The procedure of arbitration (tahkim)

Question

In our town there is an ʿalim who is also engaged in politics. At the insistence of some people we asked him to decide a dispute between ourselves and a neighbour, in the following form (reproduced verbatim): [ar]بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم[/ar] “In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.” “I appoint you as Sharʿi qadi in my affairs, cases and the like with Mr. Riʿayatullah. Whatever Sharʿi decision you give on our claims will be accepted by us.

Answer

When an ʿalim is proposed to settle a dispute, he is proposed in the confidence that he will give a Sharʿi decision, whether or not the word “Sharʿi” is in the request. One should guard against the suspicion that he will not give a Sharʿi decision; and the idea that, being partial to the other party, he will give a decision contrary to the Shariʿa should also be put out of…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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