which if they be found
in a Cadi, he should be deposed; namely, if he honour the base,
love praise and fear dismissal. It is related that Omar ben
Abdulaziz once deposed a Cadi, who asked him why he had done so.
It has come to my knowledge, replied Omar, that thy speech is
greater than thy condition. It is said also that Iskender[FN69]
said to his Cadi, I have invested thee with this function and
committed to thee in it my soul and my honour and manhood; so do
thou guard it with thy soul and thine understanding. To his cook
he said, Thou art the governor of my body; so look thou tender
it. To his secretary he said, Thou art the controller of my
wit: so do thou watch over me in what thou writest for me.
With this the first damsel retired and a second one came forward
and kissing the earth seven times before the King thy father,
spoke as follows: The sage Lucman[FN70] said to his son, There
are three men whom thou shalt not know, but in three several
cases; thou shalt not know the merciful man but in time of anger,
nor the brave man but in time of war nor thy friend but when thou
hast need of him. It is said that the oppressor shall repent,
though the people praise him, and that the oppressed is safe,
though the people blame him. Quoth God the Most High, [FN71]
Think not that those who rejoice in their deeds and love to be
praised for that which they have not done, shall escape
punishment; indeed there is reserved for them a grievous
punishment. Quoth Mohammed (on whom be peace and salvation),
Works are according to intentions, and to each man is attributed
that which he intends. He saith also, There is a part of the
human body, which being whole, all the rest is whole, and which
being corrupt, the whole body is corrupt; it is the heart. And
indeed the heart is the most marvellous part of man, since it is
that which ordereth his whole affair; if covetise stir in it,
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desire destroys him, and if affliction master it, anguish slays
him: if anger rage in it, danger is sore upon him, and if it be
blest with contentment, he is safe from discontent; if fear
overtake it, he is filled with mourning, and if calamity smite
it, affliction betideth him. If a man gain wealth, his heart is
peradventure diverted thereby from the remembrance of his Lord,
and if poverty afflict him, his heart is distracted by care, or
if disquietude waste his heart, weakness reduces him to
impotence. So, in any case, there is nothing will profit him but
that he be mindful of God and occupy himself with gaining his
living and securing his place in Paradise. It was asked of a
certain wise man, Who is the most ill-conditioned of men? He,
replied the sage, whose lusts master his manhood and whose mind
exceeds in the pursuit of objects of high emprise, so that his
knowledge increases and his excuse diminishes; and how excellent
is what the poet says:
The freest of all men from need of the arrogant meddler am I, The
fool who s unguided of God and judges the folk all awry;
For wealth and good gifts are a loan and each man at last shall
be clad As it were in a mantle, with that which hid in his
bosom doth lie.
If thou enter on aught by a door that is other than right, thou
wilt err; But the right door will dead thee aright, for
sure, if thou enter there by.
As for anecdotes of devotees (continued the maiden), quoth Hisham
ben Besher, I said to Omar ben Ubeid, What is true devoutness?
and he answered, The Prophet (whom God bless and preserve) hath
expounded it, when he says, The devout is he who takes thought
to death and calamity and prefers that which is eternal to that
which passes away, who counts not the morrow as of his days, but
reckons himself among the dead. And it is related that Abou
Dherr[FN72] used to say, Poverty is dearer to me than riches
and sickness than health. Quoth one of the listeners, May God
have mercy on Abou Dherr! For my part, I say, He who puts his
trust in the goodness of the election of God the Most High should
be content with that condition of which the Almighty hath made
choice for him. Quoth one of the Companions (of the Prophet),
Ibn Ali Aqfa[FN73] prayed with us the morning-prayer one day.
When he had done, he read the seventy-fourth chapter (of the
Koran), beginning, O thou that coverest thyself! till he came
to where God says, When the trumpet is blown, and fell down
dead. It is said that Thabit el Benani wept till he well nigh
lost his eyes. They brought him a man to tend him, who said to
him, I will cure thee, provided thou do my bidding. In what
respect? asked Thabit. In that thou leave weeping, replied the
physician. What is the use of my eyes, rejoined Thabit, if
they do not weep? Said a man to Mohammed ibn Abdallah, Exhort
me. I exhort thee, replied he, to be an abstinent possessor
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in this world and a greedy slave in the next. How so? asked
the other; and Mohammed said, The abstinent man in this world
possesses both this world and the world to come. Quoth Ghauth
ben Abdallah, There were two brothers among the people of
Israel, one of whom said to the other, What is the worst thing
thou hast done? One day, answered the other, I came upon a
nest of young birds; so I took out one and threw it back into the
nest; but the others drew apart from it. This is the worst thing
I ever did; so now tell me what is the worst thing thou hast ever
done. When I betake myself to prayer, rejoined the first, I
am fearful to have done so only for the sake of the reward. This
is the worst thing I have done. Now their father heard what they
said and exclaimed, O my God, if they speak the truth, take them
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