In this excerpt from Quḍāt Qurṭuba, Khushanī (d. 361/971) gives an account that attests to the pious and patient nature of judges of the time even in the face of annoyance and hardship. He describes the behavior of a certain ʿAmr b. ʿAbd Allāh (d. 273/886), who demanded of one of his litigants a document that was essential to determining the outcome of the case. In response, the litigant threw the document in his face. The judge, however, did not grow angry and punish the litigant as everyone in the court feared, but rather maintained his forbearance (hilm)and showed no response to the insult. In her chapter in Justice and Leadership in Early Islamic Courts, MaribelFierro uses this excerpt to illustrate the strain of the demands of the judgeship and to provide an example of the particular kind of good-natured, intelligent, and self-contained person the position required, especially given that judges were encouraged not to issue sentences in a state of anger.
This source is part of the Online Companion to the book Justice and Leadership in Early Islamic Courts, ed. Intisar A. Rabb and Abigail Krasner Balbale(ILSP/HUP 2017)—a collection of primary sources and other material used in and related to the book.